Ok, I'm going to repaint my 81 Trans Am myself here in the next few weeks ( cuz I'm a poor college kid with a family ). I know the basics; Sand, Primer, Sealer, Base/Clear, etc. But what I'm wondering is, do I have to wetsand the base coat as well? Like, laydown the base, wetsand, then apply clear and wetsand again and then buff? Or do I have to buff the scratches out of the base before I clear it? Or do I just say screw it and lay the base and clear it and then wetsand and buff it from there? Anyone?

 

lay your base, let dry 20min then clear.

 

Awesome! That's what I was thinking but I wanted to make sure. Thanks again!

 

after your done the job, wait like 2 weeks then wash it, wetsand lightly,compound with a buffer, then a nice coat of wax...she'll be good as new

 

So paint it, wetsand it, polish it, wait two weeks and then wash it, wetsand it lightly and polish it and wax it?

 

I would not wax anything that has been painted for 5 weeks.

 

DO NOT WAIT 2 WEEKS!!! ok look prep paint you can wet sand between coats if you want just just barely to get off any "trash" that might have got into the paint clear it with 3 moderate coats the NEXT day wetsand with 2000 grit wetsand here is the trick find a soft flexable piece of rubber or go to your local paint shop and get a wet sanding block to use on all the flat surfaces and just use the paper by itself for anything thats not flat they also have very soft rubber for when you are wet sanding to wipe off the water get one of those too. to wetsand the clear and buff just simply get a water hose turn it on slightly and start sanding with the block and use the other piece of rubber to wipe off water to see if the orange peel is gone watch edges b/c you can sand through them and it ruins the whole point of painting... anways sand the car and get all the orange peel off staying away from places the buffer cannot go unless you wanna do it by hand which is ok just takes longer then get a decent buffer with FOAM pads 1 for compound and 1 for swirl remover the ole wool pads are just OLD i suggest using 3m compound and 3m swirl remover with the compound you apply generously and just start buffing work in small areas at 1st untill you get the hand of it i suggest painting something that doesnt go on the car to practice on and keep the cord away from the pad almost broke my arm when it cought so now your buffing keep the buffer moving and dont sit in one spot too long or you will burn the clear and if you do that might as well hang it up on that part if you use way too much compund it will take FOREVER to work it in and get that shiny look so for like a 1'x1' spot use like 4-5 quarter size drops buff untill its extremly shinny b/c i know you will paint it good (right? ) there will be compund all over the place but its ok leave it there unless its droplets they can be a bitch to get out of the lil cracks so just wipe those off NEXT after the whole care had been buffed with compund change your pad it should be a black pad now unlike the compound pad which is white/cream you can wash the car if you want but i never do dosnt really matter no this swirl remover goes a LONG way so just use a few drops in a small area and start buffing again untill that area is just all shinny as can be and all smooth with no swirl marks if this is your 1st paint job you will be pretty excited and if it looks like crap buff it again no biggie but it will look good after wards washt he car REALLY good make sure you get ALL the compound out of the cracks b/c after like a day that **** turns rock hard and you will have hell getting it off then way and again i suggest 3M il have to get the part numbers for you. dont listen to anyone about waiting a long time to buff and dont wax untill 2 weeks and all that b/s iv worked with DuPont paint reps ALOT b4 and my ole man use to own a body shop and now only works of 3 guys custom cars iv been around it all my life it all comes natural to me so if you have questions feel free to IM me on AIM or yahoo : GreasemonkeyGI if this seems a lil hard to understand sorry iv been drinking...... but i can answer anything you need and to anyone i offended b4 diagreeing on paint methonds im sorry w/e just want this dude to have a easy paint shoot and the correct way wow thats long and im sure when i read it tomorrow il feel like a retard

 

Wow that is the longest 3 sentence paragraph I have ever seen

 

yea well i was a lil tipsy. still know my **** when im drunk.

 

That was funny as hell. I am a custom painter too so I was following along but barely making out what you were trying to say. Then I got to the end just to find out you were drunk the entire time. Everything made since then. Thanks for the laugh

 

i didnt read the whole spill.. but a little tip for trash.. after two coats of base let it flash off for about 20 min then take some 1500 and lightly 'denib' it.. then take your tack cloth and wipe it off.. then lay 1 or 2 more coats down.. it has helped me alot..

 

One other tip....don't wait to wetsand. Do it the next day before the clear has hardened completely. Trust me, it will save time. You can buff it later if you want but sanding is much easier the next day.

 

yeah.. that is for sure.. i usually try to do it within 3 days..

 

Goodness gracious firechicken, get a period dude!

 

ok so check this out....... i knew my english teachers a lil too good in school so ir eally didnt pick up on the whole period thing just another BS part of typing. <--- holy crap there is one sorry for being a retard typer but oh well i type fast. yea the 1500 between coats is a god deal too bad you cannot do it between clear . iv talked to "pro" painters that try to say you MUST wait a week b4 wetsanding and all that good stuff i want to smack them. anyways i love to paint just wish i was hope to actually do it its a real addiction. well im off to learn how to use a period oh BTW if youa re reading this and in HS dont make friends with the english teachers or they will just pass you no matter what and you will be like me. later im off to drink I HATE KOREA