I have never worked with clear coat before, and painted my 67 myself. As expected there were plenty of flaws that I discovered as I wet sanded 1500 and 2000, but I was able to fix most of them. I let it dry 3 weeks before sanding, then used 3 m cutting compound and polish. While the car looks really good at a distance, I have fine scratches everywhere, and nothing seems to work to give me the glassy finish I was hoping for. I have been told that they are so fine that wax or ceramic finish will hide them, but would like to know if this is normal. It is really hard to get pictures, as the light and angle have to be just right to see them.

 

I don't think you went fine enough. 3M has a process which includes some Trizact pads that go to 8000. I followed the 3M process exactly with finer and finer product, both compound and pads. My silver car just glows in the sunlight or under florescent lighting. I doubt that wax will hide the scratches and I have no intention of ever waxing my car.

As long as you have enough clear, look up their process and follow it. I put four coats of PPG clear down and like you waited for weeks to start the process. And watch the edges.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/collisio...ishing-system/

I followed their older process which included compounds as well as the trizact pads. Important to keep all the elements separate and uncontaminated from coarser cuts.

 

I help at a local body shop a couple days a week on their resto projects. I'm the king of block of sanding and just moved up to wet color sanding. I'm tasked with color sanding the large panels staying away from the ridges and edges. The more skilled guys do those.
We start with 1000 on a rubber pad. 1000 will get rid of the orange peel. Then 1500 on a rubber pad to get rid of the 1000 sand scratches. Then 3000 on a rubber pad to get rid of 1500 scratches. Once you finish with the 3000 you can see the shine coming back. Then three levels of polish. I don't do that either. Maybe some day.
I think you need to go back with 3000. Then repolish. As said above be real careful on the edges.

 

Ignatz, your car is amazing! I have to decide now if I want to risk sanding through the clear. I too put on 4 coats, but lots of polishing has gone on.

why don’t you wax?

 

Thanks. As to waxing, I figure the less scuffing with anything, no matter how soft, the better. Paint job is over ten years old and you wouldn't know it. The only product I've used is a light touch with 3M Clean & Shine, or equivalent. Quick and easy. Car was a daily driver for some 40+ years, but since retirement, no such duty is required.

Good luck with your polishing if you choose to do it. To see the shine coming out after all the rough stuff is done gives one a real sense of pride. I have to say your vintage car has a lot mor complexity to its shape so I can understand your reluctance.

 

How many of the 8000 discs does it take to do whole car

 

I don't have an answer to that as 3M has changed their process. However you would need to work your way up to that fine grit in any event. Their pads are pretty durable. If you look at this snapshot you'll see that their older process which I followed used compounding and polishing pads along with a quart each of their compounds. So if that's what you do, that is all you need. And if memory serves I skipped the 5000 step. All I was working towards was taking out orange peel and you can easily see when that irregularity disappears. Then it's just removing the scratches from that. Guessing your orange peel is gone.. You need go no deeper.

You have to use your best judgement and work first on an area where you know you have a lot of clear coat like the rear deck so you get a feel for what's working. And you likely can't jump to 8000 immediately. Plus these disks are remarkably expensive. As 71 says, 3000 would be the next step and for me I went to compound and their three grades of polishing pads after that. You can read their caveat below as to not use 5000 in place of 3000. I assume you are not doing this by hand, that would be bloody awful. You could choose to follow their newer Trizact process, I assum 3M knows what works, but I have nothing to say about that..

I don't want to say anything that would mislead you, but finer and finer takes off progressively less material. You have to watch the edges and don't mix up your pads. I taped the fender edges, there's still a little bid of orange peel if I look real hard.

 

Today I spent 3 hrs sanding 1500, 2000, 3000, 5000, then compounding and polishing a 2x2 section of the rear hatch! Over and over. I managed to get out some of the worst scratches, but also put more in. And I never went through the clear. I put a lot on! I think it is just too soft even though two months have passed. I will get the car out in out hot Utah sun, and enjoy it. Try paint correction later. The car looks great as long as you aren't good and close.

 

Two part clear? Water base or solvent based? Mine was solvent base PPG Deltron 2002 with catalyst and rock hard after a couple of weeks. No such experience like yours.

I've lost my data sheet unfortunately but I am curious what your supplier says. Looks good from here.

 

My neighbor has a body shop, and this is what his paint supplier recommended. Catalyzed 2:1:1 mix. I was very careful with measuring, but did put it on too fast. I will go there soon and talk to them. If it hasn’t resolved by late summer, I may rough it up and shoot another coat of clear.

 

The PPG product I used has temperature sensitive reducers designed to allow the clear to "flash" (give up its reducers) in time for the next coat). If you put the next coat on "too quickly" you possibly have trapped some reducers, and that is me hypothesizing. That's about all I can add.

I will add my previous paint jobs were learning experiences but on this car that was all behind me. I can't see what you're seeing but from here your car looks great. I am still wrestling with my touch up job.

 

Just a note again at the body shop that I help at we do all the color sanding by hand. No power tools until final compounding and final buffing. Yeah it is a lot of work.

 

We are having a crappy day here in Utah, so I decided to see what I could do with the worst flaw in my paint job. It was a 3x3 area above the front tire where I pulled off all the paint when removing tape. I had filled it with paint, and re shot the clear, and in the sun it looked great. But under the shop lights it jumped out at you. Of course it is on the side that is visible in the shop too!
I had purchased a buffer by Gryots long after my paint job was finalized. But I figured that I might be painting again, and it was cheap on Marketplace. I just used the same pad and 3m cutting compound as before. Ten minutes and it was gone! I haven't been this excited since the first time I got the headlights working. I then went after some of the scratches in the same area of the fender and they disappeared as well.

I allowed 3 weeks for the paint to cure after painting. But the car was in a trailer with the ramp down. I then started to cut with a wool pad but it was scratching everything, so I switched to foam. Still I couldn't get the flaws out, and neither could a detailer who worked on it all day in my shop.

I think that the clear just hadn't hardened. Almost a year and I can now get the finish I was hoping for.

Touching up wheel wells was not worth this. I learned to pull tape off parallel to surface

This is how it looked after lots of sanding cutting and polishing. You couldn't see it in the sun, but indoors it jumped out at you

Today it's gone!