Expert: Gary - 6/27/2008

Question
I am painting my first car - using PPG paints.  The primer and color basecoat were okay but I had problems with the clearcoat  - wrong pressure, too long between coats etc.  I need to redo it - it has a leather or orange peel effect, not the shiny gloss I was hoping for. Should I sand it down with a fine sandpaper and then apply the clearcoat  with the correct pressure and wet coats.  Also if I sand into the color coat(there is a section that I need to fix)do I need to re- primer or can I just repaint that section?   So many questions. Thanks if you can help.  John

Answer
Hi John,

Yes you would want to sand out the defect with 1000 or 1200 grit wet sand paper. Anywhere you break through you should be able to blow a little color on in those areas and blend into the rest of the panel. Try not to get too heavy of a coat or you could have a chance of lifting in those areas. Then you would need to prime if that happens. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.