Did my first flat A few months ago...Semi flat black...2 parts paint one part flatten..put my first coat on wet, as I would with
any black ss...It stayed glossy...2nd coat also stayed glossy..
next day I went back and redid car..This time I backed off and didnt put it on wet..2nd coat applied the same way and fogged to get even..came out decent..at least customer was happy...what are the tricks to getting a good semi flat paint job?...Using a Sata
nr 2000 1.3 tip..
dennis

Shouldnt matter how you apply it as long as its the right paint.. All the ones I have done have never done that.. I spray them like clear..

Should be the same as regular clear just with a matting agent. I have had problems with an RM flattener that even my rep doesn't suggest I use. He paid us to redo a flat stripe that ended up looking mottled with gloss and matte.

K...When I did my first car I was told it should flatten out rite away...Just talked to my rep and he said that I put it on just like
black ss...And when it drys it will flatten out..Said this process
will take 6-8 hrs, all depending on weather..This what you guys have found?...last coat should be crosschecked?..Or fogged?...
Dennis

I always spray them wet too, just like regular SS. Never had the need to mess about with fog coats and the like, so I'm guessing the flattener wasn't doing it's job properly.

Did you stir the tin up real good, as the flattening agents really do settle out?

But my biggest tip would be - spray it out first. You can never be sure exactly what sort of gloss level you're going to get, as technique, spraying environment, choice of reducer etc can all alter it, so I would always mix a little up and do a test card before going near a panel.

Shouldnt matter how you apply it as long as its the right paint.. All the ones I have done have never done that.. I spray them like clear..

When I spray SS with a flattening agent I usually mix my Reducer/Flattener/Hardener in one cup. Then add it to my cup of base.
I find it mixes in better that way.

I sprayed it like clear.
And as far as gloss. With the PPG system I was using. I didn't see the final result for well over 12 hours.

I was also told when de-glossing Single stage that you should up the ratio a bit because Single Stage black is harder to flatten then Base/Clear.
I can't recall my ratio to achieve the semi gloss black.
But as I recall using their gloss scale, I just used the next step down.
I wanted semi gloss so I mixed for egg shell. Which I seem to recall being pretty close to 1:1 (Just under)

And to be honest, it still came out a tad glossier than Semi gloss.
But it looked good none the less.

Thanks for all the feed back guys...
Dennis

Maybe a little late on this one, but I use PPG Flex and Flat, comes in quarts. Goes on gloss but as it flashes looses the gloss and goes flat. The gloss retention can be changed by the speed of the reducer used. Used it for an older Benz with flat covers and flares.