How soon can you wet sand new paint/clear ?

[rfuerst911sc]

So in my quest to clean up " Kong " my diesel dually today I sprayed some paint and clear on the drivers door where some previous clear had peeled . Temp's here are in the mid to high 50's with rain forecast for the next 5 - 7 days . Truck is outside under a metal carport and the clear is dry to the touch . How long should I wait before I wet sand ? I'm thinking maybe Sunday ?

[Skytrooper]

I would give it at minimum a week, longer if you can. 50's are a low temperature for paint and the humidity will slow down curing

[cabmandone]

Take a look at the cure times for the product you used. It should give you some idea of how long it will take to fully cure at a given temp. Wet sand and buff once cured. Don't use a compound with sealer. Just use a straight buffing compound.

[sc_rufctr]

Back in the day (if I had time) I wouldn't touch acrylic paint for at least 90 days!

I'm not sure about 2 pack but a week as suggested sounds good.

[rfuerst911sc]

I used Dupli - Color rattle can and clear . Both cans say quick dry . Unfortunately that's all they say . I need to get this done it is holding up my graphics install .

[john70t]

In Northern California the guy that painted my car did a rough sanding after the top 50% had flash dried.
Supposedly this was to cut down the waves and let the clear breath better.

I have no idea. Probably wait to err safe since it's cold and rainy.

[brshap]

https://duplicolor.com/product/premium-acrylic-enamel

Data sheets are available on the website. Just scroll down and pick the paint you used.

[John Rogers]

Back in the day when I was painting motorcycles and vans it would depend on what the finish would be, usually very wild with flames or over-spray on lace. Nitrocellulose Lacquer would be the first choice but sadly it is no longer around. The last several jobs I did was using Dupont's Imron and it was never sanded. Probably the hardest was my buddy Steve's 1966 Corvette that he had widened all 4 fenders and added side pipes for the 540 HP engine. We sprayed 25 coats of House of Color Gold and the 25 coats of clear. Sanding was done every other day as the garage he had built was kept at 80 degrees around the clock. Just before he got out of the US Navy he drove it to a huge car show in Albany NY, won sports car, Amaerican Car and People's choice. Sold it just before he moved to Rio Brazil!


If it were me now days I would find a custom paint and see what they say.

[fastfredracing]

Is this modern 2 part auto grade clear coat, or is this rattle can enamel clear coat? Im pretty sure the professional stuff is good to go in a day . Maybe a little longer if its cold, and damp .
You can also purchase body shop grade 2 part clear in spray cans now. It works really well .
I recently painted something in the evening, and its was cold in my shop. I ran the clear, and was able to wet sand out the run, and buff it the next afternoon .
Too bad Kevin does not hang around anymore. Any other body guys ?
Modern clear coat is some really amazing stuff. An amateur like me can pull off some nice looking work.
I am hit or miss with enamel .

[rfuerst911sc]

Rattle can clear . I am going to watch the weather over the weekend and go from there . This is paint and clear that 98 percent of it will be covered with graphics .

[sugarwood]

I've waited 24 hours to wet sand clear, and never had issues.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Rattle can clear . I am going to watch the weather over the weekend and go from there . This is paint and clear that 98 percent of it will be covered with graphics .

Sunday will be fine if you are just wet sanding to remove little dust bunnies and providing a good base for mechanical adhesion of the graphics. I would use 1,500 and I would use dish washing soap in the water so there is no grabbing. You probably did not lay enough paint down to do a 600/1,000/1,500 sanding process with machine polishing like you could with a hardened two part clear.

Do not beat on the areas that will be exposed and hand polish those after graphics are applied. I don't think you should use a machine.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

Sunday will be fine if you are just wet sanding to remove little dust bunnies and providing a good base for mechanical adhesion of the graphics. I would use 1,500 and I would use dish washing soap in the water so there is no grabbing. You probably did not lay enough paint down to do a 600/1,000/1,500 sanding process with machine polishing like you could with a hardened two part clear.

Do not beat on the areas that will be exposed and hand polish those after graphics are applied. I don't think you should use a machine.

I put down about 7 - 8 light coats of paint but did get a little alligatoring but shot 3 - 4 light coats of clear anyway . My plan is to try and level the alligatoring and just clean up the slight orange peel . Then hand polish . If I have to reapply paint I will .

[speeder]

Can you get ahold of some heat lamps to help it along? Regular old halogen lamps from Home Depot on pedestals will do wonders for helping paint dry/cure.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I put down about 7 - 8 light coats of paint but did get a little alligatoring but shot 3 - 4 light coats of clear anyway . My plan is to try and level the alligatoring and just clean up the slight orange peel . Then hand polish . If I have to reapply paint I will .

I checked out your town on weather.com. Not so desirable in the 10 day window.

You don't have to bust it down to clear everything. Just flat-ish with some "divots" should be fine.

[rfuerst911sc]

Well as usual the weather forecast was way off ! Today was very nice , sunny and 65 . I parked the truck with the drivers door facing the sun . Got a good 6 hour bake . Will wet sand tomorrow or Monday and see how she looks.

[cstreit]

Limited experience on my part. Last car I did was PPG single stage paint with a catalyst. Wet sanded after 24 hours.

[rfuerst911sc]

Weather yesterday was horrible so I waited until today . I mixed up some warm water , some dish wash soap and grabbed some 1000 grit sandpaper . I had no issues with the clear being gummy it sanded great . I spent about an hour and was done . I then grabbed some mild cleaner/wax and some soft rags . It is now nice and shiny and ready for the graphics to cover it all up !

[Bill Douglas]

Good skills!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I had no issues with the clear being gummy it sanded great . I spent about an hour and was done . I then grabbed some mild cleaner/wax and some soft rags . It is now nice and shiny and ready for the graphics to cover it all up !

LOL. Outstanding!

You know this but clear the wax before graphics application.