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So a few weeks back I was able to make the final push to take my Nova into clear coat. It's been a while, so here's the rundown:
Took it to bare metal, conditioned with DX579/DX520 due to rust pitting
DP90LF with 401 catalyst
Fixed a bunch of dings, dents, and previous owner's shoddy repairs, used Rage Gold as a filler
VP2100, blocked and left in 220
K38, blocked and finished in 600. Sat for a week before basecoat.
DBC, Cyber Grey Metallic
DCU 2021 Clear
After all was said and done, I was pretty happy with how everything turned out. The DBC covered very well and there were no problems with striping, pooling, etc. I was mostly concerned about the metallic laying right and was glad there were no issues. The DCU 2021 behaved pretty well too. Got a few runs but nothing I don't think I can't handle, and the car will obviously need a cut and buff so no big deal. Actually couldn't believe my amateur hand did pretty good! Attached a picture just for fun
However
My joy was somewhat short lived, as there are two more "major" defects in the paint that I need some advice on.
First, the biggie. I had gone over the car over and over with two different types of high build primers and various grits and blocks and I still managed to miss a ding right on the passenger's quarter. It took me a few tries to get a picture of it as it only shows up if the light hits the panel *just so* but it's attached to this thread. The markings to the left of the light flash are not a defect, it's the dime sized ding. I checked it with a straight edge and it's probably 1/16 deep or so. Enough to bother me.
So after kicking my own ass a few times for missing it, I started looking in to how to fix such a mistake. It looks like I can take the area in question back down to the K38 with 180, skim it with some Metal Glaze, level into 320, and then apply K36 over the top of it, rebase, and reclear.
So here are the questions:
1.) Does that sound right at a high level? I don't need to go past the K38 to the metal or epoxy, do I?
2.) Metal Glaze is approved for 2k high build and OEM paint, so that's the right stuff as a skim coat, correct?
3.) I was planning on finish sanding the K36 and the surrounding area in 600 grit and feathering it in with 800. Does that sound right?
4.) Is it better to not even bother blending on the quarter and just re-shoot the entire panel? I do have enough paint for that if it will give a better result. I know I'll have to feather up at the sail panel but that's a much smaller area.
5.) I'm thinking of going with K36 instead of K38 as I don't need much of it, K36 is available in quarts (K38 is not, and I don't want to buy a whole gallon) and I've got some of the K201 hardener left over. People say K36 shrinks a lot. Should I skip that and go with something else? I'm concerned that if the color of what I use is really different from the K38 I originally used that the repair might be a different color.
Second, the one that doesn't seem like as big a deal:
On my driver's door a few bubbles appeared after the second application of clear coat. I wasn't rushing flash times but I figure the clear might have been a bit heavy and lead to some solvent pop.
After reading up on that, it looks like the proper way to repair it is to sand off the clear, rebase, and reclear. Is it worth trying to cut it with 1000 grit first (to see if it disappears, then cut with finer paper and buff) or is that a bad idea because the clear can be left too thin?
Thanks guys.
Took it to bare metal, conditioned with DX579/DX520 due to rust pitting
DP90LF with 401 catalyst
Fixed a bunch of dings, dents, and previous owner's shoddy repairs, used Rage Gold as a filler
VP2100, blocked and left in 220
K38, blocked and finished in 600. Sat for a week before basecoat.
DBC, Cyber Grey Metallic
DCU 2021 Clear
After all was said and done, I was pretty happy with how everything turned out. The DBC covered very well and there were no problems with striping, pooling, etc. I was mostly concerned about the metallic laying right and was glad there were no issues. The DCU 2021 behaved pretty well too. Got a few runs but nothing I don't think I can't handle, and the car will obviously need a cut and buff so no big deal. Actually couldn't believe my amateur hand did pretty good! Attached a picture just for fun
However
My joy was somewhat short lived, as there are two more "major" defects in the paint that I need some advice on.
First, the biggie. I had gone over the car over and over with two different types of high build primers and various grits and blocks and I still managed to miss a ding right on the passenger's quarter. It took me a few tries to get a picture of it as it only shows up if the light hits the panel *just so* but it's attached to this thread. The markings to the left of the light flash are not a defect, it's the dime sized ding. I checked it with a straight edge and it's probably 1/16 deep or so. Enough to bother me.
So after kicking my own ass a few times for missing it, I started looking in to how to fix such a mistake. It looks like I can take the area in question back down to the K38 with 180, skim it with some Metal Glaze, level into 320, and then apply K36 over the top of it, rebase, and reclear.
So here are the questions:
1.) Does that sound right at a high level? I don't need to go past the K38 to the metal or epoxy, do I?
2.) Metal Glaze is approved for 2k high build and OEM paint, so that's the right stuff as a skim coat, correct?
3.) I was planning on finish sanding the K36 and the surrounding area in 600 grit and feathering it in with 800. Does that sound right?
4.) Is it better to not even bother blending on the quarter and just re-shoot the entire panel? I do have enough paint for that if it will give a better result. I know I'll have to feather up at the sail panel but that's a much smaller area.
5.) I'm thinking of going with K36 instead of K38 as I don't need much of it, K36 is available in quarts (K38 is not, and I don't want to buy a whole gallon) and I've got some of the K201 hardener left over. People say K36 shrinks a lot. Should I skip that and go with something else? I'm concerned that if the color of what I use is really different from the K38 I originally used that the repair might be a different color.
Second, the one that doesn't seem like as big a deal:
On my driver's door a few bubbles appeared after the second application of clear coat. I wasn't rushing flash times but I figure the clear might have been a bit heavy and lead to some solvent pop.
After reading up on that, it looks like the proper way to repair it is to sand off the clear, rebase, and reclear. Is it worth trying to cut it with 1000 grit first (to see if it disappears, then cut with finer paper and buff) or is that a bad idea because the clear can be left too thin?
Thanks guys.
