Quote: have you tried a scratch test recently? I am curious how your paint is holding up after all the layers.
How did the paint handle when you sanded down to fix the dent? Did it chip off, smear off or something else?
Yeah I try a scratch test after every coat and it doesn't scratch at all.
Its really pretty simple - as long as the stuff is on there thin and there's no runs, and it passes a scratch test, it's dry. If there are runs, those runs are what scratch off because they haven't dried completely since the paint is thick in that area (and never will dry right). Orange peel is thicker paint-thinner paint -thicker paint, so that definately needs to come off if it's bad.
The paint came off as expected when I sanded it, in powder form. I only scratched the area where the ding was with 80 grit to give it teeth, then did bondo, but the sanding affected the area around the ding, and that sanded off in powder, didn't clog up the paper or anything. It was very easy to fix the ding and to smooth out and 'feather' the area around the ding.
Thanks for the words Charger. I can't put it out in the sun for a day though unless I can figure out a way to move it up and down my driveway. I can let it bake in my garage for a few days at 95 degrees though
