i have put about 60+ hours into snading and have a lot more to do .
i got my paint from SW and i hope that it works good...

 

The SW color is Ok but the clear dries very quickly and comes out hard as a rock making it difficult to color sand and buff.

I had almost too many minor issues to go into but one of them was the clear setting up too fast not forming a smooth coat. Besides water droplets, the temp was in the low 100's making it dry too fast. Sure was a pain to sand smooth.

 

what if its about 70? would it still dry too fast?

 

Probably not. They make three different hardners for that particular paint. Just make sure you have the right one.

You can add a retarder to slow down drying but everyone in Dallas was sold out because it's been such a hot summer. Guessing by the unavailabilty of the retader I not the only one whom ran into that issue.

As mentioned, this is my first and last paint job.

 

Doesn't SW make a few different kinds of clears? I thought they had a jamming clear, spotting clear, and one for shooting complete cars. I think you can use other reducers (different brands) if you know if the clear is reactive or not. PPG has a reactive system, but it is an older system. Also, most systems of paint these days have universal reducers used in both base and clear. They went to this system in the late nineties when they couldn't figure out how to keep paint from delaminating. The big motor companies were mixing different brands together. PPG sealer, diamont base, SW clear and the UV protection wasn't the same and would bake the sealer causing a loss in adheasion. Make sure you use a mixing cup to mix up the paint and follow the directions exactly. I am in AZ, so we constantly have to work in hot conditions.I would love to paint in 70 degrees, Turn up the air pressure on the gun. I used 35 psi for base and almost 60 psi for the clear. The HVLP guns need more pressure at the gun. The low pressure comes out at the nozzle. There are guns that can utilize lower air pressure, so I would ask pro that is use to the kind of gun you use for pressure settings. Most the guys at the paint store have read the info sheet, but have very little knowledge of actual use. The gun is your best freind, a quality gun with the right mix of paint and a monkey can shoot a good paint job. As everyone keeps saying it is in the prep job.

 

crap... i dont have a monkey. i guess ill have to do it.