[V8 Super Beetle]

I almost forgot the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ax4fGf0F9o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEPALNDafsI

[V8 Super Beetle]

That's just a guess off of the top of my head, but 0.5 reduce, 1 part hardener / activator and 4 parts paint is right.

I hear that. I'm in the process of actually sanding these panels and I'm going to spray an over reduced coat so it'll lay out like glass. I'm just being very picky about how this paint job is turning out.

[V8 Super Beetle]

BTW, this brand of paint covers very well. Notice the overspray on the wood stands I made as well as the plastic masking off the car.

[chip_127]

Is that a mustang I see in the reflection off of the orange fender?? lol...

[adantessr]

Originally Posted by V8 Super Beetle

That's just a guess off of the top of my head, but 0.5 reduce, 1 part hardener / activator and 4 parts paint is right.

I hear that. I'm in the process of actually sanding these panels and I'm going to spray an over reduced coat so it'll lay out like glass. I'm just being very picky about how this paint job is turning out.

Whoah there . I would definitely NOT spray any over reduced paint . Over reducing paint will reduce its gloss . When I was in the paint and body business , nobody in our county could match my paint jobs on gloss . It wasn't anything magical, I just mixed my paint exactly according to manufacturers recommendations and always sprayed my second and third coats right on top of each other to let them flow together . All the other shops in the county over-reduced their paint to make it flow . I know , I was friends with most of them and was around on more than one occasion when they painted a car. Eveyone wanted to know how I got my paint so shiny . I used catalyzed acrylic enamel back then . I was not about to tell anyone my method . I hesitate to call it a secret, but it was different than what the rest of the shops did. So now I have shared this with you . DO NOT over-reduce your paint . You will NOT be happy with the end result . If you want it ultra smooth then let it dry for a couple of days and then color sand with 2000 grit and then buff and polish . It will be flawless afterwards . Mine is smooth and flawless other than the aforementioned fisheyes from my compressor spitting oil . I use a disposeable filter from Harbor Freight at the gun now .

[V8 Super Beetle]

Originally Posted by chip_127

Is that a mustang I see in the reflection off of the orange fender?? lol...

LOL, yeah! It's my wife's. She actually needs some rear fender repair where her brother bumped her.

[V8 Super Beetle]

Originally Posted by adantessr

Whoah there . I would definitely NOT spray any over reduced paint . Over reducing paint will reduce its gloss . When I was in the paint and body business , nobody in our county could match my paint jobs on gloss . It wasn't anything magical, I just mixed my paint exactly according to manufacturers recommendations and always sprayed my second and third coats right on top of each other to let them flow together . All the other shops in the county over-reduced their paint to make it flow . I know , I was friends with most of them and was around on more than one occasion when they painted a car. Eveyone wanted to know how I got my paint so shiny . I used catalyzed acrylic enamel back then . I was not about to tell anyone my method . I hesitate to call it a secret, but it was different than what the rest of the shops did. So now I have shared this with you . DO NOT over-reduce your paint . You will NOT be happy with the end result . If you want it ultra smooth then let it dry for a couple of days and then color sand with 2000 grit and then buff and polish . It will be flawless afterwards . Mine is smooth and flawless other than the aforementioned fisheyes from my compressor spitting oil . I use a disposeable filter from Harbor Freight at the gun now .

Thanks for the advice! I was actually referring to an over reduced coat of clear. I've been spraying the car with two coats single stage followed by two coats clear. I didn't get to the clear with the black parts yet cause I need to sand out a run. After the two coats of clear I'm sanding with 400 grit and was going to lay down a coat of clear that's reduced about 4:1:1. So, not very reduced.

Does this not sound like a good plan? I didn't want to cut and buff cause I would have to buy the supplies and money is tight right now, but I may just have to pony up and cut and buff to get the results I'm after doing the "flow coat" method.

[adantessr]

Originally Posted by V8 Super Beetle

Thanks for the advice! I was actually referring to an over reduced coat of clear. I've been spraying the car with two coats single stage followed by two coats clear. I didn't get to the clear with the black parts yet cause I need to sand out a run. After the two coats of clear I'm sanding with 400 grit and was going to lay down a coat of clear that's reduced about 4:1:1. So, not very reduced.

Does this not sound like a good plan? I didn't want to cut and buff cause I would have to buy the supplies and money is tight right now, but I may just have to pony up and cut and buff to get the results I'm after doing the "flow coat" method.

I would NOT over reduce anything . The clear coat could get hazy . Just bite the bullet and get an air powered polishing kit from Harbor freight (about $30) and I got my qt. bottles of buffing and polishing compound from NAPA . Not cheap . $15 for the buffing and $23 for the polishing .

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks again. I got that idea from other painters. Also, Summit Racing's "Ultimate Paint Job" guide refers to this method. See attached. I understand what you mean about the clear becoming hazy.

http://static.summitracing.com/globa...aint%20job.pdf

[adantessr]

Originally Posted by V8 Super Beetle

Thanks again. I got that idea from other painters. Also, Summit Racing's "Ultimate Paint Job" guide refers to this method. See attached. I understand what you mean about the clear becoming hazy.

http://static.summitracing.com/globa...aint%20job.pdf

Thanks for the links . It is their product so they ought to know what will work . Since they recomend that process it ought to be okay . As I might have said , most of my experience was with activated acrylic enamel and I just have to go by that . It may be that over-reduction is okay with activated acrylic urethane . I can still see the other guys over reduced paint jobs that would not hold a shine after just a couple of months and mine were still holding a shine years later without ever having been waxed . The last car that I painted was for myself in 1985 and it was still shiny in 1997 when I sold it and it was the first car I painted with activated acrylic urethane .

[V8 Super Beetle]

Thanks for sharing you experience. I'm going to call Summit and find out what they consider over reduced.

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

Originally Posted by adantessr

.......... DO NOT over-reduce your paint . You will NOT be happy with the end result . If you want it ultra smooth then let it dry for a couple of days and then color sand with 2000 grit and then buff and polish . It will be flawless afterwards ............

I agree with Adantessr on this. Over reducing will make the paint lay
out smoother, but not necessarily glossier. To get lots of gloss, the
clear resin in the paint needs to rise to the top of the film, and the
pigmented solids sink to the bottom. Too much reducer hinders this
effect. It's best to do it as described above......

[shine]

are yall serious ?????

and summit has no paint tech. call kirker .

[adantessr]

Originally Posted by shine

are yall serious ?????

and summit has no paint tech. call kirker .

Just sharin' my experience . Don't claim to be an expert .

[V8 Super Beetle]

I just got off the phone with their paint tech.

I asked him what they would consider an over reduction for a "flow coat". He said it's all preference, but normal reduction would be 4:1:1 (paint, activator, reducer). Over reduction would be 4:1:1.5. He also mentioned you would make your clear passes fast with the over reduced flow coat. If you get a run, don't worry. Sand it out and lay another coat.

I also asked him whom manufactures their paint. Is it Kirker? He said, "They get their paint from a sourced out manufacturer who's been making paint for over 150 years. People have been making guesses from PPG, Kirker, Sherwin William's, etc. I can't tell you who it is though."

Seemed like a nice guy and knew his stuff.