I am ready to clear coat a carbon Kevlar sunroof (red Kevlar/carbon twill weave, west system resin with 205 clear hardener). I was wondering what I should sand to before applying the clear in order to get the best results. I have seen some say 400 grit and others say 1000 grit. I am using spray max 2k aerosol because the auto paint shop wanted $100 to clear coat. Just wondering what your experiences are.
I have also heard of people sanding between layers of clear coat. Is this necessary?
400 grit is best I think, gets good adhesion and you cannot see the scratches. Even 320 you cannot see the scratches. If you are going to respray the clear then you need to sand it, not between layers of clear. youll also have to do a final wetsand 1000 up to 2000 to flatten the clear and then buff it for best results, otherwise it will have texture and more than likely dust.
Thanks Hojo. I will post pics of the final product when I’m done. This is my first part where cosmetics matter.
I used to do just to 320. Then reading on a can of urethane paint it said wet sand to 600. So I sand to 500 and call it good. 320 is ok, but check your work with water and then dry towell to see if you can see sanding scratches that need to come out. It sucks clearing something then seeing scratches through it. I think this is the reason they say 600… because you wash and dry the part before clear and with 600 you will definately see any deep sanding scratches. For a roof you may need 2 cans of that spray max.
We are getting ready to set up a spray room for clear coating parts. I was using SprayMax for a year, then i moved to the shop here and now we have the painter two doors down clear coat our parts. Since some times he is busy with his own work or out of town we decided to set up a “booth”. Our painter doesn’t really have a booth either… he uses plastic sheeting and wets everything down prior. Once we hit the “big time” we will spring for a real paint booth.