When to wetsand clearcoat?

[cbr600]

I have a track bike I'm painting (rattle can, using Krylon. Yes, I know I know :D )

Anyway, I used some krylon on my gas tank and plastics. A day later, I wasnt happy with the dull finish. So I bought some Krylon clear coat and it seemed to help.

My question: How can I further brighten up the shine? Wetsand with 1500grit? Polish with some type of compound? Is it ok to do it now, or should I wait a few days?

I'd like to just shine it up, I dont plan on putting anymore clear on it (unless I absolutely must)

thanks

[Len]

Krylon is a "drying" process and not a hardening process. What this means to you is that the finish is going to take quite a bit of time to harden and even then it's going to be soft. If you try to sand and polish it probably won't get very glossy and you're going to have to be careful not to sand or polish through the clear.

If you should sand through or make some other kind of mistake while trying to bring up the shine it may be quite difficult to repair. I'm not familiar with Krylon but many softer materials will react poorly when you try to repair them.

Next time, if you don't have all the tools for spraying, you may want to consider using a Preval Sprayer below and spray high quality paints that you can mix yourself. If you do this you can spray hardened paint just as if you were using a spray gun.


http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/Preval.jpg
Preval Sprayer Link (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=P2)

[cbr600]

thanks for the great info Len. I think I will leave it the way it is , rather than risk damaging it.

thanks again

[smrcalidiv]

hey thats cool, how do you think that compares to getting a paint store to just put your paint in a can for you? and how big of a part can you paint with that? or i should say recommend painting with that

[Len]

When you get the paint store to put paint in an aerosol for you you can't have them mix in the hardener or the paint will harden before you can get home to use it. With a Preval you can mix it pour it into the jar and spray it within a few minutes.