Engine Bay Project

[stimpy29]

So with our pseudo long weekend up here in the great white north, I finally had some time to spend some quality moments with my 69 Barracuda project. I posted some of my progress to this thread, but was encouraged to start a new thread.

So over the past three days, we managed to add a second coat of primer, sand until my knuckles bled and add two coats of red (Crimson R6) top coat and then two clear coats. Over all, I have mixed feelings with the results. The color is great, we managed to do a decent job with the painting considering we were doing it in a garage. However, there seems to be a lot of orange peel to the texture. Here's a few pictures of the work completed over the weekend. Would anyone happen to know if a good buffing or wet sanding would smoothen out this texture?

 

[daves66valiant]

wetsanding. should get most of it

 

[stimpy29]

wetsanding. should get most of it

Thanks for the quick reply.

What grit? Will 1500 do?

 

[oldkoot]

Start with 1500 then finish it off with 3000. You'll have a lot less buffing and a nicer final finish.

 

[stimpy29]

Start with 1500 then finish it off with 3000. You'll have a lot less buffing and a nicer final finish.

Thanks for the advice. Is there a buffing compound that you recommend?

 

[oldkoot]

I've used Meguiars Professional series for years with good results. If you follow my suggestions then their Dual Action cleaner will be all you need and you can finish that off with Speed Glaze then a coat of your favorite polish/wax.

 

[daves66valiant]

sometimes all you need to do is go to 2000. then compound with wool at 1200 rpm, then a polsih with foam pad to get the wool scratches out, then glaze. wax as needed

sanding to 3000 does reduce the amount of product and buffing you have to do

been using 3m with good results

 

[AdamR]

Looks good.

Dont put wax on it for at least a month though. The paint needs to cure first.

 

[stimpy29]

Just a quick update. I've noticed that there are some thin spots in the hard to reach places, and I'm thinking of adding a couple more coats of the red. Can I just sand off the clear coat or would I have to go back to the primer coats?

 

[redfastback]

Looks good. Use POLISH NOT WAX. Polish allows the paint to breathe, wax doesn't. Wait 3 months to use wax.

 

[AdamR]

Yes, you can sand down the clear and shoot another coat of color if you need to.

 

[stimpy29]

It's been awhile, but we've made some good progress with the car. Here's a couple of updated shots.

It might just make the road some time this summer. :cheers: