Hey guys I recently took it upon myself to paint the bumper of my car since it was in HORRIBLE shape. Well I did everything pretty decently i think (btw im using spray cans not a gun - i know but for now i just need a temporary paint job im getting it painted next year). And im done with the paint coats and now im on clear coating (again - with a can). My question is - how do you get the clear coats to look SO glossy and glass-like the rest of the car? Is there some special steps i need to follow? I was thinking - put a coat of it on, hand buff it. Put another coat, hand buff, do it a few times. Do i need a special machine? I have a regular wax/buffer but not those huge professional ones, its just one for waxing/polishing - would that work? Can someone tell me exactly what i need to do to get it to look like the rest of the car? Since right now the color matches but the bumper is kinda flat looking and not glossy. Thanks so much for your time!

You need to paint it with all the coats you want. Then wet sand it to take out the inpurities. then you need to buff with a high speed buffer, and wala you got a shinney clear coat.

A couple of things here. The reason why it may not look "glossy" and more flat is probably that the spray paint may have a flattening agent in it to let the average joe let the paint "lay" down evenly. If that's the case, it will almost impossible to make it look glossy. To put clear down, apply about 3 coats with about 10 minutes dry time in between each coat. I'd imagine that the spray can stuff doesn't put alot of material down, so use a VERY mild polish to buff. Your small buffer is probably better b/c it might be slower and prevent you from burning through the clear.

lay a few coats and lightly wet sand it with a 800 then 1200 grit sandpaper... and 3M Finess-it finishing material works wonders with a buffer... it might take longer, but it might just work.

i'd prefer using a gun, but you can see why in my sig (i made it look that way, yes i painted that car)