Well, ive finally got it down. I now understand why Vinnie (BadAzz516) said that prep'in the pieces was the hardest part. Im now on the third try of painting them, and think ive finally got it right. First time I was just an idiot and didn't let the paint dry before I apply'd the clearcoat... and I put too much clearcoat on each coat, so it got bubbly and hazy. Anyway, if you plan on doing this, just when you think you have sanded the pieces good enough, you haven't! I spent an extra hour or so just for this little door handle piece, and now it looks 10000 times better. Originally I had spent about 30 minutes sanding it down, and it looked good enough to me... but then in the end I wasn't happy with my work at all! Now I am... here are some pics..



This is a pic of the 2nd time I did it. You can see a texture to the paint... (those blurs and blob's are just reflections... the webby part is the texture). This is the piece after being painted and clearcoat'd, but not wax'd and polished.



This is the 3rd time. I spent a lot of time sanding, and final result is MUCH better. This piece is just painted. No clear coat.

As you can see, taking the time to sand it is MUCH worth the effort.

Once again, thanks Vinnie for all the tips!

-Mike

 

Sweet!

Thanks for the reminder, when you think your done, your only half way there!

 

Yup, im quite glad I went back and spent that extra 45 minutes sanding...

-Mike

 

I think I'm going to go this route, can you guys tell me what you used to sand? tools, grade of sand paper, etc....

also what kind of primer, color, clear....I've heard of people using modeling paint, no primer, and clear, and it's holding up fine....so many different ways, just trying to lessen my 'oops' factor.

Thanks!