Dicehunter
Resident Newb
Looks like it's coming along nicely !
Julie's Pants
- Thread starter AlienALX
- Start date
AlienALX
Well-known member
Cheers dude.
The next stage is getting everything clean. Now you can pretty much waste good alcohol here or paint prep (which is basically acetone) but at this stage we don't know exactly what we are dealing with.
What I mean is if the paint on here is acrylic then if I hit it with acetone thinners it will eat it. Meaning I will have to then chemically strip the whole lot. Powder doesn't like acetone either. Again, it will melt. Basically you need to think of these paints on their chemical makeup. Acrylic paint is literally that. Plastic. Those plastic particles are in a solvent. In this case acetone. So, it doesn't take much to think about it. Add acetone you basically liquidise the acrylic again and it turns to slop.
As such at this stage I recommend dish soap and warm water. Give it a good scrubbing with a sponge. Dish soap carries an excellent degreaser, so you will get it nice and clean. Rinse with cold water only. Why? because cold water cannot carry limescale. See? all this BS I have had to figure out over years and years. Now I will wipe it with isoprop before I start painting, but yeah no point wasting loads of that now.
Right now I would like to keep the insides of the panels their stock white. Not because I CBA sanding, but because I want them white. As such I have about four hours of masking to do. Just taking a break now.
Cleaned panels.
Got a few different tapes here.
Most notably that 3M fine line tape. That stuff is about a tenner a roll. I had to use it here as the edges were very fine at points, but you will see me using that much more once the base coat has gone down. Right now I am trying to just cover the white.
One more to do.
There are some scratches on the white. It's a known problem with the Striker. They pack it incredibly well, but don't tape down the panels so they tend to fall off in the box. This isn't a huge issue, as I have some white and will fade in some touch ups once the base coat is down.
The next stage is getting everything clean. Now you can pretty much waste good alcohol here or paint prep (which is basically acetone) but at this stage we don't know exactly what we are dealing with.
What I mean is if the paint on here is acrylic then if I hit it with acetone thinners it will eat it. Meaning I will have to then chemically strip the whole lot. Powder doesn't like acetone either. Again, it will melt. Basically you need to think of these paints on their chemical makeup. Acrylic paint is literally that. Plastic. Those plastic particles are in a solvent. In this case acetone. So, it doesn't take much to think about it. Add acetone you basically liquidise the acrylic again and it turns to slop.
As such at this stage I recommend dish soap and warm water. Give it a good scrubbing with a sponge. Dish soap carries an excellent degreaser, so you will get it nice and clean. Rinse with cold water only. Why? because cold water cannot carry limescale. See? all this BS I have had to figure out over years and years. Now I will wipe it with isoprop before I start painting, but yeah no point wasting loads of that now.
Right now I would like to keep the insides of the panels their stock white. Not because I CBA sanding, but because I want them white. As such I have about four hours of masking to do. Just taking a break now.
Cleaned panels.
Got a few different tapes here.
Most notably that 3M fine line tape. That stuff is about a tenner a roll. I had to use it here as the edges were very fine at points, but you will see me using that much more once the base coat has gone down. Right now I am trying to just cover the white.
One more to do.
There are some scratches on the white. It's a known problem with the Striker. They pack it incredibly well, but don't tape down the panels so they tend to fall off in the box. This isn't a huge issue, as I have some white and will fade in some touch ups once the base coat is down.
AlienALX
Well-known member
Red base coat is down.
Lots of drips. All of them on the middle one. This doesn't matter, as I will be wet sanding it. I just wanted enough on there. Weather is terrible atm so yeah, I don't want to have to paint it red again.
Will let that harden by the radiator for 24 hours, then tomorrow I can get to wet sanding.
Lots of drips. All of them on the middle one. This doesn't matter, as I will be wet sanding it. I just wanted enough on there. Weather is terrible atm so yeah, I don't want to have to paint it red again.
Will let that harden by the radiator for 24 hours, then tomorrow I can get to wet sanding.
AlienALX
Well-known member
Hmm. Well, I have only used this exact paint once before. I usually opt for Kobra. Sadly they did not have the exact shade I wanted so I got Flame again. TBH? the last time I used this it really ed me off. It was high pressure, and the orange peel was *insane*. This was low pressure, so instead of mad orange peel I got mad dripping.
When I looked up the drying times it said "working time one hour". Come again? Mission accepted.
Remember the drips?
Me either. Wet it down to see what your next stage will look like.
And do the rest.
And the aftermath.
BTW for those interested. I am using P1200. This means more work, as you need to do it about three times. However, the chances of "burn through"* are practically 0, so you won't be putting more paint down and then repeating the process.
