Gary,
I have painted most of my cars with lacquer as it is easy to fix
blemishes in the paint. I do have a system. First I paint a thin coat
followed by several thicker coats. The number of coats will define the
depth of the shine. I will then wet sand with some 600 grit paper.
Them, I will lay on several very wet coats, each wetter than the first
to the point that the last coat is about 4/5ths thinner. I will finish
this with clear lacquer if I am spraying metallic paint. After the car
dries for several days, I will sand with the 1200 grit paper, compound
with rubbing compound and polish with the polishing compound. This
gives a really great shine, but takes a lot of elbow grease. An
electric polisher will help.
BTW, for any of you that has seen my Series III, please disregard how
it looks. This is not a good example of the above technique. I tried
to cut corners by using a urethane clear coat. Over time, the urethane
shrinks at a different rate as the lacquer. The result is cracked
paint! Unfortunately, I have driven this car for the past 10 years
like that. But it is scheduled for a long overdue restoration - just
as soon as I finish the Jag.
Chris Stephenson
Series III
Series V V6
Jag 420G
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Subject: Lacquer Sanding Tips Needed
Author: "Schotland" <schotbus(at)cyberenet.net> at INTERNET-USA
Date: 7/10/97 10:03 PM
A friend repaired a little dent in my Alpine's rear fender last weekend
and repainted it with lacquer because he said was very easy to work
with. If the car were anything more than a somewhat shabby driver, I
would have gone with a more durable paint. Now the ball's in my court as
far as sanding the dull initial finish to point where it looks presentable.
My friend said I should wet sand with 1200 grit. After lots of elbow
grease, a small section is getting fairly smooth, but it's not nearly as
shiny as I'd like it. Rather than spending an entire weekend
knocking myself out on one fender, I thought it would be wise to seek
advise from someone who's experienced with lacquer. My questions are:
Should I start wet sanding with a coarser paper and then move to the
1200? If so, what grit do you suggest?
After the 1200 grit, what is the next step to get that showroom
shine? Should I continue wet sanding with a finer grit paper or
should I change to some sort of super fine grit polishing compound?
Product recommendations would be most welcome.
Thanks for your assistance.
Gary
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