not getting shine

Im not getting any shine. I've painted three coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, and so far one coat of clear coat. I don't know if i should do a couple more coats of clear coat. But can anybody tell me whats going wrong. I've read the faq and pmans tutorial - ive tired that before but i did something wrong. :feedback:

Have you lightly wet sand it and polish with compound and finish with wax?

No but i plan to get some tamiya compound, but what wax should i get?

Pics of the finish would help us help you. Off the top of my head...maybe you painted too far away from the model, didn't spray evenly or speed of spray wasn't slow enough, environment and can was too cold (a cold can and spraying too far away is a problem on top of another) etc. etc.

If the finish isn't that bad, let the paint dry for awhile and polsih the model with a polishing kit and some wax (optional compound in between). Compound alone isn't going to bring shine to an uneven surface on a roughly painted model. Compound at best will remove slight orange peel but even then the finish may not be a flat surface.

Wax....I use Tamiya wax. For my models I use the Detail Masters polishing cloth kit, Tamiya Fine Compound (blue), Tamiya Ultra Fine Compound (gray) and than the Tamiya wax.

What type/brand of paint are you using? Acrylic/Lacquer/Enamel? Can or airbrush?

Orange peel really robs shine. Maybe you got it.

the shine, you should have a great shine with that much paint.

heres my process, so far it has worked well for me

Body work
sand
primer
Wet sand primer with 2000 grit
wash clean
coat of color
Wet sand with 2000 grit
second coat of color
wet sand
final light coat of color
light light light sand it with 2000-3000 grit
wash clean with soap and water and let air dry

1 light coat of clear coat
add a second small coat of clear

thats how i get a nice shine, the wet sanding between coats really helps let the next coat of piant have a smooth clean surface. After washing the body always let airdry in a clean dust free area, becuase the dust can KILL a awsome paint job.

well it has worked for me and i know other people do it in similar ways with wet sanding and that. i spend a good week on a paint job on a car!

I used tamiya British green in a spray can. But thee part that wasn't shiny was the truck bed. I didn't paint the front of the tuck so when i did this is how it cam out. 3 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint, one coat of clear coat. I think im pretty happy. :) I will strip the paint off of the bed and redo it. Thanks for all your replies, and help. Oh yah and do you guys think i should do one more coat of clear coat. Anyway thanks for all the help.
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it dont seem to be that bad it looks nice. i can see some minor orange peel nothing to big i think if you were to wet sand it out and add a new clear coat and polish would help it out

Thanks , i will try to get some compound and wax soon. :)

add some clear coat. But make faster moves and spray closer. When the look gets 'wet' stop spraying.

I would like to make a suggestion if i could.
try laying down your primer, then lightly sand with 2000 to remove any orange peel in the primer.
spray your color how you prefer. i personally do a couple of mist coats then one final wet coat and make sure to cover the car well.
finally shoot the clear the same way as the color coat, but instead of 1 coat of clear try several.
once you let the paint cure for several days, i highly suggest a micromesh polishing kit. if your orangepeel isn't bad then leave off about 2 of the coarser grits. keep the cloth's wet and lightly polish in a circular motion. On the first cloth make sure to completely level out the clear, you will be able to tell b/c when the paint is even it will all look dull. then move up cloth by cloth and make sure to completely remove all the previous swirl marks. Remember that you want to let the cloth's do the work so don't apply but the slightest pressure. before you progress to another cloth, rinse off the body and check it to make sure it's even. once finished with all the cloth's wash and you can hit it again with polishing compound, then just wash and wax.

I was nervous about trying it my first time, but i just took my time and had no problems.
good luck!

Thanks, i will lok into that micromesh kit. Ill probably be heading to my lhs and see if they have it. :)

Wet Coat! Wet Coat! Wet coat!

Apply a few light coverage coats and then 1 or 2 heavy wet coats where you spray a bit closer. Thats how you get the glossy look without the need for a clear.

Check out Pman and Alex's (Kustov) guides.


Cheers

Farrokh