[tallpaul]

Hi All,

A little while back i was asking questions on where to get paint for my project/race car. i ended up getting the kirker start-to-finish kit from smartshoppersinc.com, which is an acrylic urethane. my current situation is my garage is in the basement of the house and the furnace resides there as well, so i will be forced to paint outside in the carport. i've had a few people tell me that i shouldn't bother putting the clear coat on the car because i'm painting outside and any little dust will show up in the clear. plus, folks have told me that the clear is the hardest part to have turn out decent and being a newbie to painting, the paint job might look better without clear anyway.
so would i be better off skipping the clear? if so, how much would i be giving up as far as durability? or would mixing some base with the clear be a good compromise?

thanks,
Paul

[302 Z28]

While I am not familiar with the brand of paint you are using, I will make the following assumption. If the kit came with clear, it is designed to be used with clear. Modern base coat/clear coat is supposed to be used as designed. If you just use the base coat several things will happen. One you will not get the gloss you would have with clear over the base. Typically a base will not look too appealing until the clear is applied. Two, a base without clear will degrade in a hurry without the UV protection a clear provides.

Hope I have given you some good info, I could not stand another thrashing by the pro's here

Vince

[jcclark]

Vince: I am familiar with this "kit" that he bought.
It's not basecoat, it's a polyurethane, like Emron.
I painted my boat with this same paint and I gotta tell you, it's
the toughest stuff I ever used. I hit conc walls and didn't scratch it.
It comes in a gallon can but has room for the quart of hardener,
it's 3 quarts of paint. I didn't clearcoat my boat because there's really
no need. This paint is as durable as the clear urethanes, maybe more.
Be warned though, this is a thinner overall mix viscosity wise and
getting runs is pretty easy, maybe because it's an offbrand, I don't know,
I have not tried other brands of this type of paint.
This isn't a high quality brand but for the money it's a real value.
Back to the original question, if it were me doing a car I would clearcoat
with a urethane just so I could rub it out, especially a metallic.
If dirt was a problem, maybe spray the color, let dry a couple of days,
wet sand smooth then clearcoat. Any dirt or orange peel in the clear
has a better chance of rubbing out. You don't want to sand into
the color coat enough to expose any metallic so go with the clear
and you'll have more chance for corrections.
Take it from a guy who always gets runs, dirt and bugs. :-)

[mrcleanr6]

yes, i agree, use the clear. if you get dust and specs you are going to see it if its cleared or not since both stages dry to a gloss finish, atleast with the clear you can do something about it when its done (assuming mettalic). i use the same stuff in black around the shop for oddball parts. one thing i have notcied about it is, yes its thin so watch it and its prone to solvent pop. if you are spraying more that 2 coats you really need to let it flash a long time.

[tallpaul]

thanks for the input guys. i'm not using a metallic, just the plain gray, so i'm not worried about sanding the base color. but based on what everyone has said, i'll just do the clear. sounds like i should give it a fair amount of time between coats. i'm planning on starting the painting this weekend (i've been prepping for the last 3 weeks). i'll let you know how it turns out.

thanks,

Paul

[Rat_Rod_Rider]

If you have a rod that you built yourself, or atleast did alot of body work on, and you love the lines of it. Putting a high glossy super shined paint job on it only takes away from the beauty of the car, instead of admiring the lines of your ride, people are admiring the paint! The coolest thing about "rat rods" is you can just put a base coat on it to protect it, and then just leave it. So if you ask me, just leave it the base coat grey! It'll look sweet.

[cwptaz]

you first should read the directions on the back of the can. I'm not attempting to be A butthead, After that most base coats will dry most of the way flat in finnish, And as far as bein durable, the base coat will wipe off of the car with most solvents that get on it, the clear is what gives the the base durabillity & longevity, even motor oil. hope I was a little help!

[Bee4Me]

I see it both way's.
Shoot the color coat and see how she turn's out. If it is a POLYurethane and not just a standard urethane,it should hold up well. I've shot a couple of poly's and they are tough.
Now, If you get some run's and such and HAVE to sand,then 600 it and then clear it.

Kinda depends on how long and what kind of project this is too.

Driver=Shoot it go

Keeper=Clear it

Either way and you'll end up with a nice ride,just take your time and plan ahead.

[Mean_Street_Rods]

I would clear, wet sand with 1200 grit and rub it out personally.

[kenseth17]

I'd clear also since you already have it. For added depth and uv protection.

[jcclark]

Originally Posted by cwptaz

most base coats will dry most of the way flat in finnish, And as far as bein durable, the base coat will wipe off of the car with most solvents that get on it, the clear is what gives the the base durabillity & longevity, even motor oil. hope I was a little help!

This is not a base coat. It's a polyurethane, Like "Emron" takes hardener.
(more like an Acrylic enamel but better)

[boatbob2]

if the paint is really thin.. urathanes especially,,,.read the directions BEFORE spraying.normally,you spray a dust coat. stand back and just let the paint fog onto the part being sprayed DO NOT try to cover. if you dont like the result,wait about 15 minutes or so,and put on another dust coat. again wait about 15 minutes. then put on a color coat,the dust coat will catch the paint and not allow it to run. i painted yachts for a living ,the first one i painted was a running night mare. i had runs on top of runs. then one of the guys in the yard took me aside and told me what i was doing wrong. i paid attention. and then i turned out some of the best paint jobs youve ever seen.when youre painting in the open,like in a carport. put up a tarp to cut down the wind ,maybe even 2 or 3 tarps. then take a garden hose and spray everything down. no not what youre painting dummy,the ground ,tarps outside of the tarps,,and anything else that can hold dirt or dust. then move in item to be sprayed and use a tack cloth 2 or even 3 times to take the dust off the item to be sprayed. then STOP,look everything over,if it looks good,no wind,no dust flying thru the air....youre almost ready PUT ON YOUR RESPIRATOR and adjust it to your face.shoot a little paint into the air.if you can smell it.YOU MASK IS NOT ADJUSTED PROPERLY!!!!!!!! then take your time.a painter in the laziest man or woman in the world.if you follow all the above procedures and overlap your patterns.you will have not a good job,you will have a great job.. AGAIN READ THE DIRECTIONS ,if it says wait 30 minutes bafore applying the clear coat. WAIT,,,, those directions dont mean for you to use your own judgement. they are there for a reason...TO TEACH YOU HOW TO PAINT....good luck!!!!

[kenseth17]

Holy old post revived batman.

[Rob Keller]

EEHHHhh its only s few months and that last tid bit was worth it except there was NO FOLLOW UP POST!! damn I hate that.


my $.02 If you have to do it out side then do it in the morning before the air starts moving around. its the same rules for burning a brush pile get it knocked down in the morning
At least here in the Sunshine State

PS isent it called IMRON by DuPont not emron??


Rob

[Rabid]

Just my .02

I agree with sealing off your carport for the clear step ,but use plastic sheeting...too much chance of fibers & other crap breaking off tarps if it gets windy...Hose the inside of the roof off too..