Automotive Acrylic Lacquer

I know its been covered before but, I'm trying Power Plus (Holts) auto touch up paints for the first time and having trouble getting any gloss.
Using there primer , solid colour , metallic and gloss clear. Even with 3 coats of gloss I'm not getting much shine, trying out on old unpainted bodies .
When I spray onto metal it glosses up nicely so I'm thinking primer maybe, its 25 degrees but a bit humid. Can I sand and polish the colour and or clearcoat and what polish system.

Looking forward to any help you can give me Peter.

I use alot of power plus products, its about all i can get in a can now days, firstly, always block back your undercoat with 600-800 wet/dry(wet), then i colour, 2-3 coats, i tend to put my last coat of colour on reasonably heavy,( by the way, i put mine through an air-brush, thinned slightly) then a couple of light coats of clear, then wet sand with about 1200-2000 grit wet/dry( wet again), then a couple of heavy coats of clear, this takes a bit of practice as to what you can get away with before it runs, give it a couple of days( i can't always wait that long) then i rub with 1500-2000 wet/dry( wet again) and polish with maguires POLISH followed by maguires WET LOOK. If going to BMF, i put it on before the final clear coats, that way it won't lift after time. This is how myself and Adam do it, other people may find other ways of making it work for them, if spraying from cans, use light coats, as it comes out pretty heavy anyway, hope this helps a bit mate.

I use mostly Holts but Dupli colour not Power Plus, both made by Holts but are different for some reason especially the clear, I love dupli colour clear, don't like power plus clear. I use it all from the cans but as DeeCee says, takes practice. I always used to use Dupli Colour Scratch Filler Primer (small can) but it's getting too expensive so I am trying Power Plus grey primer in a big can, seems o.k. so far. Couple of mist coats of colour then a heavy or 2, then clear, I don't mist the clear, usually give it good coats and 4-5-6-7 coats depends how it looks. I generally have mixed results as far as shinyness. but always wet sand and polish. I have a polishing kit with about 10 grades of fine sand paper (pads actually) the I only ever use Novus #2 plastic polish, found it works best for me. HTH

"...a bit humid..."

That might be your problem right there. Try polishing. IME clouding due to humidity is on the surface & polishes off.

I followed tubmans advice for automotive paints for my first go with it on my Lincoln and it turned out nice. The humidity may have been a factor. I did mine in an airconditioned room with all this rain about and it made the air dry enough to be ok.
I always warm up my paint cans and model prior to painting which may help the paint flow more smoothly too. Once painted it goes under a halogen lamp to keep it warm while it cures. This might help you too. I've noticed if I don't do that the finish is sometimes not as smooth and clear.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the help and feedback guys,
I was trying to get away from airbrushing enamels and the problems associated with that , I probably rushed the job looking for instant results.
I will try more coats of primer and colour and wet sand and polish the clear as well as warming cans and avoiding high humidity, which is a bit hard at the moment .
Thanks for the tip about the foiling as well.

Cheers Peter.

I too stopped using enamels some years ago & pretty much solely use HOK or Duplicolour touch-up paint. I decant & use my airbrush for better control/pressure. I use 2 types of primer, both avail' from Supercheap Auto, 3M Plastic primer & SCA Etch primer.
Depending on the model's body/panel state ( seam/mold lines, heavy/light lines etc, I use the Etch, after dry sanding. The Etch primer seals the body from having ghosting appear at a later stage, usually after colour coats! The 3M is just as good but thinner & I use that when not much mods were needed to the body/body panels. Both are really great! I ALWAY's wet sand after prime coats ( 2000grit).. The smoother the primed surface, the better the colour coats go on & the less orange peel appears. After I'm happy with the colour coats I wet sand with 4000 through to 8000, sometimes 12,000 grit. I then use Meguiars Medium cut No1, followed by Fine Cut No 2. When I'm happy with the results.. It's clear coating time! I use HOK 2-pack Urethane. I can control the amount of Catalyst ( hardener) to get a quicker dry time or slower dry time. I'll let it sit for a week, providing the weather's good, before I start wet sanding & polishing process again...
Here's a pic of the 2 primers...

And here's the result, so far, with my R8 Spyder in HOK Cinnamon, after wet sanding & polishing but not clear coated as yet...


Cheers Cliffo

Cliff, what do you wash/degrease the body with after cutting? The problem I have after polishing if I decide I need to reapply a clear coat is kinda like a fisheye/ silicon contaminant. Body is washed with a silicon free dish liquid, dried then washed down with warm water then air dried.

I do the exact same thing... But I don't let it air-dry... I dry it quick with a hair-dryer & wipe it down ( gently ) with a tack-cloth. I'll let it sit out for a day or 2 before I clear. ( on a humidity free day is preferred ) I probably forgot to mention I have some special ( made to fit ) Dremel 100% cotton polishing bits. These bits are supplied by an O/S mate of mine, who's LHS sell's them. You can't get them anywhere else.. Here's a pic...

Cheers Cliffo

grey six wrote:...airbrushing enamels and the problems associated with that...

What problems? Drying/gassing out time & relative softness once dried I know of but what else?

Just a question Cliff, do you sand all your colours before clear coating, including pearls and metalics, as far as I have read and heard (and from personal experience) sanding pearls and metalics without clear ruins the whole affect by sanding away the flake that makes the paint glitter if you will. I clear coat all my colour coats including solid colours before I sand, less chance of sanding a bit deep and having horrible patches on the body.

Well there's another lesson learned.

Soak styrene/plastic bodies in brake fluid and the paint just peels off.

Do the same with resin and you're gunna cry cos the resin melts from underneath the paint.

All the years doin this I never had to strip a resin body till now and never stopped to think what might happen.

Like the sign on my garage wall always reminds me and I often ignore it any way, Stupid Hurts.

Tubman wrote:Just a question Cliff, do you sand all your colours before clear coating, including pearls and metalics, as far as I have read and heard (and from personal experience) sanding pearls and metalics without clear ruins the whole affect by sanding away the flake that makes the paint glitter if you will. I clear coat all my colour coats including solid colours before I sand, less chance of sanding a bit deep and having horrible patches on the body.

Tub's, mate it literally depend's on the individual car's initial colour coats & if I'm happy with how it laid down. All my paints, for my builds are usually pearls or metallics. I've alway's sanded them prior to clear-coating, on 1 level or another. I usually wet-sand with either 4000-6000, sometime's I've only needed to lightly wet sand with 8000. It really, as I said, depends on how much or how little orange peel can be noticed after a few days gassing out. On my current builds I've made sure the priming etc is all as smooth & straight as I can get it prior to colour coats & therefore they've needed very little sanding at all, especially since I got these new cotton dremel polishing bits from my O/S mate. It's made life alot easier... & the paint jobs that much smoother. In my pic above of the R8 Spyder, which is my first using the new polishing bit it's great! I know it's hard to see in the pic but there's no loss of pearl to my eye..
Cheers Cliffo.

Brake fluid is great (on styrene - as Carps has discovered it turns resin into a blob of jelly) but can cause embrittlement of some plastics leading to breakages if you are not particularly carefull. I suspect it is due to the BF leaching out the plasticisers from the styrene. Lindberg plastic seems particulary prone to it.
It will also loosen glue joints - even styrene cement - and don't even think about putting vinyl tyres in it...