Paint job repair.(orange peel)

[kherseth]

Hi again folks, been a while. They don`t want anyone using the lathe at work for hobby projects, so i`m not able to keep practising atm

Anyways, bought myself a new car, 86-Toyota MR2 last weekend, and tought i`d use this weekend to shape up the paint job. Unfortunatly, i live in a very small town so i`m not able to get all the equipment i want. One of the front fenders have a REALLY bad orange peel look to it, and i really want to fix it. Plan is to wet sand it flat, then buff it shiny before polish/wax is applied.

Question is, how fine does the sand paper need to be? Could not get hold of anything finer than 800, and i am unsure if i could buff it shiny using that?
If anyone have experience, i`d be very happy to hear from you

Kim

 

[Davo J]

Hi,
If it's enamel you wont have much, luck so try on a small part that is hidden somewhere.
If it is acrylic/2 pack and has a lot of peel I would go with 600 and a bucket of water with some soap in it to stop the paper sticking. After you get it nearly down switch to your 800 for better results (or you can skip this step), then onto cutting compound (preferably on a buff even if it's a electric drill with a pad on it), then wax/polish to finish.
It is a step by step process and missing one will give bad results, but doing them all will look professional. The acrylic when buffed actually melts the paint into itself which helps flatten it as well.

Years ago I did all my buffing with a drill and was glad when I bought a proper buffer. I have picked up a few over the years but one is a type that is variable speed and can be a buff, grinder or a sander so it has other uses as well.

Dave

 

[kherseth]

Thanks for the tips Dave.

I did give it a go on a 1x1" patch underneath the bonnet, and to say it easy, I`m NOT doing that on a whole fender
Think i`ll drive to the nearest city and look for a buff and some smoother sand papers. Should probably do the whole car while at it, will look awesome for sure

Kim

 

[ChStu]

Apparently there is a large movement using Rustoleum to re-paint cars. You may not want to do that, but perhaps the finishing tips might be of use. Take a look through the forums, there are some YouTube videos that describe the method.

http://rolledon.forummotion.com/

Good luck!