Sequence for painting double sided panels

[Brave Salmon]

Feeling pretty silly asking this but here goes. I am repainting my hood due to various nicks, chips, scratches and flaws from when I originally painted it. After the sanding/scuffing process I want to lay down a fresh coat of primer followed by 2 coats of base and 3-4 coats of clear. This process needs to be done non-stop (with flash times of course) to get proper "cross-linking" of the polymers from primer to base to clears. The big question is what sequence to follow to get both sides done without ruining one side or the other? Should I mask off the top and do the entire underside, wait a day or two and then repeat on the top side? I can hang the hood and paint it vertically but I really prefer not to. What do you Pro guys do in these situations because you surely don't like to waste time but you see this issue every day. Any help is appreciated very much.
Tom

[Robodent]

I would do one side at a time if both sides are primed and prepped correctly I would finish the underside first no need to mask off the top side. When finished mask off the bottom side flip it over then touch up your prep work on the top then shoot it. I don’t quite understand your primer theory. I would prime it then wait a couple days to cure then block it down to 600 then sealer then base coat and last but not least clear . Rob.

[33fromSD]

Agree with Rob on the primer. Unless you discovered a way to paint a flawless primer coat (I'd pay for that method by the way), there will be some blocking needed on the primer coat to get it smooth for the base coat. Keep in mind, base coat will only accentuate your primer coat so if you have flaws they will stick out and then any of those flaws will be magnified by the clear coat.

Also primer is finicky, if you don't wait a couple of day after final sanding you may have issues. Primer flashes between coats when you apply it but it also flashes again after final sanding (your opening some of the pores of the primer), if you spray base coat immediately after final sanding you may end up with bubbling or rippling in your base coat.

As far as base & clear, it's personal preference really. I would spray base on the bottom, let it cure 4 hours after the final coat, flip it and then spray base on the top. If you can figure out a way to hang the hood from the hinge brackets you could then clear the whole hood top & bottom at the same time.

On mine I shot base on the bottom of the hood (did the trunk & doors the same), then cleared the bottom, the a few days later, I scuffed any spots on the top with base or clear oversapray and then shot base on the top and then cleared it. I've had no issues with that method but you need to make sure your scuffing through any over spray from the clear so you won't have adhesion issues.

Jim

[Brave Salmon]

Thanks Jim and Rob, I think I understand now. I was mixing up the primer re-coat timing with the base/clear which is where the time limits apply. I have 48 hrs between primer and base and 24 between base and clear. This gives me much more time than I thought.