This is where your imagination comes into play. If you've ever been to a custom car show, then you know the range of colors and styles possible with automotive paint. Some people like solid colors to match their cars, while others prefer multiple colors, flames, graphics, you name it. Whichever style you choose, you'll be using the base coat/clear coat technique that is used on every new car currently produced. There are many different manufacturers who produce this type of paint; I usually use PPG products. The first step is to lay down the base, or color, coat. This is sprayed on the surface, and although it appears shiny at first, it will dry dull. Two or three layers of this base coat are applied to the panel, then it is ready for the clear coat.
The clear coat is, just as the name implies, a clear liquid that is sprayed over the base coat to protect it and give it a deep gloss. Two or three coats of clear are usually enough, and it is allowed to dry for at least 24 hours before the final step begins.
The last step is really optional, and I say this because no new car manufacturers do it. It's called color sanding, or wet sanding, and it involves sanding down the dry clear coat with very fine1500 grit sandpaper. This paper is so fine that it must be used wet or it simply clogs up. The reason for this painstaking process is to remove "orange peel", a slightly lumpy and blurry surface that is left after spraying the clear coat on the panel. Look at any new car, especially a dark colored one, and you will see plenty of orange peel.
Of course, the sanding leaves the surface dull again, so it must be buffed out with an electric buffer and rubbing compound (3M products work well) to restore the shine. The final step is a swirl remover to take out any fine scratches left over from the rubbing compound. The reward for all of this labor is a deep, smooth, perfect gloss that spectators and judges will go crazy over. Whenever you see a show car with a paint job that seems too deep and perfect to be real, you know that somebody spent a lot of time color sanding it. When you see this finish inside a trunk or on a door panel, you're probably looking at the car that's going to take home the trophies.
That's all for this month; send your questions to me at Sbrown@alpine-usa.com, and I'll see you in the lanes.