I'm in a production shop spraying onyx waterborne. Usually we are spraying 2 coats dc5335 for our clear coat. Don't have anything against the 5335, but I'm curious to see what others have to say about other rm clears 5300,5600. Or even the glasuirt clears I've used dc5300 before like once or twice.. Right now I'm thinking 3 coats 5335 and cut and buff. Shooting to get show quality clear job but I don't think the extra steps of shooting a flow coat is an option. Thanks for the help

I use basf also, and use the 5335 all time for overalls and resto, the other ones are good for smaller jobs not so much overalls. For that smooth show finish I do three coats first coat with a litte faster Hardner and reducer then the last two coats ( helps with solvent pop die back) or you could spray normal two coats then block and reclear, would give you one flat finish. I uslay do it the first way then cut and buff and it looks sweet, unless it's a super high end job then go second way. Either way the clear looks great. My buddy loves it to for custom work says go to clear in less money is no problem then he goes with glasurit but it's pretty hard to spray but flows great can't remember the number can find out tomorrow if u want...

5335 is fine. the only thing in the glaso like that is comparable in price is 923-255. Its a nice clear but it is a thick clear. TDS says to reduce 10% but really you will need 15-20% if you are not used to spraying a heavier clear. Stick with what you know. and if you can control your environment, flow coating is so much easier in the long run than sanding and buffing.

you know i dont care too much for 5335 (it tends to run on me) 5300 i love, but what do i know, i cant even spray matt black.

Balden wrote: I tend to see it run easier when spraying over clear (like blend panels ) full repaints not much of problem.
Try letting first coat tack up real good or use smaller tip.

Zero6 wrote:
i find that an issue with with any blended panel ,nowadays i tend to sand back panels for blends as oposed to fine scotch and then lay a foundation coat ,personaly i have never felt comfortable about adhesion when using grey scotch and or matting agents ,i mostly knock back panels with 400 to 600 on the DA ,then use the foundation coat to cover the heavier scratch ,these days i have mostly replaced the use of scotch with Abralon which i also feel gives a far superior scratch

also when laying clear over old just sanded clear it isnt soley runs that are the issue but the tendancy for the clear to flow unevenly much like water beading on glass where the clear is atempting to gather up ,in my experiance the runs ocure from atempting to rectify this uneven flow by the tendancy to lay the clear more heavily ,with a foundation coat the clear will lay consistantly over the whole panel rather than just where the colour has been layed,on that note even the base can suffer this beading/seperation issue where the blend area finishes and there is effectivly less materail being layed over the old clearcaot

although the process and materails used is increased by this method its more than paid for with the resulting more even finish which requires less final finishing ,plus i feel a lot more confident regarding any potential future delam issues

i also have to agrea that ultimatly flow coating produces superior results to sanding and buffing ,with few exceptions the first aplication of any clear will be dulled back by the basecoat which acts like blotting paper ,when it comes to custom finishes i treat the first aplication of clear as a sealer coat i then DA back the whole job with 400 and reclear/flow coat

i find even with the best of products there is definatly a noticable difference in gloss retention between the first session and the second

i have never done a flow coat job. can someone elaborate on the process. wouldnt you want to block it rather than use a DA? How many coats of clear first round? what to sand with and how many coats for flow coat?

Old school way is to sand it flat with a sanding pad with some 600 wet.If you are careful an interface pad and 600 on an orbital will work also,just won't be as flat,pretty damn close and it will save you hrs.I usually just do 2 coats with a HS clear first round.For the second go round I will put on a medium coat let it get hand slick then hammer on a second coat.You have to be careful with the first coat or it will be on the floor.HTH

i do mainly custom paintwork these days so double lacquering is the norm for me and i never wet flat/block i always use a DA with soft pad not an interface unless the shape of the panel requires one

personaly i dont feel a block gets paint any flatter than a DA anyway

my prefered grade of paper is P400 and i will also use down to P320 and up to P600 ,a DA efectivly doubles the grit so my prefered P400 is actualy acting like P800 wet anyway ,hence P600 can struggle a bit to flatten heavier peel especialy with an interface

flow coating is actualy a tad different to double clearing ,the recomendation is for a slower cure and added solvents to form a slick sheet over you flatted first session however i tend not to add extra solvent to HS and UHS clears as that can lead to solvent pop issues hence why i say i double clear as opossed to flow coating proper ,with good flowing clear and medium speed activators the difference in the final result is negliblee if any

i like to turn out a first class custom job and in my experiance wet blocking between clearscoats gives no better results than a DA ,its just messy and time consuming and imo a falacy

Paul