[zerngl]

I have a 72 vette that I painted base coat clear coat Millie Magilla red. The paint job came our real well but the paint never seemed to get really hard. If I am even wiping it down and rub accross the fender edge with my pants, there will be light scratches that I have to rub out. Someone told me that I might not have waited long enough between clear coats. Is there anything that can be done for this? The car cleans up real nice, but harder paint would be more durable and easier to keep shiny.

[poncho62]

Did you use hardner in the clear coat? Or, enough hardner?

Most paints require it these days.

[Grusome Goat]

Sounds to me like not enough hardener was used, I have seen this before, especially when paint is mixed in the gun and then sprayed, inaccurate ratio. It's best to use a mixing cup to get the proper ratio.

[mikeweyman]

I have a friend who mixed his paint in old coffee cups (wiped out) he was always short of hardener.I explained that it was because the top was wider than the bottom, he thought i was nuts.
I guess he's lucky we don't drink coffee from lab beakers.

[zerngl]

Thanks for the input. I asked Finish Master if I needed any hardner and they told me no. But this wouldn't be the first time I got bad advice. I know my wife would kill me for thinking of it, but could this be fixed if I sanded the clear and just recleared the job with hardner in the mix? I also got a few dimples in the paint, most of them color sanded out, but I was told this was also from not waiting long enough between clear codes. Does that explanation sound reasonable to anyone? I would really like to redo the clear this summer with one of those disposable paint booths. I get real tired of putting 4 coats of clear on so that I can wetsand all the crap out of the paint.

Thanks

Gary

[poncho62]

If you can sand the clear. it can't be that soft. Let it sit till spring, it may harden up by then.

[myfamiliacc]

[color=green] Ya I would wait till spring to see what it will do.

What kind of clear was it? I havn't used a clear that didn't need hardener.

If it is still "soft" by the end of spring. Ya you may want to recoat it. [/color]

[mikeweyman]

recoating is just a FIX , the goop should all come off and be redone. sorry, but if it is soft underneath , the slightest pressure on the paint could crack it and maybe some sort of splitting may occure . this would be putting good money out for bad.
If it is truly hard in the spring , a simple recoat may be the answer. mike

[Thom Laybourne]

Help me out here. I have not painted a Vet for a while. But isn't there two types of paint that you are supposed to use? One for the GLASS area and one for the RUBBERIZED bumpers? The bumper paint doesn't use a hardener. ???? Just an old mans rambling.

hr41pearl

[zerngl]

The 72 vette doesn't have rubber bumpers. The paint used was a basecoat clearcoat combination.