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After clear coats have cured overnight (12-24 hours), color sand with 500 grit wet sandpaper. Add a small amount of mild liquid detergent to the water and soak the sandpaper for 15-20 minutes. This prevents sandpaper loading. Sand the entire vehicle flat, leaving no glossy spots. Dry as you go, so soap residue does not bite the fresh paint. After sanding, wipe the vehicle with a clean rag and water. Wipe dry. Use a tack rag to remove lint before re-coating. (Chemicals washes at this stage are not recommended.)
Note: Avoid touching the vehicle with your bare hand, as the oil from your skin may impair flow coats.
Note: When using a tack cloth, open the cloth and let stand for 15-20 minutes to eliminate resin transfer, then form the cloth into a ball and use in that manner.
Use a balsa wood block 11" L x 2" W x 3/4" thick and wrap with wet 1200 grit sandpaper. Block large areas. Avoid color sanding areas that are difficult to polish by machine without risk of burning or tearing the finish. Add a small amount of mild liquid detergent to ease sandpaper loading. Dry as you go. Many quality polishing products exist for this work. Use proven polishing pads and rubbing/polishing compounds.
Flow coats (or reflow) is the perfectionist method for finishing a topcoat clear. With this method, polishing is not required unless you desire a show quality finish, or to remove minor dirt particles. This method reduces time required to color sand and polish.
After color sanding, re-clear using 6-10 oz. of extra reducer per mixed quart using UC-1 Klear, UC-35 Klear, UFC-1 Flo-Klear, UFC-19 Komply Klear or UFC-35 Flo-Klear (needs no extra reducer). The additional reducer will give you extra flow out. Begin with a medium coat, allow flash time, and then follow with 1 or 2 wet coats. Allow flash time between coats. (For improved hardness the next day, add an additional 1-11/2 oz. of the specified catalyst to this mixture.)
After color sanding, apply 1 medium to light coat of C-1 (or SC-1) Clear thinned 200%, using a slow dry thinner. Then apply 1 wet coat. The medium/Iight coat tacks the surface, giving the wet coat that follows something to adhere to. A wet first coat may cause problems.
After the wet coat has flashed, thin the clear 300-400% and apply 1 wet coat. Check gun pattern, as this much thinner usually means narrowing the gun pattern. A spray booth with good air movement is necessary for this method.
Note: If the shop temperature is below 75°F (or if you are not in a spray booth), DO NOT USE SLOW DRY THINNER. Air movement is critical to remove the thinner during flow coats. Use a fast dry thinner and allow plenty of time between coats to prevent crazing. (Use retarder only in a spray booth with shop temperatures over 75°F.)
Polishing may be done after 1 to 3 days for urethane enamel finishes and 10 to 14 days for acrylic lacquer finishes. Dry times will vary with weather and shop conditions.
For best results use 3M™ Superbuff III Wool Pad #05703 with Extra Cut Compound #05936. Clean surface with a 50/50 mix of distilled water and alcohol and repolish any spots you may have missed. Change pad to 3M™ foam pad #05725 with Machine Glaze #05937 and buff at 1800 rpm. Finish with 3M™ Finishing Glaze #05941.
For the ultimate show finish, color sand with 1200 to 2000 grit sandpaper. Then polish, using a 1200 -1600 rpm polisher and fine hand compound.
After 60 days, the vehicle may be waxed. We recommend using a quality non-abrasive Carnauba wax.