TOPIC:

Hey everyone,
I'm in the process of restoring my OG bruiser. I'm using the re release hilux body from tamiya. As usual,my 10 yr old son wanted to get involved and even offered to give up some video game time 2 help,so it was a no brainer to take his deal,lol.
Anyway,I allowed him to pick out the color he wanted and spray paint the body (yes I made sure he was in a well ventilated area and wore goggles and a respirator) being he likes to paint. We used rustoleum spray paint. Used there automotive primer and a metallic blue color. It turned out pretty decent looking and 1 very tiny run but nothing noticable. We did not use a clear coat yet.
The 1 thing my son was disappointed in was the paint came out a little rough,meaning it feels like dust in the paint or something. My question is can we clear coat this to get it smooth or would it be safe to either wet sand it,use rubbing compound or car polish.
Reason I'm asking as I hadn't painted hard body plastic in like 20 years. I know I done it before on cars but cars are metal and not plastic so I'm sure the process is different. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanx everyone as both me and my son will be grateful on the help,
Jon

Jonny Retro should be able to answer you. He is one of the best painter of the forum. IMO only.

Hey there, Yes you can wet sand but you should let the paint harden off completely for about a week (depending on temperature) Before doing so

tamiyabase.com/...s-addendum

Although this is a detailed article regarding the SS the techniques used apply to your project

tamiyabase.com/...d-scorcher

This final article on clear coat polishing is the last piece of the puzzle

tamiyabase.com/...ubbing-out

All Credit to Jonny Retro for these wonderful articles

Ok great,thanx for the info

Excellent,thanx for the links as they will be very helpful

Fuzzman84, without seeing it (and how rough the finish is) it's difficult to make a judgement - but I think it really depends on whether you want to use a clearcoat or not.

If the finish is generally good, I'd suggest doing nothing for a week or two (during which the run will probably shrink to the point it doesn't really need any - or very little - remedial work), then tackle the rough area with a super fine wet or dry paper (wet), like 1600, 2000 or 2500 grit to start, wrapped round a new rectangular eraser .... then rub out with polish.

If it's a bit worse - or you do want to use clear - then don't polish the colour coat it as it may (more like will) contaminate the surface & you'll end up with "fisheyes" in the clear.


Personally, I'd do the bare minimum to level out the issues in the colour coat, then clear it & rub the clear coat out after suitable hardening time.

Ok great,I'll try what you suggest. I did notice the little run is shrinking and seems like the little roughness is going away a bit since my son painted the truck this past Tuesday. I'll let the truck sit for another week before doing anything else. Thanx for all the advice everyone as I really appreciate the help