44 replies to this topic

[REDA9X]

With solid acrylic, your painter is correct, there is no need for clear, if it was metallic, then you need it. That however doesn't mean you can't do it, but I can't really see the advantage to it.

[REDA9X]

Yep, pretty much. It might offer some more protection too from say bird crap. You could sand it out and reapply clear I guess without damaging the paint...in theory.

[hatchssv8]

You cannot have way too many cars (read Toranas)

[GTR-1]

had another chat with one of the guys at my panel shop an he's all for laying clear over solids.

he said it gives you more protection against scratching the colour and more depth, so in a month i'll be cutting back with 1500 then clear then cut then buff

I would always recommend to put clear over solid acrylic colours, the clear coat prevents the colour from oxidizing.

[GTR-1]

GTR-1...what prep do you recommend before spraying clear over acrylic?

Before I mention anything i need to know how long the colour has been on the car.
On what date did you apply the last coat of colour?
How many coats of colour did you apply, did you sand betwwen coats?

I presume you are going to use Acrylic clear? MAKE SURE YOU DO!

[Peter UC]

How many coats of clear do people recommend? And how many litres of clear does this translate to?

[GTR-1]

gtr-1 - ive laid on about 7 coats of acrylic (100/150 ratio), no sanding between coats. I started and finished painting 21/9/07.

Im heading away for work over the next month so i wont be touching the car until the 1st week in november.

Will this be ok to cut back and apply the clear around november and if so what grade of paper should i use. Anything else i may not be aware feel free to add your comments.

Kev

Since you are not going to be working on it for a while It might be wise to cover the car just to try and keep it dust-free. As much as you can. Using the misses best satin bed sheet will be perfect

Before you start MAKE SURE the Beer fridge is CHOCKA!. You're gonna need it.

You are going to have to lightly sand the car back with 1500. Don't go crazy here, you don't want to sand through.
Do the usual. Prepsol, blow off, tack rag.
Lay down 2-3 nice even coats of colour, just to fill the sanding marks. If you are happy with how the colour is sitting you can begin to clear it out.. Put down 4-5 coats of clear. I would be tempted to use a bit of "slow drying' thinner in the clear (espically if the air temp levels are getting up a bit) This will help the clear flow out a lot more and help it retain it's gloss.
Let the car sit for a couple of days then flat back with 1500 grit using plenty of clean water. Cleaning up the "rubbing slops" as you go. Be careful, take your time and don't sand through to the colour.

Do the usual again, prepsol, blow off, tack rag.
Put down another 4-5 coats of clear, (againg using a bit of slow drying thinner). Let the car sit for at least a week. Using 1500 grit flat the car back removing all the "orange peel".

Buff-up to a shine. I like to use Farecla G3 (with a bit of water) and a variable speed buff.

There is one thing every painter should know. 80% of a Good Paint Job is PREP WORK.

[GTR-1]

gtr-1, thanks for those tips. Now the only thing that will change your process is that ive already put the stripes on the car.

Instead of the colour coats after 1500 wet could i wet rub 2000 then clear as per your clear process?

http://www.gmh-toran...showtopic=21275

Just looked at your pics. I'm impressed, looks like you know what you are doing.

Yes, you can do.
The reason why I like to colour up is it only takes one piece of grit while sanding to put a scratch in the paint (and will usually occur on the bonnet). And the colour will always look better beneath the clear if you can eliminate the orange peel effect.

[GTR-1]

Thats also a one way ticket to Delamination as well!!!

If you've already gone to the trouble of preparing an Acrylic job you may as well do as GTR-1 has suggested and go the extra steps and enjoy the final result of the beautiful lustre that a well executed Lacquer finish can provide.

2K over acrylic is a waste of time, if you wanted a 2K finish then its no dearer to buy a 2K basecoat colour and rest in the knowledge that it will be fine 6 months down the road. Rather than the eventual problems that 2K over acrylic will have like sinkback, crowsfeet, De-lamination etc.

May as well leave those techniques to the caryards.....

Couldn't of said it better myself.