getting a good finish on top coat.

[lydanial]

have had a plastic repair on my fairing, after that i spent ages filling the tiny imperfections, sanding etc.
then primed it and applied colour, i even did a few 1200 wet sands in between to keep the paint looking good.

everything was perfect until the top coat, this has gone to a point that it doesnt look like i have full coverage and where it has its orange peelish.

anyway checking the internet it suggests waiting a couple days for it to completely harden and then 1200 wet sand and then use a buffing compund to bring it out... worried that i may actually completely ruin a week of hard work.

please suggest ideas, I am so pissed off as i was going to do everything and then get a spray booth to top coat it for me.... grrrrr

[Frost]

Were you sanding the primer with 1200? If so i'd say that was too fine.
Were you sanding the colour with 1200? If so, why? You shouldn't need multiple layers of colour and it shouldn't need sanding it should be perfect from the primer being totally flat. Obviously things can go wrong and you can need to fix things...

The paint needs to be completely dry and quite hard before you put the clear coat on. But it must also be dust and finger print free. You can put a few coats of clear on the colour but you have to let them dry a bit inbetween or paint will run and take forever to dry totally.

Provided you've not messed everything up too badly the clear coat will eventually harden and can be polished up. you can start with something as harsh as say 400 grit to get rid of a run, but be bloody careful. Otherwise you want 1000+ working up to 2000 to get rid of orange peel. Remember the finer the grit, the more time it takes, but the less chance you you fucking things up! Once you're at 2000 grit you can get busy with the polish. I've even used Autosol in the past when i've had nothing else and the finish actually came out very nice

[lydanial]

dont mind waiting as spent a bit of time on it already, but how long would you say to harden so i can start the sanding?

should i sand it wet or dry? i will probably go over it gently with 800 and work my way up?

someone also said that the top coat takes a long time to fully cure and so if im out on it and splat a few flies they may actually permanently mark it??

[swampy]

Did you degrease after flatting the primer ? Only with the orange peeling and poor coverage it sounds a bit like the paint aint sticking for some reason... That said I am in no way an expert on this sort of shizzle..
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[Frost]

The paint contracts as it drys, uneven thickness causes uneven drying and uneven tightness.
I always wet sand the top coat as the paper lasts longer. I usually wait at least a week before doing it, as i don't know about your paintwork i'd say wait 2 just to be sure.

[andym]

Hi, depending on how bad the finish is, you could try sanding it back till it's smooth then give it a good going over with a coloured T-cut although you have to wait a week before cutting.

Never noticed an orange peel effect unless I've sprayed too much on at one time though