fixing spec of primer through base

J

Joe028

This forum has been invaluable to read and gain knowledge from, thank you! I have talked with Barry a couple times, I'm amazed at how helpful he is. I've got a question for the group on how you would fix this mistake. I'm definitely learning a lot from my mistakes!!

I've got several specs of white sealer showing through my basecoat. I used white epoxy sealer, then red solid base and universal clear. I think what happened is dust specs landed on the surface after the white sealer, but were not removed until I started wet sanding the clear coat (lesson learned). Now there is a nice little spec of white among the beautiful red.

I've got the hood sanded to 1000 so far and now thinking of respraying 1 coat of base and 2 coats clear over the whole thing since there are enough specs that irritate me.

I've got some on the roof of the car as well. I was wondering if there was an easier technique to spot fix, as I'd prefer not to respray the whole body of the car, especially in the less obvious places.

I've already got the SPI blending agent for a fix in a different spot, maybe that is needed here too.

Thanks!!
 

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Not really an easy fix that I know of. The only correct way is a respray. You will spend as much time trying to spot it, and end up with an inferior repair. Been there many, many times. The preventative measure is when tacking your first coat of base, look and feel for big chunks of trash and sand them flat before proceeding. Same thing after final coat of base. Sand and spot base where necessary before clear.
 
If you respray it, you will want to put more than 2 coats of clear on it if you plan to cut and buff it. Absolute bare minimum 3 coats. Even better to apply more than that. One session 4-5 coats or two sessions of 3 coats, sand with 600 then 3 more coats. Also 1000 grit is too fine to spray over. 600-800 wet would be much better.
 
Ok thanks. So to clarify, to respray, I would sand 600 over the whole hood. Then treat it just like from the "perfect paint job" document. Spray 2-3 coats of base and then clear as Chris described.

Dumb question time... It doesn't work to sand the whole hood 600, then spot spray base on the specs, then clear the whole hood.... right? I'm not trying to cut corners, just didnt know if that is even possible to do that way since a lot of the hood still came out fine.
 
You could sand the hood with 600, spot, then clear. No reason to spray 2-3 coats of base on the whole hood. You could also use a gray Scotch Brite wet with scuff stuff (I use Ajax, myself) over what you have now and that would be fine. As Chris said, at least 3 more coats of clear, depending how aggressive you sand before buffing.
 
I have sometimes got to wonder if what we are striving for is really what we want. If this is not a true competition show car, that spec is never going to be seen after the color sanding and buffing. After five minutes has gone by since you ran a duster over the car, there will be many specs on it bigger than that one. You can not keep a car dust free unless you are cleaning it every five minutes.

It certainly is fine if you feel the need to correct it but I think it is also fine if you shrug and say "Oh well." You obviously are going to have a beautiful car but even if you could make it perfect, you can't drive it, enjoy it, and keep it perfect for too long.

Obviously, when it is customer work, there is one other person's opinion to consider. :)

John
 
I totally get what you are saying John. Problem is, as I sand more panels, I'm finding it's not just 1 spec. I mark each one with tape and before you know it there are 15 spots on one panel. I don't want a show car, but I'll see those specs cause I know they are there and it will drive me nuts.

Tonight I prepped the hood for a respray like you guys suggested. Just too many blemishes for a hood in my opinion. I got out the orange peel with 600 then gray scuff and ajax, cleaned and ready for base.

I'm going to need to respray some other panels of the car as well. I've got about 1/2 gallon of sprayable base. texasking, so you're saying spotting in and then clearing over the whole panel is perfectly acceptable? I was thinking just doing the whole panel, but if I don't need to order more paint that would be nice too.

Also, it is a solid color. As long as my mix ratio is the same and temp/humidity is close, I shouldn't have any trouble with color being the same from one panel to the next, correct? Since they would have been painted different days, etc.

Thanks!
 
I would worry about spraying 2 more coats edge to edge causing a mismatch. Chances are you don't have complete coverage, but having a uniform undercoat, the perception is it is completely covered. Spraying 2 more coats will get it closer to complete coverage, and your panels will probably be darker than the rest of the car. Spotting the white spots and blending out slightly will not be noticeable. Just try to keep as much color off the "edges" as possible. Complete coverage with a red is at least 4-5 coats, some more. Make sure those panels are completely cleaned of any sanding residue, or it can show when cleared over.
 
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Ok makes perfect sense what you are saying. Sand the full panel with 600, clean very well, spot and blend in the base, and 3+ coats of clear over the whole panel. As I revisit the "Perfect Paint Job" document, I realize that sounds a lot like option 2 of layering the clear over multiple days. I'm just going back a step to fix the basecoat problems first!
 
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