Can you spray base coat over clear?

[sixpack_sid]

I am sanding down the clear coat on my car---OP. I need to paint more base coat on the car-but do I need to get all of the clear off of the door jambs, etc? Can I just scuff it up and spray the base on?

[68ChargerJMP]

You can base over the clear, but only if you havent broke through the clear while scuffing/sanding it. If you did, you may need to put down sealer first. If you dont use sealer, you could and probably will have lifting.

[sixpack_sid]

You can base over the clear, but only if you havent broke through the clear while scuffing/sanding it. If you did, you may need to put down sealer first. If you dont use sealer, you could and probably will have lifting.

How will I know if I break thru the clear?

[Cooter]

You can base over the clear, but only if you havent broke through the clear while scuffing/sanding it. If you did, you may need to put down sealer first. If you dont use sealer, you could and probably will have lifting.

How will I know if I break thru the clear?

Trust me, you'll know it.....I'd reccomned stripping the clear off as an added precaution though if you are unsure...

[vancamp]

most paint systems will lift or wrinkle if you break through the clear, you can tell by a halo look around the area that has been cut thru

[hemi-hampton]

If clear is fully cured/dry you should not have a problem.  If not broken thru no need to add base. If broken thru spot a light dry coat of base & wait a few minutes to see if it starts to lift. LEON.

[sixpack_sid]

I noticed some dents on the cowl yesterday and a low spot on the outside sail panel where it meets the quarter.  I sanded down through the clear to the base and covered them with putty. I have to repaint this area, but don't have enough in my pot to do this. I will need to buy another gallon-if the shade is off, I will have to put a couple coats of base over the whole car again!
Can I: spray primer over the putty, wet sand it, shoot the base color on the area to build it up somewhat, then shoot the whole car in base, then clear?
Will it peel? Would I see it right away, or could it peel down the road?

Or, should I sand everything back down to primer and start over---I DON'T want it to peel.

[hemi-hampton]

Prime the bad spots, Spot paint the bad spots, Reclear entire car. As long as car is sanded & spot paint fresh you should not have a peeling problem. LEON.

[elitecustombody]

listen to Leon,kid. There is no need to remove any of the clear or paint,you'd probably shoot yourself if you try to do it now,lol, just dust few light coats over the busted through areas ,so the solvents won't have a chance to burn and wrinkle the edges of the feathered clear

I do have a question, though, why didn't you try to push the dings out from the backside? I just can believe you missed those spots as much sanding you've been doing.

[Silver R/T]

listen to Leon,kid. There is no need to remove any of the clear or paint,you'd probably shoot yourself if you try to do it now,lol, just dust few light coats over the busted through areas ,so the solvents won't have a chance to burn and wrinkle the edges of the feathered clear

I do have a question, though, why didn't you try to push the dings out from the backside? I just can believe you missed those spots as much sanding you've been doing.

He doesn't have good lighting system from what I can see so it's easy to miss things. That's why it's best to spray car in spray booth. You'd pay $50 or more to rent one but it will be worth it at the end.

[sixpack_sid]

I just started painting the base coat on the car again, and noticed the "halo effect" on spots where I broke thru the clear. I stopped painting, so I only have one coat on the 1/2 the car. I stopped because of lint problems, but I wanted to ask if these spots will blend into the paint or will they stick out like a sore thumb? I've already painted this car twice w/base, once w/clear, and now I've been practicing on junk panels. I've been going thru a lot of material and I'm running out of paint. I know it may be a dumb question, but will these spots hide in the paint or will they bleed through? I tried to duplicate the problem on a scrap hood, and painted it about 3-4 coats, and I can still see it, but that was down to bare metal.
I live in Eastern PA, cold weather is coming... when is it too cold to paint? I don't have a heated garage. I'm contemplating sanding the whole car down to primer and start over on the base. BUT I only have the weekends free to work on this car and if I do that, I'll be on this car until Nov/Dec trying to get it painted...if I'm lucky.

[sixpack_sid]

pics

[sixpack_sid]

more pics

[Charger-Bodie]

You sprayed the base to heavy for going over fairly new clear. You must be pretty ginger about sparying base over newer cleear,ecspecially on breajtroughs.

[hemi-hampton]

The bad spot you bondo'd should of been Primed, then sanded, then sealed. Then spotted with paint & if the sealer edges left a dry spray area let dry & sand these spotted area's. then spot again or spot then repaint, then reclear. LEON.

[sixpack_sid]

The bad spot you bondo'd should of been Primed, then sanded, then sealed. Then spotted with paint & if the sealer edges left a dry spray area let dry & sand these spotted area's. then spot again or spot then repaint, then reclear. LEON.

