Clear coat mishap

[ryan81]

Hi guys,

Had a bit of a mishap with my clear coat on my Ducati 888 - looking for advice.

Mist coat and first wet coat went down as usual. However, on the second wet coat, some sections did not even out and I got the below bubbly effect. I suspect it was too wet.



Does anyone know how to fix this? Do you think I could sand it back with a fine grit? I'm hoping the first coats will protect the decals enough that I can smoothen it out.

Thanks in advance!

[Twokidsnosleep]

What clear is it???

[Bdiddy]

Looks like you may have put to much of a wet coat down, as Scotty said what clear are you using?

[Twokidsnosleep]

I just re-read....two wet coats??
I think the first wet hadn't gassed off completely and you trapped solvent in with the second wet coat....then the bubbles come
Has it eaten he decals too or is it just in the clear??

I do two mist coats, first one very light; second a smidge heavier no wet areas. I time 10 minutes to let each layer gas off
Then I do one wet coat and put it in a cupboard so I don't get my damn fingers in it
This is Splash 2K and Gravity 2k I have done like this

[ryan81]

I do a similar method, using a clear from a can - Mr Super Clear UV Cut B522. I do a light mist coat, then a wetter coat (not fully wet but full coverage, wait 20 mins then a wet coat.

The wheels, guards and half the body came out fine, so I think the bubbles are just from going too heavy

[ryan81]

I just re-read....two wet coats??
I think the first wet hadn't gassed off completely and you trapped solvent in with the second wet coat....then the bubbles come
Has it eaten he decals too or is it just in the clear??

I do two mist coats, first one very light; second a smidge heavier no wet areas. I time 10 minutes to let each layer gas off
Then I do one wet coat and put it in a cupboard so I don't get my damn fingers in it
This is Splash 2K and Gravity 2k I have done like this

No damage to the decals at all. It feels like there's just too much clear which has puddled in spots, leaving a bumpy surface, rather than just coarse. Almost like the surface of the ocean

[Twokidsnosleep]

I just re-read....two wet coats??
I think the first wet hadn't gassed off completely and you trapped solvent in with the second wet coat....then the bubbles come
Has it eaten he decals too or is it just in the clear??

I do two mist coats, first one very light; second a smidge heavier no wet areas. I time 10 minutes to let each layer gas off
Then I do one wet coat and put it in a cupboard so I don't get my damn fingers in it
This is Splash 2K and Gravity 2k I have done like this

No damage to the decals at all. It feels like there's just too much clear which has puddled in spots, leaving a bumpy surface, rather than just coarse. Almost like the surface of the ocean

I do a similar method, using a clear from a can - Mr Super Clear UV Cut B522. I do a light mist coat, then a wetter coat (not fully wet but full coverage, wait 20 mins then a wet coat.

The wheels, guards and half the body came out fine, so I think the bubbles are just from going too heavy

Ok good no decal damage...that means you ‘could’ sand it out smooth if you are lucky.
Be careful and it is worth a try to sand it if it isn’t everywhere; otherwise you stripping it and destroying decals anyways

[ryan81]

I just re-read....two wet coats??
I think the first wet hadn't gassed off completely and you trapped solvent in with the second wet coat....then the bubbles come
Has it eaten he decals too or is it just in the clear??

I do two mist coats, first one very light; second a smidge heavier no wet areas. I time 10 minutes to let each layer gas off
Then I do one wet coat and put it in a cupboard so I don't get my damn fingers in it
This is Splash 2K and Gravity 2k I have done like this

No damage to the decals at all. It feels like there's just too much clear which has puddled in spots, leaving a bumpy surface, rather than just coarse. Almost like the surface of the ocean

I do a similar method, using a clear from a can - Mr Super Clear UV Cut B522. I do a light mist coat, then a wetter coat (not fully wet but full coverage, wait 20 mins then a wet coat.

The wheels, guards and half the body came out fine, so I think the bubbles are just from going too heavy

Ok good no decal damage...that means you ‘could’ sand it out smooth if you are lucky.
Be careful and it is worth a try to sand it if it isn’t everywhere; otherwise you stripping it and destroying decals anyways

That's the way I see it too. I'm not displaying it that way so either the sanding is a success or I buy another kit. Cheers for the input

[Twokidsnosleep]

No damage to the decals at all. It feels like there's just too much clear which has puddled in spots, leaving a bumpy surface, rather than just coarse. Almost like the surface of the ocean

I do a similar method, using a clear from a can - Mr Super Clear UV Cut B522. I do a light mist coat, then a wetter coat (not fully wet but full coverage, wait 20 mins then a wet coat.

The wheels, guards and half the body came out fine, so I think the bubbles are just from going too heavy

Ok good no decal damage...that means you ‘could’ sand it out smooth if you are lucky.
Be careful and it is worth a try to sand it if it isn’t everywhere; otherwise you stripping it and destroying decals anyways

That's the way I see it too. I'm not displaying it that way so either the sanding is a success or I buy another kit. Cheers for the input

No worries, good luck to you
I have had it happen to me too and it will probably happen again, unfortunately

[ryan81]

Update: cleaned some of it up, sanding from 1000 grit up to 3000 grit. Tough to take back all of the bumps but I would say about 95% of it is gone. Might have to go to 600 or 800 but I already lost a bit of paint from the 1000 so the decals might be at risk by going rougher.

Followed up with all 3 grades of Novus polish to get some shine back. Will need to redo the clear coat when all said and done.

That's the easy part done. The front cowl will be much harder but if I can get the majority of of the bumps taken back I think I will settle and display it like that

[Twokidsnosleep]

Update: cleaned some of it up, sanding from 1000 grit up to 3000 grit. Tough to take back all of the bumps but I would say about 95% of it is gone. Might have to go to 600 or 800 but I already lost a bit of paint from the 1000 so the decals might be at risk by going rougher.

Followed up with all 3 grades of Novus polish to get some shine back. Will need to redo the clear coat when all said and done.

That's the easy part done. The front cowl will be much harder but if I can get the majority of of the bumps taken back I think I will settle and display it like that

Hey great result
That is a stressful bit of work, but you pulled it off

[SMAddict66]

Looks like a fine recovery

[Whiterook]

I’m not saying this has any chance of being good advice ...but I wonder if a coat of Future Acrylic would even out things even more? Regardless.. I think you did a splendid save

[BigWall]

Nice save!

[Bdiddy]

nice save mate, turned out great

[digger303]

Very nice save...almost a miracle

[ryan81]

Thanks everyone. While some of it cleaned up ok, I've made the call to buy another kit and re-do it. Few reasons for this; cheap kit, wasn't happy with the paint initially, aligned one of the main decals way out of line (parallel to the body rather than the other decals), and some of the clear was so bumpy that I couldn't clean without damaging decals.

I'm going to strip down this body and do a custom build with it. Two questions; 1. What is the best way to strip it down to its original state? 2. Any suggestions for a custom build? I was thinking a raw black state, much like the pre-season testing bikes, might be cool. Otherwise, a more vanilla road bike livery might be ther way to go