Mrs. SewNSew

"No reducer - Use a clear coat that you have to mix - not a spray can. The activator and the clear coat seem to be fairly friendly to the decals but the reducer seems to have a violent reaction sometimes. "

What is "reducer" and what is "activator"??

It's nerve wracking and exciting! I am so glad you are sharing your experience. I will be doing one eventually and although "it's just paint" ugh...who would want to let it all dry and start over? My thoughts are even if mine doesn't come out perfect...it will surely be better off than it is now. I'll be waiting until I have enough info and the weather is more stable. I have heard that a lot of humidity isn't great.

ArchaicArcane

Of course! Any excuse to take pictures of her I shake some too which is why I asked DH to do it. I was reassembling the motor and servicing Lucey while he did that.

Most clear coats are actually 3 different chemicals mixed in various ratios depending on certain factors - one of them being the ambient temperature, another is how fast you want the clear to flash - which is basically dry time and the solvents are being released from the clear coat. Reducer slows the flash time down. It helps the clear coat have more time to "level" before it hardens. This leveling is what seems to be missing in orange peeled finishes - or else it was sprayed way too heavily. Activator is sort of like the hardening part of a 2 part epoxy, where the "clear" is the other part.

In most cases, there are tons of opportunities to "Save" a paint job before the end. Take that CBR on the first page. The first coat of base that I sprayed, I got runs from ... hades. I sanded those out and applied a second coat and you couldn't tell where those runs were but I made a new one. I sanded again and stood back a little further on the final spray. Usually, I would do only 2 base coats but there were areas where the sanding had lightened a little and it wasn't particularly uniform looking. It's a lot like painting a wall in your house. A patched area looks different until enough coats go on.

With the clear - this stuff is tacky and sticky and a general mess to deal with. It's also a pain to get the gun clean afterward but there's no avoiding this stage with a base clear paint job. The base is far too fragile. I had draped the inside of a shed with plastic to protect the shed from overspray. This was fine for the base step but the clear got sticky on everything. At one point, I had plastic stuck to my hair and arms. I also managed to get the plastic far enough into the paint area that I stuck it to the fender. More sanding. A run at this stage is taken care of the same way the base is. Sand it out. You'll spray anywhere between 3 and maybe 10 coats. It will depend on how dry the coats go on (i.e. stand back and spray light or whatever)This will also determine how much sanding you're doing between coats. Before the final coat, you'll wet sand with something like 2000 grit sand paper to rough it up just a little so the final coat really sticks. The same will happen with the wee one I'm working on.

The grits of sandpaper I'll use are somewhere in the 600, 800, 1200, 1500 and 2000 grit ranges. This helps remove the orange peel and lets the paint/clear look like glass or a mirror. In fact, that's how I look for orange peel - how clear is the image reflected in the finish? If it's fairly distorted, there are flaws in the paint or the clear - usually orange peel - or the prep was poorly done. If the image is fairly true to life, it's a good paint job. Note: Most cars these days - regardless of brand - are full of orange peel.

As with Glenn's process, I'd practice on something you're not bonded to first. And you're right, no clear coat product likes a lot of moisture so best to spray when the moisture level isn't going to be terribly high.

ETA: I should also note that the process I'm describing is based on the way that a custom painter would do work, not the way most collision repair type shops will do it. The wee one has many flaws in her paint job and they didn't fill the spots they were supposed to fill. I may try to help some of it prior to the clear coats, or I may call her a "practice" machine and leave her as is other than the clear coat I have to apply. She's still gorgeous either way.

Rodney

You learn something new every day. The decals I applied to models as a kid were waterslide decals. I never knew the clear portion was supposed to come off too after they dried. I don't know that the home made ones are the same. They're ink on special paper then they're sprayed with a clear seal coat to protect the ink before you soak and apply them.
I have one White Rotary that's a candidate for a repaint. I'd like to get it as right as I can when I do it. That one is going to be a rattle can job though. I don't own good spray equipment.

Tammi, your machine is looking incredible.
Rodney

Mrs. SewNSew

Rodney, I don't have spray equipment either. Mine will be the same as yours.

ArchaicArcane

If you have access to an air compressor, maybe harbor freight carries a paint gun for you. I know that Princess Auto does and they're functionally the same store. The gun I had for the bike - I say had because I don't think I've seen it in 7odd years... it must be around, I don't throw anything out - was under $30 and my former neighbor (owns a body shop) said it looked like a professional gun maybe refurbed or something.
http://www.princessauto.com/en/b/wor...-guns/N-v9w7w8

I think maybe it was this one?
http://www.princessauto.com/en/detai...un/A-p8155582e

Her cover coat came off today. There are a couple of small flaws thanks to that but I'm thinking we may use her as the "learning machine" and leave them alone. It's little things - a tiny bit of the decal on the front by the needle came off and according to the back of the machine, she's a Sincer. Knowing that, next time, I think I'd take the that particular cover coat off from right to left to give the arm on the "G" the best chance at remaining intact.

Mrs. SewNSew

Questions questions! OK so what exactly happened when taking the cover coat off? Do you just pick the edge and peel it off? I am sorry to hear you had oopies. Can you touch them up with Testors and a tiny brush?

So, a paint gun would be better? Would I need to make a plastic room like you did? *I think hubby has an air compressor. He has this big tall fat canister that makes a lot of noise and you can air your tires with it.

tropit

Your FW is turning out gorgeous! I'm so jealous! I have a FW that I bought off of GW that has badly peeling paint. I'd love to take it to an auto body shop and have it repainted. I'm definitely saving this thread. Thanks so much for sharing.

Mrs. SewNSew...do you know of someone in Ukiah that could do the paint? Maybe you'd like to help me with this project?

~ Cindy

Mrs. SewNSew

Do YOU know what you're doing? If so, I'd be happy to be a helper! At this stage I am gathering information because I would really like to learn about the re-painting.

Sewnoma

Oh wow, those decals really do make a difference!! She looks gorgeous!

I am enjoying the rest of this thread too, very educational!

sdhaevrsi

Wow, Tammi, she is just beautiful!! She makes my heart go potty-pat and brings a smile, too. You are doing wonderfully by her. I hope she goes back together well for you without you having to file off layers as you rebuild her.

And, the motorcycle you did is really impressive! You and your husband are a really good team, it seems.