*is what it sounds like. You sand through the paint and achieve the layer below. This means you need to repaint it and start wet sanding again. Stay away from high spots, curves and edges here. And don't press hard. Just glide the paper around gently and use your fingers to determine when its smooth.
When I looked up the drying times it said "working time one hour". Come again? Mission accepted.
Remember the drips?
Me either. Wet it down to see what your next stage will look like.
And do the rest.
And the aftermath.
BTW for those interested. I am using P1200. This means more work, as you need to do it about three times. However, the chances of "burn through"* are practically 0, so you won't be putting more paint down and then repeating the process.
*is what it sounds like. You sand through the paint and achieve the layer below. This means you need to repaint it and start wet sanding again. Stay away from high spots, curves and edges here. And don't press hard. Just glide the paper around gently and use your fingers to determine when its smooth.
AlienALX
Well-known member
OK so this is about the time of day I usually get done. Have a shower, rest etc.
After giving it a very good clean I removed the masking. There is minimal bleed.
What I mean by bleed is where the paint bleeds under or into the edge of the masking. I expected this. The reason is I used the lower end cheaper masking tape for this stage. Like, the cream coloured stuff, not the more expensive blue stuff. The reason is that because of that white base coat I can just wet sand any bleed off. Bleed now is not an issue, but if the masking on the effects layer bleeds we will be in trouble, hence why I save the more expensive tapes for the more critical stages.
I also need to do some touch ups on the damage on that side too.
Remember, at this stage it will be very hazy. That's nothing to worry about. That means we have a key for the next stage. I now need to let it cure for 24 hours, before beginning more masking etc.
After giving it a very good clean I removed the masking. There is minimal bleed.
What I mean by bleed is where the paint bleeds under or into the edge of the masking. I expected this. The reason is I used the lower end cheaper masking tape for this stage. Like, the cream coloured stuff, not the more expensive blue stuff. The reason is that because of that white base coat I can just wet sand any bleed off. Bleed now is not an issue, but if the masking on the effects layer bleeds we will be in trouble, hence why I save the more expensive tapes for the more critical stages.
I also need to do some touch ups on the damage on that side too.
Remember, at this stage it will be very hazy. That's nothing to worry about. That means we have a key for the next stage. I now need to let it cure for 24 hours, before beginning more masking etc.
AlienALX
Well-known member
You got some waiting to do
I reckon 3-4 more days.Just remember what they always say - prep is 99% of a paint job. You get out what you put in.
Also remember, these are not fancy 2k paints painted with a gun. This is about £15 tops worth of paints. I will only use about half.
Tonight I did the first fine line layer mask.
Then masked off the rest of that panel.
Leaving exposed what will get the 2nd round of paint. Did the same with the other side panel.
Then onto the front piece.
Then mask the backs again.
Tomorrow I will put down the first FX layer.
AlienALX
Well-known member
Decided to pull a late night. Given that like, 45 seconds are in actual painting and the rest in masking cleaning and prep.
That's the first effects layer. The red flake. The bent pieces of the panels will be getting silver flake, which should make it shape shift. Will leave a straight red line between the two.
That's the first effects layer. The red flake. The bent pieces of the panels will be getting silver flake, which should make it shape shift. Will leave a straight red line between the two.
AlienALX
Well-known member
Yeah weirdly the camera can't make out that the flake down so far is actually ruby red and not silver. Like when I hold it up all you see is Red. Like red overdose. Yet it looks mostly silver.
It's incredibly hard to photograph. Like, I keep looking back at the photos thinking the flat red paint around the edges is all messed up bit it's literally my camera not knowing how to deal with a red that pops so hard and then Imgur compression.
I may add a properly painted pin stripe between, idk.
It's messed up because I had over two hours in masking for that flake and literally about 30 seconds of actually holding the spray can and pushing the button lol.
Binky's roof would have done me in. The mind just boggles and then explodes.
It's incredibly hard to photograph. Like, I keep looking back at the photos thinking the flat red paint around the edges is all messed up bit it's literally my camera not knowing how to deal with a red that pops so hard and then Imgur compression.
I may add a properly painted pin stripe between, idk.
It's messed up because I had over two hours in masking for that flake and literally about 30 seconds of actually holding the spray can and pushing the button lol.
Binky's roof would have done me in. The mind just boggles and then explodes.
AlienALX
Well-known member
if you folded the over hanging tape back on itself and tape it to the back side again you would have ended up with a much softer edge on the back side of the panel, this called back taping or soft edge masking.
dont fold the tape tight back on itself or it wont work as well, you aiming for a nice curved/tube profile on the edge of the tape if that makes sense
AlienALX
Well-known member
Yeah I'm aware of that dude 
I had to wet sand the back any way tbh.
