Paint question....

We can only pray you die first.

Just goes dull, after 18 years the clearcoat on my metallic blue & silver Patrol is peeling in patches, the paint is still good. As the car is not worth much I am just putting on more clearcoat, there is a slight colour difference, which does not worry me as it has scratches from bush tracks antway. My son, who is putting metallic silver on his project Gemini, says do not buff otherwise the metallic sheen will be ruined, just apply clearcoat.. Alan, in Gosnells, Western Oz. VK6 YAB VKS 737 - W 6174

Curt, I need a huge favor from you.

I sprayed several cars this morning - some in Pullman Green and some in Boxcar Red.

Would you please come down to my paint room right away - and inhale deeply.

Thanks,

Andy

Sure STEVE CAPLE keep praying you inbred bible thumping mouth drooling ass.

Just want to take a minute to thank those of you who offered advice on my metalizer spray painting project.....

Sprayed it over the weekend... Let it dry overnight.... Buffed it out with an old soft handerkerchief....

It's outstanding!!!! Precisely the color and finish that I was looking for.

Thanks again.

Andy

a200:

Testors Metalizer is designed to be buffed to a shine, though. I do definitely agree that the clearcoat will keep the finish from getting dull after the buffing is done, though.

I'm not sure why buffing would ruin the sheen of the metallic paint your son was using, though I don't doubt him. ISTR trying to polish aluminum spray paint and only succeeding in making it gray...it seems the metal flakes or powder actually floated close to the top of the carrier or something. I could of course be remembering it all wrong, since the paint in question was the 4th coat on my brakeless wonder of a bike that I used, as a kid, on my paper route...not a good idea, kids, and trying to ditch down a short, steep hill to avoid a car is equally not one...

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

JB:

Could the clearcoat you were using have been incompatible with Testors paint...or all too compatible, partly dissolving it? What sort of paint was it?

Cordially yours: Gerard P.

I used Testors Metalizer Sealer which is specifically for sealing the buffing type Metalizer. I didn't apply it heavily so that I could retain some degree of reflectivity. It evidently wasn't thick enough to protect the surface from oxidation since it turned flat gray in about 3 or 4 years. It's been eight or nine years since I used buffing Metalizer last so it is possible that they may have made some changes in it - but I doubt it. If you apply a fairly thick clear coat you will probably get much better protection but, you will end up with a "wet look" which may be appealing but it won't look like the natural metal finish of a streamlined passenger car. It will look more like the shiny metallic paint finish you might see on an automobile.

If you are interested the link below is to a site with a pretty in depth study of some of the natural metal finish products that are available. I did my own testing of products with the objective of obtaining the right look for a stainless steel clad streamline passenger car.