Paint Your Wagon - with a roller!

[Termite]

With the crappy weather today I ended up flatting back the van after it's first coat. Is it usual to go through the paint in places when rubbing back with 600 grit paper by hand?

Should you try to sand all the orange peel out so the surface is completely matt again? I fear that if I knock every single bit out, then they'll be very little beige left! I've gone back to bare metal in a couple of high spots.

[CovKid]

Yes not unusual. It shows you're putting on the right amount of paint - thin. Mistake a lot make is to assume that piling it on will save time. Doing what you're doing will remove high points early on. Good sprayers will also pay attention to getting smooth. Subsequent layers will be a lot easier. If the paint hasn't been given enough time to harden, you'll struggle to even sand and it'll feel rubbery. If its like that, give it another week. Temperatures not good at mo so allow longer drying times. Even in warm weather I usually allow 3 weeks minimum. In cold, could be a month or more.

[Termite]

That was after a week and felt fine when sanding. I think being under a tarpaulin and plastic is the equivalent of parking it in a greenhouse!

Do you have to knock back all the orange peel? At the moment, if I run my hand over it I cannot feel the orange feel, but you can still slightly see it.

[CovKid]

Thats up to you although I tend to take it down a little on each coat. You may be using a mix thats a little too thick so try a slightly thinner one and see if orange peel is less. So much is dependent on temperature and degree of thinners but you will get a feel for it Termite. Its a little like the sound of a good weld and the noise of the roller can be a good indicator of whether its too thick or not.

[Termite]

Thanks, I was thinking of trying a touch more thinners to see if it makes any difference. I'm using about 400ml of paint to approx. 100ml of white spirit at the moment and giving it a good stir. I've noticed that the paint tends to thicken up in the tray as you paint as it begins to dry.

[CovKid]

Don't be afraid to put a splash of thinners in the tray as you go and work them in with the roller in the tray if need be. I never actually mix in a container. I just mix in the tray using a stick and add a little more thinners according to results.

[Termite]

Cheers, will give that a try this weekend weather permitting!

[folkers]

With the crappy weather today I ended up flatting back the van after it's first coat. Is it usual to go through the paint in places when rubbing back with 600 grit paper by hand?

Should you try to sand all the orange peel out so the surface is completely matt again? I fear that if I knock every single bit out, then they'll be very little beige left! I've gone back to bare metal in a couple of high spots.

Yep thats what happened with mine and like CovKid says it means you're putting on nice thin coats....you will get good coverage on the next coat though Plus by flatting down you should get a really nice smooth finish!

[Termite]

Cool - I should just have faith with it! How smooth have you flatted it? I am still a little concerned about the slight orange peel I have, but I guess that can be flatted on the next coat when there is a bit more paint built up?

[folkers]

Cool - I should just have faith with it! How smooth have you flatted it? I am still a little concerned about the slight orange peel I have, but I guess that can be flatted on the next coat when there is a bit more paint built up?

You will get some orange peel. I was a bit fussy and almost flatted it back to matt and so that it was smooth.
Orange peel will almost be magnified on the next coat of paint if its not flatted down (hopefully others will agree )

Also before the final coat, I flatte paint down a bit with 1000 grit

[Termite]

I fear another session with wet n dry is on the card then

This is how it was looking yesterday

[folkers]

I am totally fed up with this british weather. Whenever I am off work and able to paint it rains...and whenever I am working its dry

[81AirCooled]

When I actually get the van back from the garage I need to sand down ready for the second coat. After reading through the thread I was under the impression that it just needed to flattened back by taking the top off any orange peel and not perfectly smooth again

I realise I´d get a better finish eventually if each coat was sanded back perfectly smooth but is the finish going to be noticably poor if it´s only a light skim with 600 wet n dry?

[folkers]

When I actually get the van back from the garage I need to sand down ready for the second coat. After reading through the thread I was under the impression that it just needed to flattened back by taking the top off any orange peel and not perfectly smooth again

I realise I´d get a better finish eventually if each coat was sanded back perfectly smooth but is the finish going to be noticably poor if it´s only a light skim with 600 wet n dry?

Yeah you're right. You don't have to take all the orange peel off - I just did but it took a long time and probably isn't necessary

[CovKid]

Yes don't get too fussy - just knock the worst of any orange peel away. Providing you haven't made a total pigs ear of the mix, subsequent layers will look better. Look around you. If you look at modern car finishes, its not baby smooth anymore and many even straight off assembly lines have a degree of orange peel and few if any are perfect. Its what the buyer will accept at a distance. Just remove the worst of it without going right back to smooth and then apply another coat. It'll be fine.