Newbie needs help/advice

[slvr-bullet]

Hello everyone.



I just happened to stumble upon this website and I must say that it is amazing. Everything I wanted to know about detailing.



Ok, to my questions. I, like most people, like to do things myself to save some money and to marvel at the end product that I did alone. I recently bought a set of side view mirrors (plastic of course) and the necessary materials to paint them (plastic adhesive promoter, paint, and clear coat). Now when I was spraying on the clear coat (after prepping and painting), I noticed that it wasn`t turning out "glossy/shiny" like the rest of the car looks. So I sprayed on a couple of more coats and let it dry. Same thing :nixweiss . Also I noticed that the surface is a little rough in texture. The materials are from an automotive paint specialist so I know that can`t be the problem. Is there something I`m doing wrong? Or is there another type of clear coat that would give me that glossy/shiny look? I don`t want to have to get them done at a proffessional paint shop because who knows how much they`ll charge me to get them finished properly.



Thanks,

Steve

[BumpersPlus2]

Hey Steve, What color are you spraying? What brand of Paint? What type of gun, hvlp?

[Detailing NY]

Did you prep the mirrors correctly.

Where are you painting the mirrors. You said you dont want to take to a shop so i think you are not in a shop painting them.

There could be a lot of things going wrong.

Having mirrors painted would not be that expensive in a shop and it would come out better then doing it yourself as i am sure you dont have a spray booth in your house.

I have painted car but only in a spray booth, never want to paint outside you get all sorts of problems.

[slvr-bullet]

Thanks for the response guys. The mirrors are already painted (silver), it`s just the clear coat step I`m having trouble with. I prepped the mirrors by thoroughly degreasing them and then spraying them with the adhesive promoter. The stuff I`m using is in an aerosol can. Yah I don`t have a spray booth and am doing it outside. But eventhough I`m painting them outside shouldn`t I still get the glossy/shiny finish after applying the clear coat?



I did some searching on the net and have seen some people say that after applying the clear coat, the item should be wet sanded with 1500 grit sandpaper and then a polish should be used and then a glaze. Could this help in achieving the glossy look I`m trying to get?

[Lemonxxs]

YEAH but maybe try a 2000 grit paper.



DO a search on here for DLW and his Sons car in member pics section to see what he did with spray cans and wet sanding.



All I can say about his pics and work are WOWOWOWOWOW



Take a look and you will see :shocked