Tips on shooting clear???

[towtruckAl]

to Nate the original b-c base colour was water base paint , the clear was acrilic or urethane ,thined with reducer that was the problem with bonding ,and need for some orange peel both ford and gm factory reps came to the paint courses they both had the same problem . if you look down side of any new cars in a parking lot in the sun you will still see orange peel , jap noth american or european , Myself i still use industrial acrilic enamel , mixed to what i need . the owmer of house of colour told me a few years ago if they caught me in california i would be hung upside down on lamp post . he really had a good laugh when i told him when i was young i painted in local car wash at night with fast dry reducer and enamel never got a nicer paint job absolutely no dust

 

[Tinker67]

One question. Did you acquire a mixing cup from the paint store, they are important and helpful , (Sikkens even has their own measuring stick ) you can adjust your mixture somewhat, but they give a good starting point for viscosity. Good luck,practice makes,you know what.

 

[69 MBee]

No idea what gun your using. It's all about reps behind a gun.
I have 3 Satajets ....but prefer a Prolite 2 or an old Techna Copper with 1.4 fluid tip/needle for smooth clearcoats.
Typically, fan full open with quarter turn in to narrow fan a bit. Fluid adjust full open....one full turn in. 24lbs on the Prolite 28 on the Techna.
Keep in mind, I can get a bit more aggressive due to air movement in a booth. You'll have to find your sweet spot in the environment your painting.

First coat just get an even coat on the panel.....don't try to bury it. After it tacks, your following coat(s) are about 3/4 the speed of the first coat....let it flow.

Advice I've used for over 35 years......if you don't have a hanger or two...you wasn't trying to make it slick.

 

[Tinker67]

"Flow indicators" , "Hangers". Love it, I always called it, "My Signature".

 

[Mike67]

I bought a TCP gun and doing this for the first time had the same issue, the top sides were the worst. Its not perfect but was able to cut and buff it out with various pads and compounds.
Yours looks pretty good from the pics.

 

[zyzzyx]

I don't know if anyone wants to spend the cash, but i'm using 3M Trizact discs with a Dynabrade palm sander, (grey color coded lever) and 1500, 5000, and finally 8000 grit Trizact wet to finish my clear coat. They are expensive, but three discs will do a car. The guy who painted my car put three coats on, D.A'd it down to remove the peel, and then applied two nice wet coats. Beautifull!

 

[AR67GTX]

I’m strictly an amateur but I’ve gotten by with laying down a light tack coat, a second slightly heavier coat but with no effort to get flow out, and then 2 - 3 medium to heavier coats. That will produce orange peel but wet sanding and buffing are definitely my friend. It should minimize runs. Be sure to allow sufficient time between coats to allow out-gassing (or whatever it should be called) to avoid solvent pop.

 

[69 MBee]

Trizact is a great system. I suggest the use of an interface pad.

Flow coating will always give a smooth, flat custom appearance. I just finished a 5 series BMW, with blacked out trim that looked like a black mirror.........in his case, it added an extra 3k to the bottom line.

 

[1967coronet]

Another vote for 3ms Trizact products.
We use them also with the interface pads.

A finish DA, works best, we had 1000, 1200 ,3000, and 5000 grits. Keep it all wet and stay away from edges .

 

[zyzzyx]

Two drops of Dawn dishwashing soap in a quart spray bottle! Only two!