fixing my clear coat.

[Edgefevah]

So here is a picture of my truck.
the clearcoat from looking at the picture shows that it is peeling everywhere!!! I would like to know what would be the best way to go about fixing this.

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I have experience doing my own painting from other vehicles so I have a pretty good idea what to do. just want some friendly pointers

I havent decided what color to paint it yet but was wondering what sort of power sander would you guys recommend?

 

[Hooligan2c]

Mine is doing that in spots too and I don't know how to paint lol. If you re-paint the truck any chance of making a progress thread on it? I'd like to atleast strip the paint myself

 

[Edgefevah]

Yeah I'll be repaintin it myself sometime this summer hopefully. I just don't know what the best method of prepping it would be without taking all the paint off.
I would like to be able to take just the clear coat off and scuff the original pain and then repaint it but not sure how to go about that. Whether u should invest in a power sander of some sort or just hand sand it.

 

[dogboy]

Hand sanding would be a pain in the ass!!!
I'd scuff the basecoat areas enough to get the oxidation off, then use a DA sander to sand the rest until all the failing areas are gone, and feathered out. If you don't prime the spots where the clear ends, it will most likely wrinkle when sprayed, that's my experience.
There is a huge difference in doing the job right to make it look new, and doing it good enough to make paint stick, and shine.

 

[Edgefevah]

Do you recommend a specific DA sander?

 

[ZMan]

ya you'll have to start fresh on that, sand it down with 180 grit, prime it, block it with 400 grit, paint it.

 

[dogboy]

I would not use a cheap DA from some place like Harbor Frieght. The nicer a DA, the smoother it operates. If you're only using a DA for 1 job, I'd try and find somebody to borrow one from.
I have a Mac Tools DA, and I think it was $250. I used it for 2 years all the time at work. I did autobody.

Looking back, I should have said to strip the clear, not just in the failed areas. There is no reason to go past the sealer though. The clear is what failed, and the base is oxidized, but the sealer should be fine, and in my opinion does a better job of sticking to the metal than what ever you could lay down.

Just for a second opinion on prep, I'd 180 it down to sealer (trying to break through as little as possible), then 320 to feather out any areas that need it, and remove the 180 scratches. Prime everything, and prep the primer with 180/block, then 320/block, then give a good sanding with 600 wetsand and a block. Everybody has thier preferred steps, that's mine. Metallics can be very sensitive to sanding scratches where as solid colors are a lot more forgiving (a solid white can almost get away with just doing 320, but I don't recomend it) On silvers, I use 800 wetsand not 600, just to make sure no sanding scratchs show through.

 

[ZMan]

He'll be fine with a harbor freight da, as long as its the palm sander.

 

[Frank The Tank]

I would wet sand it with a green scuff pad. Then hit it with a red, final wipe it (or usr alcohol) and paint it.

 

[ZMan]

I would wet sand it with a green scuff pad. Then hit it with a red, final wipe it (or usr alcohol) and paint it.

Scuff pads dont sand, they scuff. If you want to sand something flat or feather something out, its gonna take sand paper.

 

[Edgefevah]

So I shouldn't have to take all the clearcoat off, just make sure I feather it well? and sand the oxidized paint. As far as what grits to use I know what I need.

Has anyone done any body work using a Random Orbit electric disc sander?

 

[shane96ranger]

Please post pics as you go along, I need to do this to the shell on my F150.

 

[Edgefevah]

Well, i aquired myself a sander. I ended up buying an elextric sander not the best option but I dont have access to air and buying a compressor right now is not in the budget. bought this sander "GV-5010" I wasnt sure what to think about it at first but I started on the hood to see how I liked it and it works quite well (just need to buy a proper foam backing pad). I managed to get down to bare metal a few times but I am not too concerned about this as I will just need to get ahold of some etching primer instead of using regular sandable primer.

As far as paint goes I have not bought it yet still trying to decide between a dark blue or grabber blue or perhaps somethign else I am open to suggestions. I want somethign that wont make the imperfections in the paint show.

ON the subject of Bondo.... is this stuff relatively easy to use? provided I follow the directions.

I am open to paint colour ideas. keep in mind though that the bottom part of the truck from the body line down will be getting done in bedliner.

 

[Frank The Tank]

Every paint will show imperfections.... Black is the worst.

Bondo is easy but you will be terrible at it for a while. Make sure the surface is very clean. If you apply directly to metal (no epoxy) don't let it sit unpainted more than a day or two. Moisture will penetrate the bondo.

Fiberglass will hold up better for any big fill spots.

If its your first time paint a single stage enamel from somewhere like Kirker is very affordable and easy. It holds up pretty good also. Be ready to spend several hours taping off and doing a lot of razor work. Please jam out the doors properly and not overspray the window gaskets. That will lower the value of any vehicle.

 

[Edgefevah]

well after using that sander for awhile I returned it as I was concerned that it would leave swirl marks and affect the end result of the paint. So i bought a random orbit disc sander works 'TONNES' better. Got most of one side of the truck sanded and just need to do the other side and the hood.

Do I need to sand all of the clear off?

Or do I just need to rough up the surface with sanding and feather the edges?

Ill be posting a pic of my work thus far:


Most of the sanding done here was done by the first sander, which ate through the paint more then I wanted, either way the three tone (bare metal, blue, black paint) is growing on me and im thinking of just clearing it.

This pic shows where I haven't completely sanded down all the clear in the bottom 1/3 of the pic. Should I be worried about leaving this or should I sand this clear completely off before possibly painting it.