Okay not really technical but I don't see anywhere else it fits.

I just finished spray painting, sanding and buffing my spoiler and to be honest, its really sub-par.

I did 3 coats of prime to ensure coverage, 5 coats of black and about 8 coats of clear, sanded it back with 2000 wet sand paper and buffed it, but its still got a lot of tiny dents evenly across the paint. I can't really get a picture but it isn't shiny like the rest of the car.

Anyone got suggestions? I am using cheap ass paint and this is a practice paint job so I'm not too fussed, I just want to get my painting technique right before I do the whole car with proper equipment.

Well few reasons. Firstly thats way to many paint coats of clear. Normally you get pinholes when you attempt to cover with thick coats. But normally you just have to sand it back until they disappear. Use 2000 only at the very end, use something rougher to get rid of pin holes (1200 will do) then finish with 2000.

Its really hard to get acrylic paint (what you got in a can) to shine as well as 2 pack paint which the rest of your car has. Also what are you using to cut?

The clear used on the car is a 2 Pack Finish, so Part A and Part B mixed together, thinned and applied, now doing it this way gives you excellent depth to the clear something that not even an acrylic lacquer with 10 coats could replicate. Trust me I've tried but at the end of the day to get it looking the same you need to use a 2 Pack's.

Also generally with a spray can techniques vary but primer should only take 1 coat, 2 if your a putting it on lightly, color should be achieved after 3 at the very latest, and clear, well it doesn't really matter it won't last but around 3-4 depending on the manufacture is needed.

Also when it comes to spraying a whole car its a totally different kettle of fish, firstly you need to use a HVLP or have a compressor that can keep the pressure up so your not forced to stop half way through the bonnet, your paint systems are a lot more Hi Tech, not only are the paints an acrylic lacquer and 2pack but when it comes to plastic parts it requires a different thinner and in some cases a flex additive to the product.

Then on top of that you have a larger margin for errors when spraying a whole car using 2pack paints, probably the number one problem I have seen is too much orange peel, in pretty much all cases if you haven't painted a car before your going to have to wet sand the whole car with 2000grit paper and polish it up to remove the orange peel that can be caused by too warm or cold weather, applying the product too thick, poor mixing of ingredients, incorrect air pressure and humidity is a silent killer.

I recently sprayed my eyelids I bought with a colour matched spray can from autobarn, used two coats of primer and three coats of paint, came out pretty even with no pinholes ... So maybe you have gone too thick on the amount of coats ?

if you dont wait long enough between coats you can get solvent pop. this is where the not yet dry layer is releasing the solvent into the top coat, making small hole and bumps.

best thing to do is wait at least an hour before re applying coat, i usually hit it with a hair dryer from a distance in the interim as well.

also, before final sand, buff and polish, wait at least 2 - 3 days, then the paint can be at its hardest, otherwise it will be too soft and wont polish up nicely.

I think it'd be a good idea to practice more before you start working on painting an entire car. Doing a good job with spray painting requires a culmination of the right equipment, the right products, the right environment and above all the right skill.

Acrylic is great for a beginner and for backyard jobs but the finish is nothing like that of 2-pack. The preference for anyone and everyone would be the latter, but a good finish with acrylic is still possible. 2-Pack is less forgiving due to being shiny off the gun, and any runs need to be sanded back and resprayed. Getting the right portions of hardener is important as well. Also, 2k takes longer to dry so it'd be desirable to have a baking booth to ensure the paint dries quickly and properly.

I would head to your local wreckers and pick off a few panels to practice on. A TE-TH bonnet would be a easy panel to start off with. When you get confident move onto a dinted guard and maybe a door. Then try your hand a plastic bumper of some sort. Build your skills up before you hit a complete car.

As above, with the spoiler, you did far too many coats. Less is sometimes more. Focus on having good even coverage instead of so many coats. For next time, I recommend stripping the paint back to bare plastic and starting from fresh. Bog up any dints/scratches/knocks, then wax and grease clean the bumper, then 3 coats plastic primer, 2-3 coats of base colour and 2 coats of clear after that. Make sure to wait about 10-15mins between coats. Cover the surface evenly and look out for any runs. If there are any runs on the base coat, then sand it back and respray until you're happy with it. A very light 1800grit (or higher) wet sand between the primer and base coat wouldn't hurt either. Once the clear is on, give it a good few days to harden and fully cure. Then you do a nice 2000grit wet and dry rub back to get the gloss off, and finish with a good buff with light acrylic cutting paste.

Cheers all from the advice. I did the clear coats about 2 minutes apart allowing it to flash off. Btw it's enamel not acrylic.

I think I'm starting to see a pattern hear but hey at least it was a practice panel!

If you used a spray can it is not enamel, most of the older styles of enamel paints are not available any longer, if it flashed off in 2 mins it is definately acrylic.

The 2 pak is classed as an enamel but can not be used in a spray can as when you mix the 2 parts together you then get about 40 mins before they begin to gen and go hard

Readily available are enamel and acrylic enamel spray paints but I dont know of anywhere that color matches car paint into an spray can of either.

The most popular for the dry time and durability is an acrylic lacquer it dries in minutes and contrary to the name is cleaned up with thinners/turps not water like traditional acrylic paints.

There are spray cans that have 2 pak, they have an "activator" at the base of the can that you must puncture or twist prior to use. The can label says its enamel so now I'm confused :\

There are spray cans that have 2 pak, they have an "activator" at the base of the can that you must puncture or twist prior to use. The can label says its enamel so now I'm confused :\

Is this the primer, colour or clear?