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Base coat/clear coat urethane over acrylic enamel

26K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  tech69 
#1 ·
My son and I are refinishing his Dodge Charger in a different color. We have sprayed the underside of the trunk lid and the trunk, the rear splash pan, and under the rear bumper with acrylic enamel with some overspray on the exterior. We still need to do the inside of the doors and the engine compartment\hood. I have been telling him to go with acrylic enamel for the rest of the car because that is the original paint of the era, but am reconsidering going with acrylic urethane enamel or base coat\clear coat.

The question is, how will either of those mixtures bond and react to the sanded overspray areas and the areas inside the doors-trunk-fenders where the two overlap?

Thanks for responding.
 
#2 ·
Being a rookie myself I can say without doubt that going with a BC/CC will be much easier/user friendly (Il earned this the hard way of course). Plus you can wet sand and buff the clear to get rid of any orange peel/runs/dust etc.... AE requires much more skill to lay out good and if you have to wet sand and buff it never seems to come back to it's original gloss. A good clear can buff out so nice you will be amazed that you actually painted it. As far as the compatibility of the BC on top of the AE I don't think it would be an issue if you sanded all the overspray off, coated the old coating (if it's still good) with a good epoxy primer, then prime, block and shoot.
 
#4 ·
Here's an idea if you're looking for the durability and buffability (is this a word?) of a bc/cc system and want to use your enamel. If this is a solid color-nonmetalic. Get the car painted with four good coats of the enamel and let it setup for a week or two in the sun, then wetsand with 600 grit followed by a good rubdown with a grey scotchbrite and apply three coats of a good urethane clear. The enamel will provide the color you need with no lifting problems and the urethane will give you the gloss and protection of a bc/cc system. I've cleared over enamel jobs many times in the past with no problems if the enamel was good and cured. If you sand the color then put it in the sun it will cure even faster. Just an idea. Talk to BarryK for a suitable urethane clear.

If you switch over to a regular bc/cc system there will be a risk of lifting when you apply your bc. On the exterior surfaces you could sand all of your enamel overspray off to avoid lifting there but you would still be at risk on the edges leading into the jambs-- this could still be done but expect a little fight to get the color on. Bob
 
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