Flat Paint Question

I assume that if you are going with a flat black look, there is no reason to sand wet or otherwise after the finish coat. Is that correct?

Thanks everyone!

 

depends. Flat doesn't necessarily mean "bumpy". they are two completely different things. Flat paint is a lot more forgiving to small imperfections, but if you've got a paint run, its going to be visible and need sanding. Ditto for big bumps.

 

I just went through this. I tried to wet sand and it started to get a little shine so I ended up not wet sanding. as far as professional paint jobs, im not sure? Wet sandings not my specialty so someone else might have better insight.

 

Taint,
Yes, you should wet sand between coats. This will not make your finished surface shiny, just smooth. If you have any indentations or high spots, they will still show, even with flat paint. You will not need to go with 1500 grit between coats, but I would go with at least 600-800 grit.

 

I should have better clarifid. I did wet sand between coats just not after the final coat.

 

I tried to paint flat once and tried wet sanding it. The sanding left a few marks on the paint, so polished it a lil bit and it came out pretty good. By the way, this was done on a car hood using autozone paint.

 

If you had marks in the paint after spraying over what you just sanded, your sand paper was too course. You only need to sand with 800 - 1500 grit between coats. If set sanded with fine sand paper, you will not see any marks when you paint over it.
Most of the time, the first two coats of paint are used to sand out the high spots and scratches. That's why you don't need to spray the first coats heavy. As soon as you start to sand, you will see just where all the high spots are by where the paint wears off first.

 

No wonder. I was sanding with 400! Thank you for the advice PainterD.

 

Ya, 400 grit is what I start out with when I'm just starting. Most people go with too course to get more material removed, and end up just scratching the hell out of the surface, instead of making it smooth. PD

 

I sanded my primer with 2000 wet and a spray bottle (with a drop of dawn)... Looked great!

Then I painted it glossy.

 

I've a bit of a question, How much of the original paint should you remove? Should I strip it, prime ant then start with the colour? or can you get away with just removing the clear, prime etc?

 

I just sand everything down until I have the original paint scuffed good and everything is nice and smooth. The primer should seal the old paint so the new stuff is compatible. Some go all the way down to the bare metal, but I don't see the purpose of going that far, unless you are using laquer over old enamel, then you have to. PD