Morris Minor Owners Club

whats the best way to get a really good shine on new paint

i'm in the process of spraying my trav with celly i'm using good quality high gloss for the top 2 coats and normal thinners for the bottom 4 i want it to have a good thickness of paint.

it doesn't look too bad just a bit duller than i'd like.

i've fletted a few places and used my buffer and polish which is aotuglym pro resin polish

it brought it up a bit more shiny but still not to the glass finish i'd like any ideas chaps or chappess' i shouldn't be sexiest lol

For a mirror finish get hold of some really fine wet and dry paper (I use 3000) with warm soapy water and gently flat the whole whole car back. Then you need a good cutting compound to get the shine, I use Farcela G3 with a polishing mop (keep the mop head wet to avoid burning the paint though). Try someone like Jawel Paints for the Farcela and mop head.

For cellulose, I would personally put more than 6 coats on- maybe 8 or 10 if you have enough paint. then there will be plenty of depth for flatting the paint with fine wet and dry. To get any orange peel or runs off you can use 1200 grit wet and dry, used wet, followed by G3, I then use t-cut to get the shine. Then, use a glaze polish (fills any tiny imperfections) followed by a good quality wax.

Leave the paint to cure for a week before doing this.

Personally, I wouldnt use Autoglym as it contains sillicone- very bad if you need to re-paint any localised areas. Get a decent Carnauba wax, they are the best type of wax- from Frost or Halfords.

I'd go with 8-10 coats but you really must allow each one to breath for atleast 15 mins between coats, otherwise the paint will go stoggy and sink. If you are competant at spraying then use more thinner in the last coat to allow it to flow out. Leave for at least a week maybe longer if the weather or temperature is low and damp. Start with a minimum of 2000 grit flatting paper wet, then if you have a D/A use a insulation pad and 3000 grit wet pads, use this on a low speed. Follow with G3 cutting compound and a mop as outlined by Lee. You should then use a polishing head on the mop with a 'machine polish' not a hand polish, keep this wet at all times. End up using a good quality 'hand glaze'. Make sure that you use the correct mopping heads for the type and colour of the paint, and keep the clean at all times.