# Finishing new paint



## Advanced Driver (Jun 24, 2006)

I hit one of my mirrors, and the edge shattered, so I decided to respray it. It looks great now, although it still needs the clear coat, which will go on next week.

What should I do to finish it off, would I need some decent polish, or is a gentle polish OK? The toughest polish I've got is some Megs Swirl remover, which I think is quite gentle, and I haven't got a machine polisher :buffer: . Will this polish be good enough, and if not, what would you recommend?

Also, how hard will the clear coat be? My car is a Fiat, which would have soft paint, but the spray (can) I've got is just a general one and not any particular brand. Or does the hardness depend on the temperature etc?

I was going to post some pictures, but my camera isn't very good, so they looked rubbish  . If all goes well I may decide to tackle my bumper and/or bonnet in the Summer  . I'm also planning to get a polisher, maybe the Megs one, but not until next year.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

One thing I would say when spraying lacquer from a can is to apply it very thinly, it will look matt and barely covered. Don't be tempted to spray until the surface goes glossy, it will be too thick and will run! 4 or 5 very light coats should suffice then leave to harden for a week and polish with whatever you have available.


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## Trune (Jun 19, 2007)

definatly take the advice.... very very thin layers! u can put more on but cant take it off.

Dust it, let it dry and dust it some more with the laquer!


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## Advanced Driver (Jun 24, 2006)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> 4 or 5 very light coats should suffice then leave to harden for a week and polish with whatever you have available.


That's interesting, most things say do 1 or 2 coats, or are cans different to spray guns? I'll try aiming for 4/5 coats. I'm a wondering whether it will be possible to see the clear coat because it's clear lol. I'm going to do a bit of 2000G wet and dry before the laquer too.


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

Using a spray can is a million miles away from using a gun and compressor. Much less control with a can hence the advice to put on more thin coats rather than 2 thicker ones. You will only need to wait 5 minutes between coats.


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## Advanced Driver (Jun 24, 2006)

Wheelie_Clean said:


> Using a spray can is a million miles away from using a gun and compressor. Much less control with a can hence the advice to put on more thin coats rather than 2 thicker ones. You will only need to wait 5 minutes between coats.


:doublesho The cans say 10-15 minutes between coats.

There's one other question I forgot to ask too. There are a few small scratches on my mirror from when I was rubbing it down. How should I polish these? I've got some Autoglym glass polish, but is that I proper polish or just a cleaner?


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## Wheelie_Clean (Jun 16, 2007)

If you are only applying very thinly 5 minutes would be fine.

Thicker coats would take longer in between.

If you have put scratches in the glass there is not much you can do without a specialist glass polishing kit.

Best to use masking tape to protect the parts you are not painting.


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