what s the best clear spray paint?

[betty.k]

i want a clear coat that sets hard enough to sand and handle without feeling sticky, the stuff i ve been using remains slightly gummy. i m assuming tamiya is the go but i could be wrong. any tips for hardening paint?:8ball:

[Impreza]

clear nail polish??? Most of the clear coats I have used (only 3) have taken their sweet a** time to dry:( Panda to me seems like the best person to ask when it comes to paint Q’s.

[HACHI-RYOKU]

I used Tamiya clear coat recently. I liked the shine it put on the car, but if you look real close you can see little pot holes. Can’t notice it at a distance though.

[brendan]

i use clear from the holts series, it is car paint.

[ph2t]

betty just goto bunnings and get a can of clear coat for like $3. It’s a blue can with a rainbow on it. Works well for me. I reakon it looked better than the $18 ripoff clearcoat my brother bought from Gamesworkshop in Chaddy.

ph2t.

[crazydave]

I always reccomend that you stick with the same brand of top coat as your base coat. Just to avoid problems.

If your paint is coming out gummy, I suggest that you first try painting in a warmer enviroment, thinner coats, and more drying time between coats.

With that said, I prefer laquer, it dries thinner, and harder. It’s usually sold as automotive touch up paint. Most of that model stuff, and the stuff in the Hardware department is enamel.

[PandaBear]

Tamiya “TS” clear is good, it doesn’t age yellow.

It is also a synthetic lacquer, so it goes over
most other paints OK. Haven’t found anything that
the Tamiya clear has trouble with yet.

It sprays very fine out of the pack, but for best
results I always warm the can first. Run warm
tapwater over the can whilst shaking it until the
whole can is warm to the touch. Spray the coats
on lightly and let it dry a few minutes… keep
the can in your pants pocket to keep it warm.

Best part is it dries FAST! 30mins sees it safe
to touch and 24 hrs is more than enough to start
any sanding you might want to do.

With clear… surface preparation is paramount.

[oldtamiyaphile]

Yup, Tamiya is the best clear coat out of a can, but most people are happy with auto clear or worse, like bunnings clear (gulp!).

[betty.k]

ok i’ll get the tamiya. the stuff i’ve used was from hardware, dulux or something. thanx heaps for the info:8ball:

[HACHI-RYOKU]

This is one I did with the clear coat from Tamiya.

[ph2t]

Quote:

Yup, Tamiya is the best clear coat out of a can, but most people are happy with auto clear or worse, like bunnings clear (gulp!).

oi! don’t knock the fricken bunnings clear coat! 👿

:p

ph2t.

[leonli17]

I still don’t know what Sand Paper do i use to sand paint (smooth enough).

[crazydave]

Quote:

Yup, Tamiya is the best clear coat out of a can, but most people are happy with auto clear or worse, like bunnings clear (gulp!).

Hey, I don’t like the ‘or worse’ part of that.

I don’t consider using automotive laquers a compromise. In fact, if you wanted to debate it, I’d tell you that DupliColor laquers will kick Tamiya’s behind all up and down the block, then kick it in the face for good measure. It dries thinner, harder, smoother, more consistant, faster, glossier, more durable, etc., etc. than Tamiya paints. Part of the key is the EZ pressure nozzle which is the closest to a spray gun that I’ve used. The spray is soo much finer than on Tamiya’s nozzles.

If you want to tell me I’m wrong, I’ve got a couple dozen paint jobs I can post that say otherwise.

That’s not to knock Tamiya, it is probably the best hobby paint,but in all honesty automotive laquer is a step up in quality from hobby paints. I mean really consider the applications they’re intended for.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

I don’t consider using automotive laquers a compromise. In fact, if you wanted to debate it, I’d tell you that DupliColor laquers will kick Tamiya’s behind all up and down the block, then kick it in the face for good measure. It dries thinner, harder, smoother, more consistant, faster, glossier, more durable, etc., etc. than Tamiya paints. Part of the key is the EZ pressure nozzle which is the closest to a spray gun that I’ve used. The spray is soo much finer than on Tamiya’s nozzles.

Haha, I use Holt’s Duplicolor too… but only on the 1:1. 😀
Best about that is… can buy HUGE 400ml can cheap,
useful for doing 2 full coats on whole car panels.

Big thing to remember is… the Holt’s spray pattern is “fan” shaped
(like grafitti’ng with a flat brush), whereas the Tamiya is circular.
You can adjust the fan direction to your preference.

Personally, the Holts stuff seems to go on thicker. It does ‘cover’
some small details, but it may flow better (better gloss from gun).
Tamiya is thinner… made for preserving your model’s good details,
so be sure to do your paint prep.

Not sure if it dries quicker… maybe to the touch, but I wouldn’t
sand/polish it within a week of application – last time I tried it
I totally mucked up the job. Nowadays, the panel is usually first
back on the car then I do the polishing a week or 4 afterwards.

Tamiya’s colours I can polish* 24 hrs later.
(I don’t usually polish the clear coat.)

