First time painting from the outside - help

[crazy4rc]

I've just finished putting together my Tamiya F350 High Lift and now it's time to paint the body. This will be the first one I have to paint from the outside and I was just looking for some advice. I also have a Bruiser I'll be restoring after this one so I just want to make sure I paint them right. This is what I read so far, sand the body with 1000 grit to remove any imperfections and prep the surface, wash it off with soap and water, 1 coat of primer, sand the primer with 2000 grit, clean again, paint 4 coats of color, sand with 2000 again to remove the orangepeel and another 2 coats of primer. Does this sound right to you guys? I've done wet sanding and polishing on real cars but not models. Any info on the subject will really be appreciated.

[NotWalkinBlind]

You can do wet sanding on models.

If you're gonna race/run/bash this thing, I wouldn't spend a whole bunch of time on it... if you know what I mean.
;) :cool:

[crazy4rc]

No racing or bashing so I wanted to make it look nice. Basically a shelf queen next to the bruiser. :cool:

[NotWalkinBlind]

Okay, then you'll be needin' to do 15-20 coats of clear.

Each one hand rubbed, of course.
:D

[MrCrash]

clean again, paint 4 coats of color, sand with 2000 again to remove the orangepeel and another 2 coats of primer.

I would have to say that clear coat works better as a finishing coat for paint then primer :p

[crazy4rc]

I would have to say that clear coat works better as a finishing coat for paint then primer :p
Clear - ha! :huh:

[crazy4rc]

I read in other forums that people wetsand the final coat of clear coat. Being a former finishing man for a body shop you would then have to compound, glaze and wax to get the perfect finish. Does everyone actually give two coats of clear, wetsand, and 1 more coat to finish? I don't want to sound crazy on this but I just want to do the steps correctly the first time!

[Farwar]

2000 grit sound a little high for sanding your primer. I would use at least 600 grit to give it some tooth for the paint to grab onto. You would use 2000+ for when you are finishing the clear. Since the body is plastic, I would spray adhesion promoter before your primer so it will bond well. What kind of paint are you using?

[crazy4rc]

2000 grit sound a little high for sanding your primer. I would use at least 600 grit to give it some tooth for the paint to grab onto. You would use 2000+ for when you are finishing the clear. Since the body is plastic, I would spray adhesion promoter before your primer so it will bond well. What kind of paint are you using?
Well so far I sanded the body with 1000 grit, washed it and put on 2 light coats of Tamiya primer. I'm letting it cure for at least 24 hours and I'll sand it again with the 1000 grit to remove any imperfections. One of the questions I have is how should I go about cleaning it after I sanded the primer before paint? Should I wash it with soap and water or just use a dry cloth to wipe it down? As for the paint I'm using it's all Tamiya. I'm just painting one color, black. The kit was built with the JunFac lightweight chassis and lift and I really liked the look of the truck they had in their website so I'm duplicating it. Here is the picture of what I'm shooting for.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f294/extremerc/f350_21.jpg