Lacquer/ Clear Coat application

[polol]

I am currently respraying a wing mirror. The base colour went on fine onto the pre-primed wing mirror leaving a nice smooth finish after a few coats. When I got to the clear coat/ lacquer I have a kind of orange peel finish, in no way reflective I have done several coats of base colour. Should I keep going with the lacquer and apply several thin coats or a thicker layer than the thin layers I applied at the base colour stage?

[paintman]

I use a conventional iso 2k clearcoat & just apply two full wet coats with appropriate flash off time between the two.
If the base coat is smooth then the problem is the clearcoat, if the base coat is heavily textured then that needs to be addressed.
There are many causes of excessive texture, incl not correctly thinned, insufficient material applied, air pressure wrong, distance to object too far, object too hot. At this time of year the paint being too cold will also do it.
You might find this of interest - if it doesn't put you off painting for life!
http://www.standox.co.uk/standox/uk/en/pdfs/Stando...

Edited by paintman on Wednesday 12th December 23:29

[polol]

I am just using spray can paint I bought from VW along with the wing mirror, I have used spray paint before and I have sanded back after each coat with very fine sand paper and the coat was even and smooth. However I have never used a clear coat from a spray can before, the first coat was thin, second was fine in places but textured in others, mainly on the main face of the wing mirror. I am not too fussed about a perfect job as long as its better than driving around with a grey primed wing mirror and a blue one

[7even]

Heat the can up..... with a hairdryer or heat gun, carefully of course.

[polol]

Should I sand back after each coat of lacquer?

[paintman]

Not a fan of aerosols, too much spitting.
That said, when I have used single pack aerosol clearcoat I've always built up coats with the appropriate flash off time between coats then let the lot dry & used a fine wet&dry - 1500 or 2000 grade - used wet to smooth the surface then polished it with a polishing compound to give the shine.
I don't advise sanding between clearcoats unless you've left it too long between coats in which case its usually advisable to key the surface before applying more coats. Use either a scotchpad or fine wet&dry - too coarse will leave visible marks under subsequent coats.

Edited by paintman on Thursday 13th December 21:51

[Kidders]

Heat the can up as much as you dare, one light coat, one medium, one full coat, with flash off time in between around 5-10 minutes depending on how cold it is. Leave overnight to dry, polish with a basic compound like T-Cut, the 1k lacquer is very soft and polishes easily. Dont spray too many coats as its prone to cracking at a later date if the solvent gets trapped between the layers which looks very unsightly.

[polol]

Well the tiny cans from vw have run out, didn't want to risk the end of can sputter messing it up. Job done methinks not the greatest job but it'll do on a car with many imperfections and 146k on the clock and at least it's a part of the car separate from the other panels etc. I heated the can up on a hot radiator and seemed to work better than before. Will have to look at finishing it off tomorrow, for now it's time to dry then polish. Cheers for all the advice.