The clear didn't go well. Well, it sort of did. Barely any orange peel but it's matte. Been using this clear for two years and have never seen it do that, so I reckon it may be the cold/damp. Weird thing is though I put the flake layers on in the cold too and they didn't do that.
I gave it a very gentle wet sand a minute ago (it's been drying for over an hour) and it seems fine. Like, fine to hit with 2000 - 3000 - then the compounds.
Weird though.
BTW going back to rolling the edges... There's no real need when putting down the flake. Like, you literally do two passes and that's it. Any more and you are just putting it on for the sake of it really.
I had to wet sand the back any way tbh.
The clear didn't go well. Well, it sort of did. Barely any orange peel but it's matte. Been using this clear for two years and have never seen it do that, so I reckon it may be the cold/damp. Weird thing is though I put the flake layers on in the cold too and they didn't do that.
I gave it a very gentle wet sand a minute ago (it's been drying for over an hour) and it seems fine. Like, fine to hit with 2000 - 3000 - then the compounds.
Weird though.
BTW going back to rolling the edges... There's no real need when putting down the flake. Like, you literally do two passes and that's it. Any more and you are just putting it on for the sake of it really.
Last edited:
AlienALX
Well-known member
This is how it flashed up. Very, very odd.
I know they do this in flat and gloss, starting to wonder if they put the wrong lid on the can tbh.
This piece I gave a very gentle wet sanding with P2000.
So yeah, am pretty sure it'll be fine just very strange. Once it has fully cured I will do 2000, 3000, then T cut metallic (much finer than T cut) and then the super fine compound I have for resurfacing headlights etc.
I know they do this in flat and gloss, starting to wonder if they put the wrong lid on the can tbh.
This piece I gave a very gentle wet sanding with P2000.
So yeah, am pretty sure it'll be fine just very strange. Once it has fully cured I will do 2000, 3000, then T cut metallic (much finer than T cut) and then the super fine compound I have for resurfacing headlights etc.
Yeah I'm aware of that dude
I had to wet sand the back any way tbh.
The clear didn't go well. Well, it sort of did. Barely any orange peel but it's matte. Been using this clear for two years and have never seen it do that, so I reckon it may be the cold/damp. Weird thing is though I put the flake layers on in the cold too and they didn't do that.
I gave it a very gentle wet sand a minute ago (it's been drying for over an hour) and it seems fine. Like, fine to hit with 2000 - 3000 - then the compounds.
Weird though.
BTW going back to rolling the edges... There's no real need when putting down the flake. Like, you literally do two passes and that's it. Any more and you are just putting it on for the sake of it really.
yes you always get one person that likes to do things like that, i guess its the one down side to rattle cans that you never really know what your getting until you spray it.
still all is not lost though as it will still polish up gloss if you polish it. i mostly try and stay away from matt paints as i dont like painting that stuff, need to run extra pressure as if you dont you end up with a mix of gloss, satin and matt patches everywhere.
my advice on the t cut would be to file that in the bin, it has far to many fillers in it and very little abrasive, no doubt if you polish it and then wipe it over with panel wipe again it would return back to a dull state.
if your looking for a good but cheap polishing compound then might be worth looking at Menzerna range, can get 250ml bottles on ebay cheap enough (£10 to £13)
i would say for sure that was a matt lacquer not gloss lacquer
AlienALX
Well-known member
Exactly. You never know what you are getting. I can't tell you how many times I've paid for supposedly 2k paint and it arrived without a smack button ffs.
That's why I've been fiddling with these acrylic ones for so long. Been through them all now really. Kobra (the cheapest and the best) Montana (too expensive and like my first wife loves to spit) and Flame (don't rate at all).
I avoid anything else now. The T cut I have is this one.
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/p...ut-metallic-colour-restorer-500ml-399709.html
Which I bought many years ago for polishing the Alienwares. It's good. Cuts well, but like you say not perfect for clear. That's when I switch to the lens polish. Like, the stuff I've used on headlights, and crap even my glasses when I get paint on them
I recently sanded/polished out a couple of G4 side panels (MDD, so clear) and they came out incredibly.
That's why I've been fiddling with these acrylic ones for so long. Been through them all now really. Kobra (the cheapest and the best) Montana (too expensive and like my first wife loves to spit) and Flame (don't rate at all).
I avoid anything else now. The T cut I have is this one.
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/p...ut-metallic-colour-restorer-500ml-399709.html
Which I bought many years ago for polishing the Alienwares. It's good. Cuts well, but like you say not perfect for clear. That's when I switch to the lens polish. Like, the stuff I've used on headlights, and crap even my glasses when I get paint on them
I recently sanded/polished out a couple of G4 side panels (MDD, so clear) and they came out incredibly.
