Q on clear coating over orange peel

This has been asked a couple of times in the big Painting thread but not answered yet. Forgive my impatience...

I have a model with some orange peel (not too bad) and I intend to clear coat it and polish the clear coat. If the clear coat polishes well, will the orange peel below it still show?

And if I polish the main coat before spraying the clear coat, won't it be too smooth for the clear coat to adhere to?

Basically I'd just like confirmation that polishing a clearcoat that's over an imperfect main coat looks good...

i think as long as your orange peel isn't TOO bad or your clear coat is thick enough.. it'll be ok after the clear coat + polish.

I have had the same question as you do and people did answer me once.
you could definitely clear coat and polish the clear coat before you sand the color paint. You would only sand the color coat only when you're not gonna clear coat your car.
Hope it helps..

I must've missed that answer.

Thanks! I won't be so scared to try it anymore.

the only problem i see with that is the fact that if your paint isnt flat, the clear wont help to show the true deep-ness of the paint... especially flakes, etc... like yellow15 says, as long as it isnt too bad, the orangepeel wont really show...

so right now you see orange peel...
if you put clear paint over... will you see orange peel? clear paint is exactly that.. clear...

clearing on a polished surface is no problem..

Damn, so now the answer's changed. Time to polish.

The orange peel won't go away after you put the clear coat on. You'll still need to polish the clear flat.

I've mentioned this before, but here goes again. To see how a well polished clearcoat affects your model place it under running water. Once water runs off you'll be able to see the difference ;) But a thin film of water is an excellent way to see if the orange peel or other flaws will be remedied by clearcoating and polishing the clear.

I thought you paint a mist first then a light 2 coat then a 3rd normal and a 4th heavy with about 10 mins in between the coats 1 2 and 3 and 15 for the 4th (at least that is what I do) Then you forget about the body for a week so the paint cures (hardens) then you sand it (wet sanding or you ll burn the paint and will return to square one) unless of course you managed to get a gloss look. after sanding wash it to get the dust out. now if you had thick enough paint you will have an all sanded body with dull color and no orange peels... if you managed to get down to the primer, then you start applying the colors again. If you removed the primer (never removed the primer...) may the force be with you...

after this it is pretty much open ended road. you can polish the paint and leave it like that. put a thin coat of the same paint and polish that.

I never tried putting clear over sanded surface but you can try that.

I usually polish the color apply the decals and cover everything with clear. But I apply heavy coats of paint. If you apply light coats to cover the model you must put clear or you will ruin the paint.

Have to agreee with djmr2, Byron and Alex. Clear coat won't hide anything. If the orange peel is bad enough to be seen before clear coat it will still be visible after. With solid colours it's no problem as you can very carefully sand the orange peel out. With metallics you don't have that option.

can you clear over a sanded coat or do you generally clear over perfect gloss coat?

also, seeing as the clear is jsut pigmentless 'paint' does that mean the whole orange peel affair will rear its head again?

paint hides nothing. especially the clear kind. ;)

sand it then clearcoat it. if it isn't that bad then why not just sand it out? to thin a coat of paint? if it isn't that bad just settle with what you have.. not every model is going to be perfect. check out mine for a testimate to that :D

so i can just sand out minor orange peel and then wax?
does that mean that i'll have to wax every now and then as the shine goes?

sorry for the questions but i'm very new to this polishing lark.
the only model painting i ever did was some of the old warhammer 40k figures.