Level Sanding The Clear Coats

[BillyBoy]

I put about 9 coats of clear on this and then level sanded it. The question I have is how much should I level sand it before wet sanding and rubbing it out? This is my first build and I'm afraid I'm just sanding off the clear coat. I'm using 320 to level sand it. Also, should I put more clear on it? I have a few more cans. I only used one can so far.

Thanks

 

[BillyBoy]

more pics...

 

[fdesalvo]

I'd probably put a few more coats on.  3*** sand paper is still quite abrasive I think, so you may want to thicken up that top a bit more before working it through all those sand paper grits.  Looks like it's really coming along, though!

 

[Tonar8352]

It looks to me like your still burning through to the wood. You need to be able to get it level sanded with the 320 with out burning through and not having any dimples in the surface before you can put the final coats on it. Once it is level I usually put 4 final coats on and then let it hang 2 weeks.  I start wet sanding with 1000 grit wet/dry to get the orange peel out and then to 2000 to get as many sanding scratches out as I can before buffing it.

 

[BillyBoy]

It looks to me like your still burning through to the wood. You need to be able to get it level sanded with the 320 with out burning through and not having any dimples in the surface before you can put the final coats on it. Once it is level I usually put 4 final coats on and then let it hang 2 weeks.  I start wet sanding with 1000 grit wet/dry to get the orange peel out and then to 2000 to get as many sanding scratches out as I can before buffing it.

I really didn't sand it that much because I was afraid of burning through to the wood. Those cloudy areas are the clear coat. How can you tell when it's level and has no dimples? Roughly, how much sanding do you usually do at this stage?

Thanks Greg

 

[Phinox]

First off what type of clear is it and how are you applying it IE. rattle can or spray gun.

secondly 320 is really aggressive. start off with a higher grit like 400 or even better 600 and go slow and don't put to much pressure on the sand paper near the edges.

if you can find it unigrit sand paper is really good as all the pieces of grit are the same size so you dont get any deeper scratches.

As far as telling if you got all the dimples wipe the finish with a clean lint free rag or even better a Tac cloth then look at it in direct lighting if you see shiny spots you need to sand that area more.

Also please tell me you are using a hand sanding block to keep everything level and remember to go slow.

 

[BillyBoy]

First off what type of clear is it and how are you applying it IE. rattle can or spray gun.

secondly 320 is really aggressive. start off with a higher grit like 400 or even better 600 and go slow and don't put to much pressure on the sand paper near the edges.

if you can find it unigrit sand paper is really good as all the pieces of grit are the same size so you dont get any deeper scratches.

As far as telling if you got all the dimples wipe the finish with a clean lint free rag or even better a Tac cloth then look at it in direct lighting if you see shiny spots you need to sand that area more.

Also please tell me you are using a hand sanding block to keep everything level and remember to go slow.

Yes, using rattle cans. I'm using a sanding block and not even really putting any pressure on it. Just moving it back and forth.

 

[Phinox]

Okay rattle can clear is soft soft stuff compared to a catalyzed clear. 320 is way way to aggressive i would start off with 600 grit sand paper at the minimum on rattle can clear.