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firewall paint question

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  busaben 
#1 ·
hi everyone, well i finally got to put some paint on my 67 lemans, even if it is only my firewall (and my first run at auto painting). i was not aware that the sealer sprays real thin, and managed to get a small run where the factory airbox would have been, but im building this car to drive, and don't think it will show once the engine bay is full of go fast.

i gave it 3 coats of base, then 3 coats of clear. it looks good, but i do have some orange peel. my question is, since the run will be the high point should i wet sand the panel, or let it ride? i don't want to cut back down to the sealer. many thanks

oh yea, i have 3 pictures of the firewall, but the computer natzi's at work won't let me open photobucket, maybe someone here could help?
 
#7 ·
i sprayed the sealer over my primer too heavy and got a run, after its flash time, i went ahead and put a layer of base down. the run did not look bad for where it is, so i put two more layers of base down, then 3 layers of clear. if i sand the run down, i would eat down to the sealer (where the run started). i'm not sure how to handle that.
 
#4 ·
Here's how you deal with the run in the clear: Get yourself some old style single edge razor blades. Tilt one at an angle and drag it sideways (at a right angle to the long edge of the blade) across a piece of 400 grit sandpaper, just in one direction. What you're trying to do here is create a small burr along one side of the blade. Next, slightly bend the blade with your fingers to put a very slight curve in it such that the burr is on the "outside arc" of the curve. You've just created a very small, very sharp plane. Now, carefully and with almost no pressure, "drag" the burred edge of the blade along your run. The 'inside" of the arc you bent into the blade will be pointing "up/out" - away from the surface. Having this arc in the blade makes it so that only a very small part of it contacts the surface you're working on. What you're doing is slowly planing down the run. Keep going (make another blade when that one gets too dull to cut easily) until you've leveled the run. Now all you have to do is lightly wet sand it to take the scratches out left by the "plane", then use a little buffing/polishing compound on the spot to bring the gloss back out. Viola --- no more run and you've got a smooth, flat, shiny finish. This same technique works in dealing with runs in the clear on your "real" paint job too. It's hard to sand out a run with sandpaper and not also sand on the area next to the run - where you really don't want to sand any. Using the razor blade trick gives you much finer control over where you're cutting and lets you work only on the high spots.

Bear
 
#5 ·
thanks for the help guys, i know its just a firewall, but i want it to look nice, i have pictures, but cant do anything with them on the work computer. i got the run from spraying the sealer too heavy at first, but its in a low unseen area ( thats what im telling myself anyways). now, with the bows and dimples on a firewall, would it be worthwile to wet sand? or just leave it before i mess up?
 
#8 ·
Your just gonna have to deal with it. The run hapened and you did not fix it on that level. Now you have 6 coats on top of the run. NO way to fix a sealer/primer run with base and clear. Ya go what ya got unless you spot fix. Sand down to the sealer and start again. I'll be spraying mine in a week or so. The only thing I keep telling myself is don't try and cover a screw up. Sometimes ya just gotta sit back and let the paint dry to fix it.
 
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