Auto body repair & detailing: crazing clear coat, horizontal panels, incompatible products


Question
I have just finished painting my valiant wagon and found some very fine hair like cracks appearing along the edges of panels. Its clear over a metallic base.I at first thought they were scratches thet are so fine.Am i able to wet sand these out or is the clear damaged. I understand that the metallic can not be sanded as it will become blotchy in appearance. Just as an out there question. Can a metallic be wet sanded like a flat colour and then buffed as you would do if there was no clear on top.
cheers jason , Melb ,Aust

Answer
Jason, i suspect you are seeing sand scratches from when you sanded the panels before painting. You should have used no coarser than 600 grit paper to sand the old finish or primer prior to painting. There is no repair for this. Silver metallic is very unforgiving to spray, every flaw, sand scratch, and spec of dirt shows up readily. Id it's the clear itself, and it's actually cracking, you mix-mixed the paint, or used incompatible products. You should always go start to finish with 1 company- If you use PPG primer, you need to use PPG sealer, paint, and clear with PPG hardeers and reducers. If you did all these things, about the only other thing it can be is over-application of clear. You need no more than 3 coats of clear, and don't flood the horizontal panels. Flooding usually results it solvent popping, not crazing- but I think it's a likely possibility, given your location.