What is happening with the grain?

[caseyone1]

So two coats of undercoat, one sanded coat two applied. Colour applied 3 in one day.
I still have this white coming through the black?https://ibb.co/2WmByFr

[Simon Barden]

It's not white. It's just light reflecting off the shiny paint finish in the grain.

You haven't filled the grain before painting and levelled off the surface, so the paint's just following the contours of the wood.

If you want a nice flat shiny finish, then you really need to sand right back to wood, grain fill, sand flat and then start again with primer and paint.

You can try and smooth it all off using clear coats, but you'll need a lot of coats to both fill the grain and have enough depth to sand it flat and then polish it.

If you want a textured surface, then you may be better off using a satin clear coat, rather than a gloss. That will give less overall reflections.

[caseyone1]

Cheers Simon, thanks for that mate.
I was hoping Not to take it back to bare wood again, and I thought the primer I hit it with was a grain filler because I even sanded that back and then re-sprayed it before applying colour.
I might try and give it another layer of colours and then empty my can of clear over it as well.
Another question... polishing, just on a lambs wool pad or adding a compound?

[JimC]

Its a question of cost and time really. Something has to fill all those wood pores. You can do it with layer on layer of top coat, each sanded back, but you're going to have turned a lot of expensive paint into dust. To my mind grain fillers are basically a cheaper and easier option. But there's also compatibility to consider. If you put a layer of grain filler on top of your paint and the paint all bubbled up that would not be a good day...

I would contact the paint manufacturer and see what they recommend for a high build undercoat or primer. Then sand back as far as they suggest, add the high build, sand again until all pores invisible then back to topcoat. The key thing is to make sure all pores are invisible before starting the top coats. It may just be you needed another coat of primer sanded back more aggressively.

But if there's not a compatible high build, then dispiriting as it might be, back to bare wood and grain filler will be the cheapest option and the least work. Consider how youd feel if you used all your colour and all your lacquer and it was still showing grain...

[Simon Barden]

Certainly a compound, not just a pad. But it does need to be sanded flat first. I wet sand with a block on the flat faces, P240 up to P2000, then polish after that. Always keep the pad moving over different areas as the heat does build up very quickly. Too hot and the finish softens, then you lose the shine.

[caseyone1]

Its a question of cost and time really. Something has to fill all those wood pores. You can do it with layer on layer of top coat, each sanded back, but you're going to have turned a lot of expensive paint into dust. To my mind grain fillers are basically a cheaper and easier option. But there's also compatibility to consider. If you put a layer of grain filler on top of your paint and the paint all bubbled up that would not be a good day...

I would contact the paint manufacturer and see what they recommend for a high build undercoat or primer. Then sand back as far as they suggest, add the high build, sand again until all pores invisible then back to topcoat. The key thing is to make sure all pores are invisible before starting the top coats. It may just be you needed another coat of primer sanded back more aggressively.

But if there's not a compatible high build, then dispiriting as it might be, back to bare wood and grain filler will be the cheapest option and the least work. Consider how youd feel if you used all your colour and all your lacquer and it was still showing grain...

So I decided the grain had grown on me... I started clearing it, thinking it will look kinda cool, so about 5 coats and two days in, I added a coat of clear and it bubbled in 2 spots, just 3 bubbles... I rubbed it back, then I went through some of the coat and had to touch it up. I let that dry and added some clear, and then it bubbled in about 5 places, I now have my very own bespoke distressed/road worn fender Copy.
So I have roughed it all up with fine grit, taken back some of the worn through edges back to smooth, I am going to do another coat of colour and see if I did a smooth enough job to level out the misguided paint repairs and if it doesn’t work, I am going straight back to wood and starting again. Go buy some new colours, treat it like a car paint job.
Just going to say, I had some really bad ideas that just didn’t come to pass. I don’t know where it went wrong exactly, but I think I tried to add too much clear before the last coat had cured enough, the can said, 1 hour between coats, Ileft about 2 hours and did 3 and left it overnight. Then another two, and on that next one I got smashed. So I am giving it one last try before I strip it bare and start anew.

[McCreed]

One of, if not the hardest parts of a successful kit or parts build, is getting the finish right.

We all learn the hard way, and that often involves mistakes and do-overs!
I've had my share, believe me.

[matthew]

Paint needs patience, especially with spray cans. You have to make sure you press the nozzle down fully and keep the tip of your finger out of the way or you get spatter. Do light "dry" coats to build up the colour and wait the full hour in between. If you do a "wet" coat, give it at least a day before coating it again. A good check is to smell it - if it smells like fresh paint, it's still gassing the solvents out and needs to be left longer.

Also make sure your colour and clear coats are compatible. Get them wrong and one dissolves the other. Ask someone at the shop you buy them from.

[McCreed]

Excellent advice Matthew.

Environmental conditions should also be taken into account. Especially for those of us that have to spray outdoors or just in a shed.

Heat & humidity are the enemy. And then there's the wind, little flying creatures...

[caseyone1]

Update: Yes to ALL the above paint tips. Well now I have it back to bare wood again.
More sanding tomorrow and Bunnings for paints again.
As a side note, sanding back all the layers of paint and clear took about 3 hours and the horns of the body were the worst.
I took it all off with 60 then touched up with 120... more sanding tomorrow.