02gtp4now

iTrader: (7)

yep thats what i ment

parbreak

iTrader: (17)

We'll give it a try.

Bryan

pbalias

no no no no no! your paint job WILL fail. that is NOT what thinner is designed to do. the process you are thinking of is called "Flow-Coating." Basically you overreduce the last coat of clear to get it to "flow out" better. You use REDUCER not THINNER. Reducer is temperature and time specific, and when used correctly will let the clear cure the way it was designed to do. thinner is designed to do one thing...CLEAN. In fact, most clears now (we use PPG) isn't reduced AT ALL. It's mixed 4:1 clear to activator/hardener.

And another tip on flow coating: It is best done after the LAST coat of clear has cured and been wet sanded. Then you come back with the over-reduced clear and apply 2 wet coats to give it a super smooth finish. HOWEVER...this process should be used for show cars only that don't see too much sunlight. When you over-reduce the clear, you are decreasing the film build (mils) of the clear. Clear coat is UV protected ONLY at a certain film build. Any thinner than the recommended film build, the clear will fail over time (i've seen that happen in as little as 6 months in our Texas sun.)

parbreak

iTrader: (17)

The guys at SPI(Southern Polyurethane Inc.) recommend doing just that. Let the first coats of clear cure, wet sand with 400-600 and then flow coat on 1-2 more coats with the over reduced clear.

stryker14

iTrader: (1)

3 words... Closer, Wetter, better

RUNINHOT

iTrader: (10)

Thats real good advice their. Oh util your spraying along the door, stumble, and end up with a foot long run from getting a tad to close.

stryker14

iTrader: (1)

Never stumbled in the booth before but im pretty sure if I did it would be a problem reguardless of my gun distance.

02gtp4now

iTrader: (7)

knock the thinner all you want painted 100's of things with it never failed yet

cvalliere

iTrader: (1)

Just use a hotter reducer..... example: PPG DT898. Or I've even used a cap full of blender per quart of sprayable clear

jdime20

i hope you guys are talking about a reducer that is made for the clear, and not laquer thinner

Complicated

just wetsand and buff the darn thing, clear is designed to spray with a certain mixture for durability reasons. If you want a wet finish then follow this process

Clear
let it tack
clear
let it tack
clear
let it cure
wetsand
clear
let it tack
clear
let it tack
clear
let it cure
wetsand
clear
let it tack
clear
let it tack
clear
let it cure
wet sand
buff


this is alot of work and the right way to do this for a super wet, showcar look.
Quit being lazy

Pro-Mo

Todays clear do not need that many coats. Just my opinion.
Id clear it with three coats, let it sit overnight. Sand it with 600 then clear it with three more coats. Then id cut and buff.
I believe with that many coats the solvents are never going to come up. Which will cause problems later.

parbreak

iTrader: (17)

Yea, that's about 5-6 coats TOO many. It's just building useless layers that are more prone to chipping and failure over time, especially for daily drivers.

cvalliere

iTrader: (1)

+1
the clear will fail.