what grit paper to use to remove orangepeel from basecoat (before clear)

kalesh

New member
Hi all,
When painting I always get orangepeel, then when clearcoat is sprayed and buffed the orangepeel in the basecoat can be seen.

So what I want to do is to flatten the basecoat by wetsanding before applying clearcoat. But I am not sure what grit paper to use.
On one hand I think using too coarse will cause the sanding marks to show through, on the other hand too fine may cause the clear to peel later?

Can anyone recommend a particular grit please?
 

TAZ

Administrator
Staff member
I would not recommend wetsanding the base. Possibly your problem is because of your gun, the settings of the gun, or the application of the base (and clear).
Be sure and put on medium wetcoats. Don't put them on dry, otherwise you will end up with some dry type orange peel. If you are getting thick orange peel, possibly your base is mixed too thick, or you are putting the coats on too heavy.

Same goes with the clear. Medium wetcoat, followed by a wetter coat, then the third should be an even nicer wet coat. I always hold the gun abut 5" away from the surface.
Since you do many vehicles, be sure you are using a top of the line gun. I use Iwata 1.4 (silver cap) for my clear and a Iwata (orange cap) 1.3 for my base.
 

TAZ

Administrator
Staff member
Also be sure and use the correct hardeners and reducers for your temperature of your shop.
 

jdean

New member
If its a metallic or pearlesent base Don't touch it. if ya gotta sand it 2-3 coats of clear first ,then sand the clear. I use 500-600 wet, Cuts flat and fast with enough "tooth" you'll never have top coat adhesion issues. and 500 wet scratches will not show through clear. But as taz says, get your bases to lay flat, ie. paint viscosity ,air pressure and wet coats. watch your paint closely and get used to the degree of flow, from peely to glass ,how much it flows and how long it takes to "set" ajust your reducer/hardener on different days to compensate for temp and humidity, once you have your gun and technique dialed in your good to go. keep in mind, different products require tweaking your gun for optimal results. saves alot of time and money not having to sand between coats. as the old Chinese philosopher sum bung chew quoted : "become one with your gun" there's always alot of zen going on in that booth.
 

Barbie Princess

New member
i have done a few ferraris and aston martins and once the clear is cured i use 1200 on the oribtal with a soft pad, go over it with 1500 and 2000 and finish it off with 2000 wet. takes ages to buff but you will remove most of the peel. as for base coat if needed i will use 800 wet or 1200 wet, but make sure you remove any streaks once you dry it.
because most of the time you will only see them once you bring them out of the booth, once it's to late.
 
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