Care to share your process? I might consider painting a few ZX amps in the future.
if it already has paint on it then you can just use a grety scuff pad with some comet and warm water to scuff the surface... ill use something called dx101 which is prep and plend and its 15 bucks a tube... after scuffing , wash the part(s), and hang and dry... use a blow gun to really get the nooks and cranys... after its dry wipe down with a high quality paper towel (shop rags in the yellow box at your auto parts store), using a wax and grease remover such as ppg's dx320... do not use a oven or grill cleaner.... NOW THIS IS UP TO YOU... if you have chips or scratches then prime and repeat the above..if primed, wet sand with nothing less than a 600 wetsand paper.....
after area has been wetsanded and scuffed, cleaned and is ready and dirt free, we are ready to spray our color... if your doing this in a home garage, take a moment to plan , WHAT IS THE TEMPERATURE NOW?.. when using a base/clear , you have to reduce the color that you buy from the bodyshop supplier, this means adding a thinner to it called reducer.. they make it for different temps so it will dry properly such as dt870,dt885,dt895... if its 95 out side and you spray 870, it will dry instantly , but if its a large area your doing then it may look blotchy due to it not being able to let the metallics lay down... 870 is for cooler temps and 895 its for hotter temps .... usually its cut with the color 1;1, or 1.5;1 depending on what you buy... after spraying with a spray gun(gun should have no bigger that a 1.4 tip,you can run the needle wide open and set the air pressure at about 40 at the wall... use a regulator at the end of the gun, it should read about 18-20 pli with the trigger completely pulled...spray 8-10 inches away from surface.. paint shouldnt go on wet , should look kinda dry).)after spraying let stand for 15 to 20 minutes to be safe... have a tach cloth on hand to gently wipe the parts down of any dust or dirt , recoat if necc, watch for see threw , blotchyness,make sure colors even... after colors done, clean the **** gun goooood, or have a seperate one just for clear...
clearing is a fine art and with practice you can make a lot of money... for amps and stuff, ill use a cheaper clear like omni brand... there are different hardners here too... this clear is 2;1 and with amps being small, you could go ahead and use a fast hardner if you wish... after mixing add a drop or 2 of fisheye eliminator, because i know your garages are full of tire shine... too much fisheye eliminator will cause the clear to dieback and look like satin.. only a drop or 2 is neccesary.... wipe down part for the last time... bump the air pressure up to about 21lbs at the regulator and turn the needle adjustment 2-2.5 complete turns in...( im giving you a ballpark but this should be fine....) dust the entire part with a quick dry spray coat first and wait about 5 minutes.... if there is an area thats wet with clear, such as the stand or cardboard that your spraying on, touch the wetness and see what its like... when its ready for coat number 2 , it should be less tacky than masking tape.... dust the part completely again, this time a lil slower with a 50/50 overlap... dont try to get it wet as heck just yet... it will all melt together with coats, if you get it soaked with clear there is a 90 percent chance you will run it...
JUST REMEMBER 18-21LBS AT THE GUN WITH TRIGGER PULLED, 2 TURNS NEEDLE CHOKED IN WITH A 1.4 TIP... WAIT FOR COATS TO BE LESS TACKY THAN MASKING TAPE, AT DONT SOAK IT AND KEEP THE GUN MOVING AT ALL TMES 8-10 INCHES AWAY... IT WILL LOOK LIKE SHIT AT FIRST BUT EVERYTHING WILL MELT TOGETHER IF YOU FOLLOW THESE STEPS... DONT RUSH... IF THERE IS A RUN , AFTER ITS DRY YOU CAN WETSAND WITH 2000 AND BUFF... if you do it right , it should be flat like this