Clear coat Question

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340swinger4spd

340swinger4spd

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I was doing a paint job on my replacement truck bed. I was really trying to be careful not orange peel the clear. Doing so I got some runs. Should I have sprayed the clear not worrying about the orange peel ? The first coat ofcouse didn't have a smooth coverage with a 1.4 tip. It turned out ok but I prefer to learn not to cause runs.
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A little smaller tip would be better for clear, but will work if you're careful. First make sure your tank is well drained of water. Each coat must be smooth. You can't smooth it out with heavier coats. You must control your speed and distance so that the coating gets just wet, then move steadily. Overlap ~ 50%. You probably went back over an area and caused runs. Go for minimum coverage to just do the job then spray one or two more coats. Tack rag over between base coats but not between clear coats.
 
RichB said:
A little smaller tip would be better for clear, but will work if you're careful. First make sure your tank is well drained of water. Each coat must be smooth. You can't smooth it out with heavier coats. You must control your speed and distance so that the coating gets just wet, then move steadily. Overlap ~ 50%. You probably went back over an area and caused runs. Go for minimum coverage to just do the job then spray one or two more coats. Tack rag over between base coats but not between clear coats.
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Thanx for the info. My air is clean and dry. On my first coat, it lays down but looks like orange peel. It takes more material for it flow. But at that point it wants to run. What tip would you recommend?
 
I rattle canned a clearcoat on a valve cover. it never got glossy, just thicker 'suede' look...? too thin of coats?
 
Tip aside, you may not have your gun set up properly for material and air volume as well as tip distance from surface.
 
Yes I did. It's select brand. I think my air cup adjustment makes a lot of sense. If I didn't have enough air I can see it not atmonizing very well. And I should have waited for each coat to flash off.
 
340swinger4spd said:
Yes I did. It's select brand. I think my air cup adjustment makes a lot of sense. If I didn't have enough air I can see it not atmonizing very well. And I should have waited for each coat to flash off.
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Flash time is super important as you don't want to be trapping solvents, but it does sound like air pressure was a problem. Are you going to wet sand it and buff, or sand and try again?
 
Was this base coat clear coat or enamel?
Some enamel clearcoats need smallparticles at higher pressure.
Temp/ humidity affects things as well.
Sounds like gun spray issues.....
 
Clear coat.. Rustyfish nailed it. I had the air trigger set for basecoat. But, I didn't readjust for the clear. I should have had more air on the trigger to atomizer the clear.
 
Were you going back and forth over It? On first pass, it needs to look wet, but not run. I also got the suede or pebbled finish spraying in hot weather with the paint curing too quickly.
pishta said:
I rattle canned a clearcoat on a valve cover. it never got glossy, just thicker 'suede' look...? too thin of coats?
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just shooting it outside in the 80 sun, 10 minute dry times per coat. I may have sprayed too light. the clear is also about 12 years old in the can.....
 
Most everything can be fixed if you laid down enough clear to sand and buff. No big deal.
 
pishta said:
I rattle canned a clearcoat on a valve cover. it never got glossy, just thicker 'suede' look...? too thin of coats?
Click to expand...

You have to put clear on wet, wet enough to produce a gloss but not too wet to prevent runs. If you spray clear like you do a color it will come out dry or not shiny.
 
You say select clear so I'm thinking Nason Select. There are 3 or 4 different ones. If you used the 3:1 version it can stand a splash of reducer. It's a fine line between laying down clear where it will flow a touch and lay down or run down the panel. Nason clears are not a clear that likes a tack coat. It needs a full wet closed coat from the beginning. 1.2 or1.3 tip on clears, set air pressure, choke the fluid down and adjust it out until you're getting a full wet coat. You didn't mention the gun. Some Hvlp guns are hard to do anything with to get a nice finish. Just one of those things where a better gun does make a difference. Most painters I know, myself included, have switched to reduced pressure compliant guns such as Devilbiss Teckna's or Sata Rp 5000's. Temp is important. Once you get below 65-70 degrees most clears will lay wet too long.
 
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