tips on applying laquer

[bmw9818]

i done a repair job resprayed it, it was very cold so i used a hairdryer to dry the paint its come out very nice, how long should i wait for the paint to fully dry before i apply the laquer? done a job before and it began bubbling

[German-Whips]

I'd say give it 24 or more hours.

Let the fresh paint harden and settle itself properly before applying another coat of paint or laquer on top which could stop it from hardening properly.

Cheers

[Kos]

if its a base that requires a clear coat of paint you can do it straight away.

[bmw9818]

how many coats do i need to apply for a shiny finish, i just done a few and it still looks matt finish? was i meant to sand down my final coat of paint? before applying laquer with 2000 grit e.tc

[CHR1S1990]

if its a base that requires a clear coat of paint you can do it straight away.

+1

and in response to your last post, if it looks matt I would instantly imagine overspray (although sounds unlikely if you are spraying somewhere cold). Depends on what you're painting really to how many coats, about 3 would be fine then wet&dry the lacquer and then polish to a nice shine. You shouldnt need to flat down the colour coat.

remember to leave it quite a while though (days) before sanding/polishing though to allow lacquer to properly harden

[CHR1S1990]

reading your first post again, i wouldnt use a hairdryer at all and hence maybe the reason for the matt finish to your lacquer (assuming you are doing it still)

[bmw9818]

i done about 6 coats of paint on white primer you could sort of still see it through,so i had to do a bit more and blend it in they were very thin coats though, i used a hairdryer hovering over on low to give it some heat,

respraying the rear my car in red, rest of the body is nice and shiny then it blends into a matte finish?

so should i apply a few more coats of laquer then give it a wet polish with some 2000 grit

[bmw9818]

reading your first post again, i wouldnt use a hairdryer at all and hence maybe the reason for the matt finish to your lacquer (assuming you are doing it still)

could it be that? should i just let it dry naturally then it took about 5 mins for the laquer to touch dry with the hairdryer, il leave it out let it dry normal for a coat or 2

[CHR1S1990]

definitely would say its the hair dryer - i would never do this. Lacquer is the hardest to get right. It can be okay to paint in cooler temperatures as, the longer you leave it to settle before it actually cures, the better finish it can look. However, it will take a lot longer to dry and you run the risk of it running if you put on too thick of a layer - try to get a compromise between an orange peel effect and drips.

[lance1a]

I do this all the time. I prep, paint, clearcoat and wet sand all in the same day. I apply the paint using a lamp to help to flash the paint in cold weather (like the Audi I did yesterday) then apply a quick thin layer of clear, let it flash and then a few more coats. I leave that for an hour or so and do another two layers of fairly thick clear. I let it stand for two housr and Trizact the area with soapy water and a wet 300/400 grit pad. You have to make sure the paint itself is fairly set or the clear will become mottled as it reactivates the paint if you apply it too soon. If it's a silver it might bring out the darker constituents of the silver paint that become highlighted in blotches if the clear is applied too thick and too soon.

[CHR1S1990]

whats the ? for

using a lamp to help "flash" and a hairdyer to directly dry are two different things

[lance1a]

The ? is for having to wait days to sand the area. Hairdyers just tend to stir up dust and leave bloom marks IMO. I find that with base and clear a few hours are all that's required prior to wet sanding if you do it carefully enough.

[aze30]

sometimes in cold temps laquer can go milky leaving a matt finish as the condensation causes this
in these circumstances it is wise to warm the panel up when applying laquer i.e the reason why bodyshops often use oven bake spray booths

dont directly use the hairdryer on the paint itself, use the hairdryer to warm the panel your applying paint to and apply the paint while the panel is still warm

i painted a few panels on a few projects in this way and it worked a treat

[CHR1S1990]

sometimes in cold temps laquer can go milky leaving a matt finish as the condensation causes this
in these circumstances it is wise to warm the panel up when applying laquer i.e the reason why bodyshops often use oven bake spray booths

dont directly use the hairdryer on the paint itself, use the hairdryer to warm the panel your applying paint to and apply the paint while the panel is still warm

i painted a few panels on a few projects in this way and it worked a treat

+1

hence why infrared heaters are the best. and as you said dont put the hairdryer on directly for given reasons, besides the fact youd be blowing dust straight at your nice wet paint

[aze30]

sometimes in cold temps laquer can go milky leaving a matt finish as the condensation causes this
in these circumstances it is wise to warm the panel up when applying laquer i.e the reason why bodyshops often use oven bake spray booths

dont directly use the hairdryer on the paint itself, use the hairdryer to warm the panel your applying paint to and apply the paint while the panel is still warm

i painted a few panels on a few projects in this way and it worked a treat

+1

hence why infrared heaters are the best. and as you said dont put the hairdryer on directly for given reasons, besides the fact youd be blowing dust straight at your nice wet paint

yup lol what i normally do is take the interior trim off the panel and apply the heat from inside.
for example if i was painting a door, i would take the door card off and set a room heater inside the car facing the doorskin from the inside making the panel warm ready to paint
that way ive got a warm panel without the dust

[snakebrain]

dont directly use the hairdryer on the paint itself, use the hairdryer to warm the panel your applying paint to and apply the paint while the panel is still warm

i painted a few panels on a few projects in this way and it worked a treat

Amazing the difference this makes. I refurbed a couple of sets of headlights recently and after sanding (and a good scrub in soapy water and a rinse) put the back-plates in a very low, about 40-50 celsius, oven for 20 mins then painted with Hammerite straight-to-metal paint that had been standing in warm water for an hour. I also put a couple of big worklights that generate a fair bit of heat on them while they dried. The result was much, much better than my previous effort..