wet sanding lacquer?

[berr13]

I'm new to the whole process of wet sanding my paint jobs, and I have a question. I painted three models Saturday, 1/25, all lacquer, one in Tamiya and two in Testors spray can colors. How long would you all suggest for drying time before I tackle sanding? Currently they're residing in a plastic storage bin, room temperature. Thanks,

Jim

[Longbox55]

Metallic or solid colors?

[berr13]

The colors are Tamiya gloss black, and Testors Phoenician Yellow and Artesian Turquoise (a metallic).

[72 Charger]

If you can still smell the paint/lacquer then leave it longer !

[Longbox55]

Dave covered it. However, with the metallic, you really will not want to sand it. It'll dull the color and mess up the metallic effect, In that situation, you'll want to clear it, then wet sand and polish the clear. To reduce the amount of work you have to do to finish, you should sand out the primer as smooth as possible before you lay down the color. That has a huge effect on the final outcome.

[my80malibu]

You should most likely give the black, and yellow colors. At least a week to dry, depending on where your at, high humidity could delay the drying process,the metallic color if it's smooth no need to sand. I guess if you need to recoat, then scuffing should be done. Otherwise just clear the metallic, and polish the clear.

[jaymcminn]

Be careful with the Testors colors. I think they're the Custom Lacquer series, which are meant to be used under a clear lacquer top coat as part of a two-stage system. The base color coat is too soft to be used on its own and will not polish out properly. The Tamiya black will polish out to a brilliant shine without a gloss coat... give it a few days to dry before polishing.

[Mike_G]

I'd take them out of the storage bin while they're still gassing out

I usually wait a few days to a week before wetsanding, then let the sanded model sit for as long as I can stand it before polishing it out with Novus #2

[berr13]

OK, guys, this is great--lots of good info that I need and will use. One other question, though: what if my metallic color has imperfections? I paint outside, and almost always I find everything from lint and specks of dirt to actual bugs in my paint. What should I do with that? Or for that matter, with the Testors two-step paint as advised above? Again, thanks!

[ZTony8]

I sanded some un-cleared Phoenician yellow on a Moebius Hudson after I had let it dry for several weeks.It polished up very nicely.

[Longbox55]

^{About the only thing you can do with the metallic would be to sand it out, then respray a coat on it to get the metallic effect back.}

[Mike_G]

Some metallics have enough clear to be able to wetsand it- Tamiya TS53 for one.

[jbwelda]

james, notice that you live in texas, and some folks here live in Michigan. while it might be necessary to let paint gas out for a couple weeks in Michigan, for example, it might only take a couple of days in texas. the off side is there is probably a lot more dust in texas than Michigan.

jb

[LoneWolf15]

Jim ,

As long as you sand the body overall , you can sand metallics , pearls or candies . Never clearcoat over debris in your base color , it sticks out like a sore thumb as the old adage goes .....

[jbwelda]

> long as you sand the body overall , you can sand metallics , pearls

not the way i understand it; from what i know sanding on the metallic or pearl will kill its reflective properties and leave them looking like cheap metallic instead of glamour finishes. the only thing i can see with your advice is that if you sand the entire body (in metallic or pearl paint) at least it will be uniformly dull. ive found the luster somewhat comes back with a clear coat, but never really to the original as-laid-down paint did

jb