However best not to use Tamiya’s TS paints on your 1:1. Sure it
looks good at first, but I don’t think it survives the sun & birdcr@p
too well. It could wear off quite quickly with constant car washing.
Dare say the Holts stuff is harder-wearing – horses for courses.

* polish with Tamiya Polishing or Cutting Compounds.

I also keep wet-n-dry in 1000, 1200, 1800, 2000, 3000 grit.

If only doing BCG shells just buy the handy Tamiya multi-pack
@ LHS which gives you 5 small sheets in 3 super-fine grades.

If you need heaps then buy it from a car detailer or paintshop.
Probably charge you about $2-3 the standard large sheet by 3M.

[PandaBear]

… ok, DON’T send mail to Mr birdcr@p ok? :clown:

[crazydave]

The Duplicolor I get here in the US is made by Krylon. I don’t know if there is any connection with Holts, but this stuff dries super thin, showing every detail.

It dries quicker, but it does take longer to cure. So you do have to wait a week to polish, but honestly, I’ve never had a need to polish my cars. They’re like glass as it is. The polish just gets all gucked up in the cracks anyways.

Edited by – crazydave on 10 December 2003 12:39:27

[betty.k]

hmm, now i’m not so sure! maybe i’ll have to get both and do a little experimenting. thanks for the info:8ball:

[HACHI-RYOKU]

Hey CrazyDave, this polishing that you do. Why do you do it? I’m not keen on body work. Most of the body work I do is just guesses.

[crazydave]

Quote:

Hey CrazyDave, this polishing that you do. Why do you do it? I’m not keen on body work. Most of the body work I do is just guesses.

I’m not the one that polishes my cars. If you re-read you’ll see I said, “I’ve never had a need to polish my cars. They’re like glass as it is. The polish just gets all gucked up in the cracks anyways.”

I was just responding to PandaBear’s statement that you’ll have to wait a week to sand/polish the automotive laquer.

You can sand the laquer with in an hour of application BTW. I also paint guitars, where I’m laying 16 to 20 coats, and level sanding every 4 coats.

[HACHI-RYOKU]

AH-HA! Stupid me. Thanx though.

Panda, or anybody with ideas, what’s this polishing business? Polishing ideas? Diferent aproaches? I’m curious. Never polished a paint job. Is it like polishing shoes?:p

[PandaBear]

It depends on what kind of finish you’re looking for.

For the ultimate in “mirror gloss” using a dark
solid shade eg black, midnight blue etc… get
ready for lots of cutting back!!

If you just want something coloured… stick with
metallics etc and you’ll never need to polish.

Be careful when polishing etc too… there’s a
high chance you can wear thru the paint coat.
Use maskingtape to protect the corners & edges.

[Admin]

listen to crazydave. hes the man when it comes to painting bits.

i dont know if they sell plastikote candy apple/metal flake clearcoat in the land of venomous ants and koalas or not. if they do thats the stuff. ive never had a paintjob scratch or chip with it and it is really really shiny.

[crazydave]

Quote:

listen to crazydave. hes the man when it comes to painting bits.

i dont know if they sell plastikote candy apple/metal flake clearcoat in the land of venomous ants and koalas or not. if they do thats the stuff. ive never had a paintjob scratch or chip with it and it is really really shiny.

Thanks Hog, nice to know someone’s got your back in the other hoods.:D

That Plasti-Cote stuff is the shiniest, blingiest, most blinding clear coat I’ve ever seen. I love that stuff, but I hate Plasti-Cote’s colors, so I’m back to useing the Duplicolor. Try to stick to the same brands, you know. 😉

Here’s my take on sanding polishing bits, the need for sanding polishing comes from the fact that the paint does not lay perfectly level, it is slighty bumpy. This is not something you’ll notice after a few coats. On guitars I’m laying 20 coats, so I level sand every 4-5 coats. I also finish sand with 400-2000 grits, 3M rubbing compound, then a fine Carnuba wax, like Meguiers. On bits I’m only laying 5-6 coats. So there’s hardly a need to level sand.

Here’s what I do instead. See, modern paints have self levelers built into them. What you do is lay 2-3 mist coats of your clear to protect the color. Then you lay a fairly heavy, but not too heavy top coat, that will melt the layers below it slightly, and level the whole thing out.

I always think it’s interesting that we can have such different experiences, but one thing that I’ve always noticed, and everything I’ve read, up until this point agreed with me, is that solid colors like black, are usually glossier, and don’t need a clear coat, and it’s the metallics that absolutely have to be clear coated, if anything so the metal particles don’t oxidize. That why some vintage white Fender guitars yellowed more than others, when Fender had to cut corners, those were the guitars that they skipped the nitro clear coat on.

What I think is funny about all this, is Dark Tari has followed some of my advice, and several peaple have accused/hinted that the shine on his car is Photoshopped. Well I’ll tell you, I take crappy pictures that don’t do my cars justice, and if you ever seen one in person, you’d know that the glare off of Dark Tari’s car is, in fact, the real deal.:p

[Author]

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