Smoothing the cladding

[John Draper]

I noticed that a lot of trac owners have re-painted the cladding. Especially noticed the ones that were painted a smooth high gloss black. I would like to know if they started out with smooth cladding or what they did to get it smooth for painting. Also, what paint they used.



It doesn't seem like it could be sanded and I don't think a sandable primer would work either.



So how did they do it?



I would appreciate any info on this and thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Alex Gonzalez]

http://www.mysporttrac.com/mysporttrac/projects/PaintingCladding/PaintingCladding.htm



Tom R's got one on removing the cladding too... just search the projects.

 

[John Draper]

Thanks Capt,



I did read those, so I guess you just keep putting on multiple coats of paint?

 

[Jon Stockwell]

I also painted my cladding but it didn't come out smooth with multiple coats of paint, it still has the rough texture it came with. I would imagine you could sand the rough texture off then prime and paint it, waaay too much work for me. Good luck

 

[Jeff C]

I think Todd Z used a professional paint gun to apply 4-5 coats and he got it smooth gloss black.

 

[Richard L]

A good body shop can paint over the slightly textured cladding and make it look as smooth as the rest of the body with only a minimum of sanding.



You will need tosand and clean the cladding. Then put on several coats of primer which will help fill in the texture. Then sand, and the finish paint and clear-coat will look as good as the factory finish.



If you have one of the paint colors that has a lot of metalic in it, you might want to add an extra coat of primer or two since any remaining texture may show up because the metalic particals cannot lay flat and will not reflect light evenly.



...Rich

 

[John Draper]

Some really good ideas here, thanks all for the help.



Might try a body shop for the sides since I want those to match. Maybe do the bumpers gloss black myself. Maybe do a light sanding w/ 220 before the body shop.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Would seem to me that multiple coats of a good, scratch filling primer, with sanding in between the last few coats would do the job...but then again, that's just a guess.

 

[Richard L]

TJR,

I thought that's what I said???



...Rich

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Sorry, RichardL, posted before I read yours...

 

[Daniel Park 2]

Sand down plastic with 80 grit, apply primer, wet sand with 600 grit, re-apply primer if you burned out on edges, re wet sand, wax and grease remover, tack cloth it, spray 1st coat of paint, just a medium wet coat, wait till it flashes off (around 8-10 min.) apply 2nd coat, apply 3rd coat if needed, wait till it dries, feel it for any ruff spots, if so wet sand with 600, apply clear coat 2-4 coats( for a real glossy look, wet sand between each coat of paint and clear coat, I would use 5 coats of clear, but thats just me.)

 

[Todd Z]

I did not sand mine other than between coats...



As Jeff C said. I used PPG single stage body shop paint. Not spray cans. 4-5 coats and a lot of time.. I wanted that smooth look....



Todd Z

[Broken External Image]:

[Broken External Image]: