[STATUTORY GRAPE]

I painted my hood with acryllic eneamel on Tuesday and I want to sand and buff it. Should I wait until I can't smell reducer in it, or would Saturday be enough of a wait?

[swvalcon]

did you use the catalyst in it or not? Did you bake it or was it air dry? I'am in mn and i used to wait at least a month in summer weather so in winter it would take a lot longer.If its a metallic color go really light on color sanding and buffing or you will get layering in the metallic and ruin the whole thing.

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

Yeah I used a hardener and just air dry (60-70 degrees). I don't know if enamel is anything like BC/CC but I've wet sanded and buffed BC/CC a week after spraying it.

[swvalcon]

I have too but enamel is too soft and surface drys so its still soft underneath for a long time.So buffing to soon burns paint.Tryed to post attachment but could'nt get it to work so i posted it in my jornal. Check it out if you want to see a 1975 corvette i painted in centari and wet sanded and buffed after about a month.

[baddbob]

30 days minimum, and use very slow speeds, light grit paper when sanding, and medium grit compound (no heavy compounds). Or you could scuff it with a scotchbrite and apply some urethane clear. Bob

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

It's just a work truck to practice spraying enamel so I'm trying to keep it cheap and don't really want to spend extra money on clear. It just has light orange peel, I'd say 800-1000 grit would get rid of it. BUT...supposing I did spray a urethane clear, will it flow good without anything like reatarders? When I sprayed this enamel,,if I would have used a retarder, would this slight orange peel have been prevented? I'm trying to spray it like a friend of mine that painted a truck for me about 8 years ago, I still have that same truck that he sprayed with enamel, NO RUNS, and it still shines today like BC/CC.

[baddbob]

You could wetsand it flat now with 400-600 grit and apply two more coats. What enamel are you using?

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

Omni MAE Acryllic Enamel. Would I be able to do all the wet sanding and just buff it later when it cures?

[crashtech]

Did you say whether it's a solid color or a metallic?

[jcclark]

I have buffed enamel as soon as 7 days, but that was after sitting in the
hot summer sun for that time.
Buffing seemed much better after a month for me so that is what I
usually waited.

[STATUTORY GRAPE]

It's a solid color. My shop is around 60-65 on the average. I can still put my fingernail in it so maybe I'll just wait.............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ....................................

[jcclark]

I'll bet you'll still be able to "dent" it with your fingernail
after several months. That's the nature of Acrylic enamel.
Some say that "softness" is its strength, keeps it flexible and
resists chipping. You really need some heat to harden it up,
but don't expect it to get hard like urethane, not this year anyway.

[crashtech]

The longer you wait, the better, IMHO.