Compounding...

[Sebstar]

Hey everybody.
Sorry for all these newb threads but I already stuffed up the shell once and don't plan on repeating this. Anyway I finished spraying my rx7 a few hours ago and it's sitting in a never before opened cupboard (dust free!) drying away. It does have a few air bubbles because the paint was too thick, but luckily it doesn't have any runs in the paint or anything. It does however have orange peel all over.
So when should I start sanding the paint? I am under the impression to wait about a week or 10 days and then start the sanding and compounding. Will the sanding get rid of the air bubbles? How hard should I sand (I got 4 layers of paint on most areas, but not all).

Either way, thanks for the help and hopefully this will be the last of such noobie threads from me

Seb

[RallyRaider]

Depends what type of paint you're using. The simple answer is to wait until the paint is dry, but there are many variables that will determine how long that is. Things like type of paint, thickness, ambient temperature and humidity. Given that you say you have air bubbles forming I guess the layers of paint were pretty thick! The harder the paint the more effective the final sand and polish will be.

Sanding won't get rid of the air bubbles unless you sand back all the clear layer to get to the bottom of the bubble. You may try another layer after some sanding to fill the cavity in and sanding back again. It is a wise idea to use many thin layers rather than one thick one. I'm sure that type of advice is in that FAQ, you've read it havent you? At least seven or eight times?

As to how hard to sand that will obviouly change depending on the state of the surface. Lots of orange peel then use a course paper and go hard (but careful). As a prelude to compounding you'll want to use the finest grit you've got and use a light touch. Good luck.

[David_]

isn't sanding a bit risky? u release all the dust into the air... just get rid of all the paint and redo... (tho im also a noob, and this is most likely a noobish answer)

[freakray]

Originally Posted by David_

isn't sanding a bit risky? u release all the dust into the air... just get rid of all the paint and redo... (tho im also a noob, and this is most likely a noobish answer)

No, sanding is not 'a bit risky' if you follow the advice in the FAQ.
When you sand paint, you wet sand, this means you keep the sandpaper wet by continuously dipping it in some water.
This serves multiple purposes, it helps prevent any dust forming since the water traps the dust and another is it keeps the sandpaper from clogging.

Make sure to wash the model thoroughly after wetsanding, or any sanding for that matter, to remove all the dust and residue on the model.

Not all bad paint jobs must be stripped, it is possible to save a bad paint job, as Phil mentioned.

[Sebstar]

there aren't as many air bubbles as you might think. only maybe about 5 over the entire body (like one on the front bumper, small though, and one on the sideskirt). They only came after the last coat of paint as well (the one i had to do to fix up some patches I kinda missed)
I spose I'll just wait till mid next week and then try my luck at wetsanding. its a good thing that the bonnet is a seperate piece which means I can work that first

and yeh, read the FAQ more than 10 times already, hehe. And I did do 2 thin layers, 1 medium and one close. im getting there dude. first car mate

[primera man]

Originally Posted by Sebstar

It does however have orange peel all over.

If it is really really bad you are going to run the risk of sanding through to the primer.
Just leave for a week and lightly sand it and see how it goes, but IMO you well end up stripping it right back and starting again to get it looking right.

[Sebstar]

well the orange peel isn't very bad, it's just everywhere. I wouldn't call it strong orange peel. The car just isn't shiny... I've seen far worse examples on this board. I wish I had a digi-cam so i could take a photo but mum's digi-cam in her phone doesn't have a cord to connect to the computer. I see what I can do.

And not to worry, this is my first model

PS: the paint looks more like eggshell type and the place where I sprayed once is shinier than the rest of the car. So in future I might try my luck with 1 coat of paint, lol...
PPS: It pretty much looks like the surface of the Intellieye Mouse, a bit shinier though, but the texture is almost spot on... worth saving?