Clear Coating

[Audi1]

Got a little behind with finishing up the new track................

I ended up putting on 3 mist coats, 3 light coats and 1 heavy (wet) coat, with 1 hour drying times in between each one of the mist and light coats and 24 hours between the last light coat and the final wet coat and............no problems. I left the finish on the two cars as matte, rather than gloss, by spraying the heavy coat from further away. I like the effect.

So, I have some more experimenting to do later this Summer (drying time). I'll have a formula to work from before I do my next clear coat on a car.

Allan

[McLiams]

[MoparMan]

Soiunds like everyone is using rattle cans. Correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm not, then allow me to suggest using an airbrush. I've been clear coating models for years with an airbrush and I've never had any issues. You can still buy your favorite product in the rattle cans, just milk the can as needed, let the product offgas, and spray. Your control will be much better, and you won't ruin any decals.

[RichD]

I expect that most people use rattle cans. I usually use rattle cans, but I also have an air brush that I use for colors that are not available in rattle cans or if I want to use a water based paint. The spray pattern of the nozzle on a rattle can is not great and can change if it starts to clog up in the middle of a job. With a good air brush you can get much better control over the spray pattern. One reason that I don't use the air brush more is that I am mostly doing HO bodies. Considering the tiny amount of paint that actually ends up on the car there is a big mess to clean up. Another issue for me is that I don't have a permanent place to set up my spray booth and other stuff. It is not a good idea to spray paint when it is humid. I don't have AC, so I have to paint in the basement, which has a dehumidifier, when it is humid. The basement is not heated, so I have to spray upstairs when it gets cold. If you are going to spray paint you should have a spray booth with an exhaust fan, if you are going to use an air brush that is even more important.

[MoparMan]

That airbrush looks like the "twenty dollar wonder" from Harbor Freight. Get yourself a good gravity feed airbrush and you can paint with a much smaller amount of paint. It's much easier to clean as well. Great for HO bodies. Can be cleaned in just a minute or two. No separate jars or cups to clean. They are also very thrifty with paint. A little goes a long way.