Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

[Frozenbarb]

I got my paint job at a body shop I worked at and it was looking good when I went to pick up the car but after a while I noticed many flaws.
It isn't shiny/reflective as OEM paint. It looks like the paint is uneven or not flat and not reflective at all.

I have a feeling that the clear coat layer is not thick enough that's why it isn't shiny.
Can I clear coat the whole car again? sand and buff it ? or should I try 205 to polish it up to see?



I have a feeling that the clear coat layer is VERY thin and I don't want to try cutting or polishing it.
Can I clear coat the whole car again? sand and buff it ? or should I try 205 to polish it up to see?

[greg0303]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

Do you have orange peel ? It sounds like.

It looks like something went wrong during spraying, sanding and compounding/ polishing. Ask your painter how much clear coat was sprayed. Your car should look really glossy.

[DrdetailNashville]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

Normally the clear coat is much thicker on after market paint jobs. I would do as Greg said and ask the painter how much clear he sprayed, also they might have a paint thickness gauge that would tell you exactly how thick it is. Also how long ago was it painted? Before you do any cutting or polishing you need to know if the paint is fully cured in order to know how to proceed.

[Frozenbarb]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

I was told 2 layers of clearcoat were added on but I don't really believe them lol. It looks real thin. I got the car painted in April so it's been a while. Should I find someone with a paint gauge?

[greg0303]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

Glossy car paint applied to a smooth car surface should dry smooth as well. But sometimes it dries uneven (bumpy) mostly due to improper spraying technique. It's called an orange peel. Quick evaporation of paint thinner, using wrong spray gun settings, spraying paint at wrong angle or spraying too much paint can cause this defect.

Removing orange peel from fresh paint is easier than doing it from factory paint (which is hard and thin). It's still very time consuming.
The surface has to be sanded down (either by hand or with a DA sander), compounded with rotary buffer to remove sanding marks and re-polished to high gloss.

The good news is - your painter said that he sprayed plenty of clear coat.

[greg0303]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

It may look smooth and easy but it's quite a precise operation.

Is the body shop willing to fix what they've messed up ?

[juliom2]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

The quality of the materials used play a key factor in the overall result.
Better gloss is what you're looking for.
:

[Frozenbarb]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

It may look smooth and easy but it's quite a precise operation.

Is the body shop willing to fix what they've messed up ?

Thank you for the video that is very helpful! I only have a DA so I would need a rotary. I'm going to ask them how much clear they used but it looks very thin.
The process they use is pretty legit, they sanded down with 1500 right after painting and polished it with a rotary. I'm going to hit it with 205 after the winter to see how it goes

[greg0303]

Re: Paint not reflective/shiny. Thinking of clearing body again?

M205 most likely won't cut enough to eliminate that problem.

Here's another process documented:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...r-paint-of-it/