It took three coats of clearcoat to get the desired gloss that I wanted. After the first coat of clear, I wetsanded using the 1500 grit board. I waited two days for the clearcoat to cure, and then used a 2800 grit board with polishing compound to eliminate the orange peel.
I noticed that I was sanding down to the paint layer. That was a good sign to put on another layer of clear. I applied a nice wet layer of clearcoat and let the pieces dry for another few days. After the clear was fully cured, I was very satisfied with the results.
I may have been a bit obsessive with this project, but I wanted to apply some of the skills that I’ve learned during school. I used to make finished car clay models and prototypes. Most of my work nowadays is on the computer, or with pen and paper. It feels nice to work with your hands and transform raw materials into art.
My Munny project
Lately, I’ve been catching up on personal projects that I’ve been putting off. One of them was working on a Munny figure that was given to me by a former coworker. Initially, I was going to make a design that matched my desk. After applying the basecoat, I decided to add detail with woodgrain.
I was very satisfied with the woodgrain patterns, but then wanted to see how this would look with a fully glossy finish. I used processes that I learned from making car models during school. Right now, I’m going to let the second layer of clearcoat fully dry before another wet sanding and polish.
