clearcoat question
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From: Florida
clearcoat question
What is the purpose of using clearcoat on top of places that have been touched up. I just finished clearcoating some of my touch-up paint spots and it doesn't look very good. What should I use to make the clearcoat blend in better? Should I use rubbing compund or car wax. Is rubbing alcohol the same as rubbing compound? Any help would be appreciated.
Last edited by vinster29; Aug 9, 2004 at 02:43 PM.
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From: Florida
Rubbing alcohol and rubbing compound are 2 seperate and different things. One is a clear liquid and the other an abrasive polish, in that order.
When you use a basecoat touch up, it's necessary to add clear over it for the touch up to look correct in tone. Single stage paint has glossy resins in it, but in base/ clear systems, the basecolor is a matte finish-no gloss. The clear provides the gloss and protects the pigmented base from UV.
A little info on the chemical side of this, that may help you understand what's happening here ;...
Anything that breaks up the surface of the paint, be it a scratch or rock chip, will still be visible when you touch it up. If you're really, really good at it, you can make it look very good, but...it is only a compromise - you'll never get it invisible to the eye, just less obvious. The way that light reflects off of the added paint will be different, as well as the fact you cannot truly "blend" clearcoat into clearcoat ( or regular paint into clear for that matter), no matter how well you do it. This is why a paint shop will respray clear over a whole panel when they do a spot repair in one part of that panel. There are special "melt in" clears that require special chemical additives, and special skills and techniques to make them work, but not that many body shops even work with it, because it's more involved. There is no such product available to the general public that allows aftermarket clear to seamlessly blend with existing clear. You will always see an outline of "paint on paint". If you took a can of DuPliColor clear and sprayed it on your paint in one spot, no amount of wetsanding would blend it. You would always see an outline of the new clear on the old, in layers. Same with brush on clearcoat .
Compounding and polishing it will help, but getting a touch-up to blend *perfectly* is difficult at best. When you decide to touch up chips etc. you're making a compromise between repainting the panel and leaving the chip alone (to possible rust). So, you just have to carefully build up the repair and either wetsand it lightly (2000-2500 grit) then compound /polish, or try a rubbing compound to blend it as well as possible. It's a skill like any other.
One last thing; You can experiment with using a single stage touch up (one not intended for a clear to be put over it) and see if it works better for you. Sometimes adding the clear on top causes as much trouble as it helps. It'll never look "perfect" either way, you just have to get the hang of which approach works best for you. Good luck!
When you use a basecoat touch up, it's necessary to add clear over it for the touch up to look correct in tone. Single stage paint has glossy resins in it, but in base/ clear systems, the basecolor is a matte finish-no gloss. The clear provides the gloss and protects the pigmented base from UV.
A little info on the chemical side of this, that may help you understand what's happening here ;...
Anything that breaks up the surface of the paint, be it a scratch or rock chip, will still be visible when you touch it up. If you're really, really good at it, you can make it look very good, but...it is only a compromise - you'll never get it invisible to the eye, just less obvious. The way that light reflects off of the added paint will be different, as well as the fact you cannot truly "blend" clearcoat into clearcoat ( or regular paint into clear for that matter), no matter how well you do it. This is why a paint shop will respray clear over a whole panel when they do a spot repair in one part of that panel. There are special "melt in" clears that require special chemical additives, and special skills and techniques to make them work, but not that many body shops even work with it, because it's more involved. There is no such product available to the general public that allows aftermarket clear to seamlessly blend with existing clear. You will always see an outline of "paint on paint". If you took a can of DuPliColor clear and sprayed it on your paint in one spot, no amount of wetsanding would blend it. You would always see an outline of the new clear on the old, in layers. Same with brush on clearcoat .
Compounding and polishing it will help, but getting a touch-up to blend *perfectly* is difficult at best. When you decide to touch up chips etc. you're making a compromise between repainting the panel and leaving the chip alone (to possible rust). So, you just have to carefully build up the repair and either wetsand it lightly (2000-2500 grit) then compound /polish, or try a rubbing compound to blend it as well as possible. It's a skill like any other.
One last thing; You can experiment with using a single stage touch up (one not intended for a clear to be put over it) and see if it works better for you. Sometimes adding the clear on top causes as much trouble as it helps. It'll never look "perfect" either way, you just have to get the hang of which approach works best for you. Good luck!
Last edited by Guitarman; Aug 9, 2004 at 05:38 PM.
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