>
> It's my understanding that the PolyFiber stuff does not like to be
> shot from the modern HVLP gun and prefers the old-fashioned wasteful
> type.
I originally used a nice and expensive HVLP gun but found that the paint would
orange peel easily. I sold the HVLP, went down to the local hardware store and
bought a cheap (USD125) locally manufactured home spray kit. This lays the top
gloss down quite nicely.
A good sanding is _essential_ before applying top gloss. I used a good quality
240 grit for the job. If you don't sand the underlying smooth prime well (as
on my stabilators where I only used 600 grit) then the top gloss will simply
peel off in sheets. The second time round I sanded back with 240 grit and the
top gloss bonded hard.
Follow the sanding with Prep Wipe and a well aired tack cloth. My first coat
is a mist coat only and is left for 20 minutes. This is followed by three full
coats at 20 minute intervals.
I found that leaving the coats to fully dry before applying the next coat
introduces the opportunity to cut through the coats later on when sanding the
surface back. If you do this then you end up with a tide mark between layers.
If you get it right then the paint will flow when drying into a semi gloss
finish.
Once it has dried for a week I grab a palm sander and sand the entire surface
with 1200 followed by 1500 grit flushed with plenty of water.
Then its out with the polisher, starting with a rough cut, and working down to
a fine cut.
Once you have done all of that you can stand back and look at the shine. You
don't get a hard glider shine but from 10 feet it still looks pretty good.
Anyone who looks closer than that shouldn't have been standing on the runway.
If you do get a tear in the surface, which can sometimes occur at a hard edge,
then peel back the tear until it stops. Sand back the edges of the tear and
the underlying surface. If its a small tear then just dab on some more paint
with a paintbrush or if it's larger then respray. Leave for a week then sand
it back.
One thing I really like about top gloss is the ability to retouch and blend in
very easily. What I don't like about it is the amount of sanding and polishing
you have to do to achieve the shine.
Tony
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