How many coats of clear do you put on paint??
 

I was talking to my mechanic/painter about my car today. I wanted to have alot of clear put on the car, but he says 3 is about all you want to put on. He also said more coats will cause cracking and problems. What do yall say? Oh, and by the way I got a look of the Steel cities grey paint and it rocks! I like the greenish tint to it.

Mark B.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

I put four coats on mine figuring that at least one would get sanded and buffed off. Seemed to work out real well.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mark, the first coat is usually a tack coat (light). Then most put 2-3 heavy coats after that.... I would say no more than 4 total. But hey, every painter has his preference.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Go by the manufacturers recomendations. I almost always spray 3 coats but 2 to 4 should work. I wouldn't go past 4 coats and I wouldn't go to 4 if you aren't going to color sand. Your painter is correct that thicker films probably crack easier (especially on Vettes). Problems I encounter with higher builds are solvent poping (craters caused be escaping solvents) and puddlies (can't remember the tech name right now) an uneven surface with a large texture (like great big smoothed out orange peel).

Larry

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

So Mark, will your 71 be ready for Gonzalas in late Feb?

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (71,454,4spd)
 

That is the plan. I was looking at the car this weekend. So far all the fiberglass is on and all the suspension is straight. The hold up right now is a few power steering parts I chose to have replaced. While the guy was in there doing work I had the front end rebuild with bushings and ball joints. The guy told me it should be two-three weeks left. That is in waiting for parts, installing them, preping the body, and painting.

Mark B.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mine has 4 coats of base and 3 coats of clear.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mark -
Your painter is correct - the thicker the paint, the less durable it is. Yet, you want enough clear on it so it can be colorsanded and buffed without the risk of cutting through. The modern urethane clears go on very thick, so sand-through and buff-through is not much of a risk. I do a tack coat with two full wet coats on my paint jobs. This is more than plenty to assure adequate thickness for sanding and buffing, yet it keeps the mil-thickness down to a reasonable level for excellent durability. Anything more than this is non-value-added.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (lars)
 

:iagree:I put 4 and sand one off in the buffing stage :yesnod:

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (paintdaddy)
 

3+ the tacky 1st :thumbs:

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (lars)
 

Thanks for the info Lars, and everyone else. I really do not know paint that well so I was wondering. As far as color coats my painter has a gallon of paint and plans on using it all. The same for the clear. He said the gallon should work out to around 3 coats. I just wanted to make sure I was getting enough on the car.

Mark B.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mark,
It's a good idea to have some extra paint left over for any touch ups that might need to be done at a future date. I have an extra quart left over. This quart was mixed in with all the base paint that was used. Insuring me that if I have to use it, the tint should be the same. The painter that I used had just finish repainting a car that someone had painted with the same color paint but out of different cans that were not mixed together. You could see the different shades of paint on the car.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mine has 3 base and 4 clear. :)

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Mark,
This is from House of Kolor...one of the leading custom paint job manufacturers and painter trainers in the world/or/ North America...

"What is the correct House of Kolor clear coat for my project?

House of Kolor provides two clear coats that cover all VOC requirements. UC- 35 is a fast drying, high-build clear coat. UC-35 is the first clear coat you should apply in you custom paint job whether it's over UK Kandy, House of Kolor base coats, graphics or artwork. After the UC-35 has dried for at least 24 hrs., wet-sand with 600 or P800 to remove all the gloss, imperfections and orange peel that may have occurred. After cleaning the sanded surface, remask and apply two to three coats of UFC-35. Allow the clear coat to cure then color sand to a polish. This system will provide the best gloss and DOI (distinctiveness of image) to your custom finish. Never apply more than three coats of urethane clear at one time without letting it cure color sanding or reclearing. Excessive coats of urethane clear applied wet on wet will result in splitting, die back, soft film and delimitation. This is a case where more is not better!"

Read here at the end...."More is not better" I've been looking into painting as well and that is what I've read as the general rule as well...

Good luck, and can't wait to see how it turns out..

~Ian :yesnod:

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Gotta Fix my '76)
 

sorry, should've posted the link

http://www.houseofkolor.com

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Gotta Fix my '76)
 

Unless the basecoat color is a poor hider I would think a gallon is too much. Basecoat only needs to cover the primer and the clear gives the durability. Some painters use check hiding stickers which is black and white checks. These are placed on a masked surface along side of a panel being painted. When the black and white is no longer detectable the amount of base is sufficient. Any more than that is wasted and not adding to the integrity of the paint job. Craig

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (CF6873)
 

:iagree:

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (CF6873)
 

:iagree: with the paint system that I use,one gallon of basecoat makes 3 gallons after it is mixed with the reducer. :seeya

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (paintdaddy)
 

From what I understand the paint is already mixed. All the painter needs to do is pour it into the gun and start spraying. He said he plans on 3 coats or both base and clear. So I think I will be alright. I was the one thinking about having him put on more clear. So I feel all will be good now that I know not to force him to do it. Someone I saw posted getting some extra paint for chips and all. I think I am going to try and do that.

Mark B.

Re: How many coats of clear do you put on paint?? (Sigforty)
 

Taking my 76 to the paint shop next Monday. Jeff says 2 base coats of bright white. then 2 coats of pearl, then 3 clear coats. I saw a car he did with the same paint. Bot does it look good, almost like white metal flake