Haf-x White paint job

From my own experience of painting numerous parts for my car I can tell you preperation is key to a good finish.

The way I paint stuff is as follows. The principals should be the same whether you are painting car parts or a desktop.

First off clean the part with water, then dry the part. Next up is to lightly sand the part to get a key on the surface for the primer to stick to (usually with a scotch pad or a very fine sandpaper). Mask up everything you do not want paint on. Clean the surface prepaint, this removes any oil or residue left on the part.

Spray an even light coat of primer over the part and leave for 10-15 mins (flash time). Then spray your second coat a bit heavier but do not go mad last thing you want is a run in your primer as this will require more work. Leave that to flash as well then spray your third coat.
The best way to spray is to do a 50% overlap to ensure even coatings and keep your can moving.

Leave for 24-48 hours for the primer to cure fully.

Next is to flat down the primer with some 800grit sand paper and then to 1000 grit to get a flat smooth finish. Once done it is time to spray colour.

Same thing as primer really, 3 coats with 10-15mins flash time between coats.
Leave the paint to dry for another 24 hours.

Last is to put the clear on. Basically the same thing as primer and colour

Leave this to dry before fitting the part. You can leave the part like this if you are happy with it but if you have orange peel and want to go that extra step then follow the next steps otherwise your done.

For orange peel you will need 1500 grit and 1800 grit sandpaper. You will need to leave the clear for a few days to before sanding to leave it go hard. Sand the part with 1500 first and use some water. Keep changing the paper so as to stop it glupping up and scratching the surface. Be careful around edges as it is very easy to burn through the paint. Use a sanding block for wet sanding to help keep the surface flat. It is best not to do this with just your hand. The wet sanding block has a softish side and solid side. Use the softer side with the 1500. Next step is to clean off the part with water. Then use the 1800 grit with the harder side of the block. Sand the whole thing and make sure there is no high or low spots. You want the part to be completely even.

Once sanding is done you will need a polishing compound and a microfiber cloth to polish the part back to a shine because the sanding will make the clear dull. What the sanding does is make the ridges more uniform in height and thus this gets rid of the orange peel effect.

It takes time and patience but it can make things look very good once done right.

Here is a few images of some parts I have done

2f74A.jpg

M1ZBw.jpg

SNNtC.jpg


Hope this helps

Hi there,

finally someone that really wants to help other then just say sand it 100 times.

I was coming here to ask sorry to Tom, airdeano and reeper250 but after all this flaming from everyone I just wont bother and I wont keep showing anything else here. Because yes, I was listening and trying to discuss, to the point that before I saw all this flaming I went to the hardware shop and got multiple sandpaper to sand the parts.

I've seen this happening to other people here and now it happened to me.
People just don't have a change, they do something you don't like and you flame it to the grave. Well, you guys can be all pros but something I care more then anything you are/say, is being happy with my self and work.

Its my stuff, so I don't see why flaming like that.

Then B_NEGATIVE coming with those pics, comparing that horrendous work with my 1st coat of primer??? Really??

Because all this, I wont bother to post any more pictures or final project and I already got all the help I need from B3rni3 and airdeano. They were the ones that truly gave tips and tried to help other then flaming.

Ralms.
 
Hi there,

finally someone that really wants to help other then just say sand it 100 times.

I was coming here to ask sorry to Tom, airdeano and reeper250 but after all this flaming from everyone I just wont bother and I wont keep showing anything else here. Because yes, I was listening and trying to discuss, to the point that before I saw all this flaming I went to the hardware shop and got multiple sandpaper to sand the parts.

I've seen this happening to other people here and now it happened to me.
People just don't have a change, they do something you don't like and you flame it to the grave. Well, you guys can be all pros but something I care more then anything you are/say, is being happy with my self and work.

Its my stuff, so I don't see why flaming like that.

Then B_NEGATIVE coming with those pics, comparing that horrendous work with my 1st coat of primer??? Really??

Because all this, I wont bother to post any more pictures or final project and I already got all the help I need from B3rni3 and airdeano. They were the ones that truly gave tips and tried to help other then flaming.

Ralms.

Sorry if i have offended you but you ignored everybody who gave you advice so yes,i did put a quite a horror of a pic up....he did the same thing you did,ignored everyone and botched it.
I mean Brush painting? Really??

Dont post pics of bad practice and expect to get only nice things said to you. Thats not how it works.
 
Sorry if i have offended you but you ignored everybody who gave you advice so yes,i did put a quite a horror of a pic up....he did the same thing you did,ignored everyone and botched it.
I mean Brush painting? Really??

Dont post pics of bad practice and expect to get only nice things said to you. Thats not how it works.

If you get a pair of glasses and reread my replies you will see that I didn't ignored them. And If I did ignored then why the hell would I go the hardware shop and buy sandpaper??
 
If you get a pair of glasses and reread my replies you will see that I didn't ignored them. And If I did ignored then why the hell would I go the hardware shop and buy sandpaper??

Dude, I think you're taking this the wrong way. What Tom and the others have said is constructive criticism. Definitely NOT flaming. Nobody in this community (or at least in this thread) replies to posts with the intention of being a dick. You've got to take the advice on board and respect the fact that others may think your first efforts are sub-par. If you hadn't have reacted so badly to the criticism, none of this would have started. I'm trying not to be horrifically patronising here, but it's just some advice for the future :)
 
Some people just dont like being told they did it wrong.

If you were listening your reply should of been more questions rather than, what sounded like " I know what IM doing this is fine"

Seriously dude we were trying to help you make sure the end product was epic not shockingly awful like that photo neg posted.

You are failing to see the point we care enough to tell you your wrong. After your replies it should have been us that stopped posting and just let you ruin it......
 
I for one was trying to give recommendation on how to improve the end result, not argue or disrespect you or your work.
If you have been somewhat offended by peoples comments then really, you need to grow up...
B NEGATIVE was not comparing your work with that Azza case, he was merely displaying what could happen if the work was not done correctly.

A big thumbs up to B3rni3 for sharing detailed knowledge of painting. Really great advice there, solid effort!

It's a real shame that you won't be sharing pictures of the end product because I am sure it will turn out well for you.
I remember first starting sleeving, it was HORRIBLE, my work was NOT done correctly and so I stripped it all off and started afresh. Now I can safely say I am much more proficient at sleeving cables.

From my time on these forums I have learnt more then I could have anywhere else in my opinion, purely because everyone is so honest here. If something isn't 'up to scratch' then that person will be told how to improve or do the job properly, however, if work is done well, then that person will get praise.

If none of us cared we wouldn't have even posted in the first place. However, most, if not all of use want to see others succeed in their modding adventures and so the people who care will attempt to lead you on a better path to success.

Now I'll be off to paracord sleeve some cables and carbon fiber wrap an XSPC faceplate.
 
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