Hi Guys,
So, after an appropriate period of self loathing for texturing my beautifully gel-coated parts, it's on to topcoat.
The topcoat is, of course, a totally different paint. I shook the can, opened it up, and there were no solids in the bottom. So, I surface prep'ed the parts, got everything ready, mixed up some paint, and here we go. I'm determined to fly this process all the way into the crash :-)
Now, my experience with the primer led me to make two mistakes while applying the first coat of topcoat. First, I mixed it as thin as the Application Manual allowed. Second, I felt like I had to move along quickly to prevent the paint from drying while I was still working on the part.
The paint is very thin in the first place so using the minimum amount of reducer makes more sense. The paint has a pot life of 6 hours and does not cure fast. All you have to do is keep moving at a deliberate pace. No need to rush, but no breaks until the part you are working on is finished.
First coat and more remorse.
I wasn't really loving life when I took a good look at what had just transpired. In fact I was trying to figure a way out of this mess. My unlucky run with paint just keeps on going.
Then, a glimmer of hope. I took a look along the surface and to my surprise I couldn't really see the runs on the surface. It's almost like the runs are beneath the surface. Weird stuff.
Since (for some reason) I decided to paint the parts black I knew that the first coat would only get me started toward black, On to the second coat.
Re-coat means sanding. In my shop (between 40 and 60 Deg. F) it takes about 48 hours before the paint has cured to the point that it doesn't clog the sand paper. I sanded between coats with 600 grit. A problem is that the coats are so thin that you can't sand much without sanding through. So, sanding went fast. I just knocked the high spots down, surface prepped the parts, tack rag, roll on another coat.
Top cowl after sanding:
Top cowl after second coat:
I determined that for a dark color (lack of color?) I would need four coats to feel comfortable with the coverage. Keep in mind that it only takes about 2 to 3 hours to sand and re-coat. It's the 48 hours between that is the killer.
The fiberglass farm after three coats:
It's hard to capture the results of a black paint job in pictures. Here are some pics after adjusting exposure.
The wing tip in the first pic after four coats:
And what would life be with out at least one errant moth:
Most of the imperfections that remain stem directly from my not sanding enough of that #$%*& primer off and runs in the initial top coat.
So that's it. Far from perfect, but time to move on.
One more post to go for closing thoughts.
Wes