[j. r. Nice]

I'm not REAL sure what to do, but I am prepared for the worst!! I am a hobbyist and trying to learn. I have done about 3 all-over paint jobs on my own cars. This is my first "trick" paintjob, so I have minimum skills
I did a search but couldnt really find a similar situation.
I am looking for some guidance and maybe hear from someone who has had a similar problem, or has a good idea how to remedy. I use PPG products

I am painting a fiberglass body.
K36 primer,
DP48 as a sealer.
2 coats of white base (Deltron DMD1684),
3 coats of Honda white pearl (tricoat) to the entire exterior,
Next day I added some decals in strategic areas and sprayed around them with PRLX4 (blue) and another area with PRLX6 (red).
((Mixed the PRLX4 & 6 in DBC500 to a "weight" of about 4%.))
Applied 3 coats of PRLX 4 over the decals, and PRLX6 in certain areas to match body contour. Removed the decals.
I took it to my buddies bodyshop to shoot the clear (2021)
Before I shot it, I cleaned it with DX330 using Scott towels from a box .....probably a mistake in hindsight. I wiped it on and didnt follow with a 2nd rag.
If you are already grimacing, you know where this went.
I waited about 15 minutes (it was 90 degrees in the shop).
Applied the first coat of clear and then followed with a 2nd after 10-15 minutes. It may have even been longer as I was mixing the paint.
After I shot it I noticed "fisheyes" in several areas. Primarily on the hood (where I started the DX330) and then on the passengers side quarterpanel.
So I only had 2 coats of clear on it.

Anyway, I sanded out the fisheyes using 1000 grit wet. Probably a waste of time. I know that I have sanded a lot of the clear down to a thin layer. In a couple places, I can see the white pearl and in several small places, I sanded thru the blue pearl.

I talked to a tech, and he said that I will probably have lifting problem b/c the clear is so thin in spots. He said I might try a couple tack coats of 2021 and then follow with sucessively heavier clear coats.

2 questions.
1) Since the last coat(s) before the clear were DBC500 based, would there be any benefit to just dusting it with several coats of DBC500 first and then clearing it?
3) should I just start over and sand it back to the primer coat?


Thanks in advance for reading this and any good suggestions. I need to get this done for a cruisin in October!!!

[TucsonJay]

That is not my paint system, but...

I always add fisheye eliminator to the first coat of clear.

I also shoot the first one wet.

I'm curious... did you shoot the clear within 24 hours of the basecoat, or shoot in interim/midcoat clear first?) That would be for adhesion to the basecoats.

If you have fisheyes, I would try to flood them with the next clearcoat, or fill them with a brush, instead of ever sanding and risking going through to the pearl. At that point you will create major problems.... much worse than fisheyes.

Good luck.

[j. r. Nice]

Originally Posted by TucsonJay

That is not my paint system, but...

I always add fisheye eliminator to the first coat of clear.

I also shoot the first one wet.

I'm curious... did you shoot the clear within 24 hours of the basecoat, or shoot in interim/midcoat clear first?) That would be for adhesion to the basecoats.

If you have fisheyes, I would try to flood them with the next clearcoat, instead of ever sanding and risking going through to the pearl. At that point you will create major problems.... much worse than fisheyes.

Good luck.

It's my buddy's shop and he didnt want me to shoot eliminator. I have been told that once you shoot it in a booth, you always have to use it. (per PPG and others)

I am beginning to understand the problems I created by sanding the fisheyes. I had the local PPG rep here to discuss the problem and possible resolution. I guess it never dawned on him that I was going to have a problem when I sanded back to the pearlcoat to get the fisheyes out.

If I had it to do over I would have done as you suggested and flooded them with more clear in a 3rd and 4th coat.
IIRC:
I shot the last coat of base and then, almost immediately,shot one coat of pearl. (I shot it in 2 pieces i.e. - the main body tub and the nose)). I put the nose back on it and shot the last coat of pearl (within another 24hrs.) Then the next morning (Sunday) I shot the PRLX accents. As soon as that was tack free, I hauled it to my buddy's shop and started the clear ordeal.

I am thinking I am going to have to sand it all back down and start over
Thanks for your input.

[Bayou_Eagle]

1) Since the last coat(s) before the clear were DBC500 based, would there be any benefit to just dusting it with several coats of DBC500 first and then clearing it?

3) should I just start over and sand it back to the primer coat?


1) - I would follow the advice of the PPG expert and dust on some clear. DBC500 is more likely to lift the thin layers of clear than the clear.

3) - If you sanded into the pearl layers I would think that spot would be noticeable after you clear it. If not then just clearing would be fine.

[TucsonJay]

Don't be too discouraged. Being a good painter takes a lot of practice. I have been doing this since I painted my first car at 15, which was really bad, but I was proud that I did it myself. As you do each job, the number of mistakes goes down. Today I am into the hundreds... but I still create a problem for myself once in a while. :-) Persistance is part of the game.

[milo]

There is a way to be sure there are no fish eye risks (at least on the surface) before hand using the water skin break test..

**The last time I used a solvent based wax and grease spreader was in 1984..

http://www.a2zautoforums.com/showpos...66&postcount=7

I keep pitchin in the solution and a few have found it usefull..

[j. r. Nice]

Thanks for all the tips. Next time I will be much more careful /observant in prep. It's hard to get a perfect job when the "booth" (which is actually just one side of a large garage with plastic wall) is sketchy. I shot the base/white pearl at my house and only had a few issues. I got a couple of small insects and small bits of dust, that I didnt see before I cleared.

I sanded thru the red pearl in a small pin head size spot. I hit the blue in another spot - it was dirt trapped under it and the clear, but above the base white pearl. I just sanded until it was gone.....ooops. I figured it's in an area I could cover with bed liner (it's an open door jamb).

Prbably the biggest area of fisheye was in the corner of the tilt nose by the windshield. That part is just white pearl, no red or blue. I didnt sand thru that but it is thin where I sanded down to the bottom of the fisheye divot.

I thought maybe I could airbrush the red and blue pearl / DBC500 back and then re-clear the whole truck.. That's why I called the PPG tech line in the first place. Then I got the bad news.

In hindsight, and for future reference......with repsect to the fisheye problem, what would have been the best solution?

Scuff and just re-shoot the 3rd and 4th coat of clear with fisheye eliminator???

I am not angry that I made a mistake, that happens. What annoys me is that none of the local "experts" could give me a good solution - before I made the fatal flaw of sanding the clear tooooo thin.