The bad spots I have pictured were not bondo'd. The spot on the cowl was sanded down to primer after the 1st base coat was laid because it had deep scratches. The spot on the roof was a blemish from a chemical reaction when the base coat was applied. I sanded that down below the clear to feather it in. The other 2 spots I accidentally broke thru the clear when sanding the orange peel. I did not notice the blemishes until I put 1 coat of base on again to repaint the car.  Will these cover as I add more coats of base, or will they keep bleeding thru? What do I do?

[hemi-hampton]

Any time you sand thru enough to leave a bulls eye it should be primed. The more layers of paint & the more you go thru the bigger the bulls eye the more the need for Primer. Since I was not there to see how much sanding or how many layers hard to give advise. To prime or not is something that is learned from many years of experiance & knowing what you can & cannot get away with. I sometimes seal these areas (if minor, prime if major) lightly dust on a couple coats of paint, Let dry half hour, lightlly sand any rings or dry edges  & your good to go if it is minor, if more then minor may have to repeat that process. Then good to go. Just my LEON


P.S. Thought you said in earlier post you cover cowl dents with putty. Putty, Bondo, Evercoat, Glaze, Dolphin, Ice, all the same thing, it's all body filler material. These need primed.

[sixpack_sid]

P.S. Thought you said in earlier post you cover cowl dents with putty. Putty, Bondo, Evercoat, Glaze, Dolphin, Ice, all the same thing, it's all body filler material. These need primed.
[/quote]

yes, the other side of the cowl was puttied and I put primer and paint over that. It seems ok. Thank you for the help! I will try again, sand areas and prime, wet sand, and paint again!

[sixpack_sid]

One more question, I didn't notice I went thru the clear coat until I sprayed another base coat on it. If I spray the base coat again and find more spots, I'm just wasting my paint. Is there a way to tell where I went through? Should I primer the whole car to find the breakthroughs? But then I'm sanding the whole car anyway.  Should I just sand the whole car down to primer? What's the best way to correct this?

[hemi-hampton]

How would you notice you went thru after you painted over it, should be covered & not noticeable, unless it left ring around it like the other spots. If so, just let these bad ring spots dry half hour. then lightly sand them with 600 wet or dry. spray a light dry coat over this sanded bad spot, should dissappear, if only halfway dissappeared repeat the process until gone. then continue on car. I do this all the time on rush new cars & works for me. LEON.

[elitecustombody]

add some hardener to the basecoat when dusting the problem areas, they will lock in after 2-3 coats, then lightly sand with 600-1000 and follow with one more coat

[sixpack_sid]

Still trying to paint this demon-now my gun broke on me in the middle of painting, so I ran out to the store and bought a Vaper. I couldn't adjust it right-it either went on too wet-I have a couple runs in the paint. When I adjusted it, it went on dry and coarse looking. So, needless to say, I did not finish it this weekend. I need to sand it down AGAIN!
I am thinking of scrapping the base/clear coat and going with an acrylic enamel or acrylic urethane instead. My question now is: I would like to assemble the fenders, hood, and deck lid, bumper & Front valance so I can continue working on the car over the winter in PA--do I need to clear over the base in these areas where I am going to assemble the pieces? Would it hurt to just have base coat under the fenders, etc? Should I spray a couple coats of acrylic over the whole car to seal it?
I need to move on! This has been over a month now! Any help or suggestions?? 

[elitecustombody]

find someone local to help, maybe post on local craigslist, or just strip it and take it to MAACO and be done with it,because it just doesn't look like you'll ever get it done with all the problems you keep creating or running into,just sayin

[restoman]

Using acrylic enamel or single layer urethane is not gonna solve your problems, because the problem is you.
Sorry, but for all the great advice you've gotten here, from experienced painters, you don't seem to be listening to much of it.

Base/clear is by far the easiest modern system for a newbie. Screwing it up to the degree that you do, ...well. you won't be happy with single layer.

I'm not trying to be offensive, but slow down, take some deep breaths and go back over this post and the other two you've started, and re-read the advice given. Once you've read it, use it.
Painting is not rocket science, but it does take a lot of common sense and patience.

[hemi-hampton]

You say you bought a Vaper, What's a Vaper? never heard of it. Is it a low budget spray gun? Inadequate equipment, inadequate material, inadequate experiance can all add up to the problems you are having. No insult intended. Painting takes time, practice & experiance & adequate time, material,equipment & money to be successful. Maaco could be a alternative  LEON.