[wyomingoutlaw]

I am using House of Kolour BC/CC enamel. I shot the car with primer, mixing it and shooting it exactly the way HOK says to do it in their instructions. it came out very rough with lots of over spray, but I sanded like their instructions said and when I finished it was very smooth. then this morning I started with the sealer, it went on very smooth and perfect. then the base coats, again I followed their instructions and it came out very smooth with no problems. then the paint. again perfect; no problems whatsoever.

then I came to the clear coat and that's when everything turned ugly. it has orange peel and no depth, although it is very shiny. I have painted several bikes with BC/CC, and the results have always been nothing less than stunning. but this is my first time spraying a car with this system. when I clear coated the bikes I really loaded up on the reducer, like three times the amount called for or more, but I didn't on this car because the HOK tech told me that although I might have gotten away with that on a small area like a bike gas tank, it would be a disaster on a car.

well, I'm thinking about wet sanding the clear, starting with 800 and finishing with 1000, then really loading up on the reducer and spraying a wet coat like I did on the bikes. anyone have any ideas where I went wrong or how I should proceed? A little long winded I know, but I searched old posts and everyone is always asking questions but never saying what system they're using or what they've done to get themselves into the mess they're in. thanks!

[OneMoreTime]

I have never shot the HOK clear myself..but in this case if it were me I would shoot a test panel to see how it laid out before doing the final..Orange peel can be and is most likely gun adjustment..and clears need to be shot like you want them to look..wet and slick..best idea I can see is to do a layout panel to see what the material and your particular gun likes..

Sam

[baddbob]

It sounds like your gun just wasn't atomizing the clear properly, your plan to sand and reclear will work but you need to get the clear spraying well. Shoot a test panel like OMT suggested.

[SuthnCustoms]

one big mistake alot of people make shooting clear on(including me in the past) is because its being shot on wet to look wet?..they shoot while the gun is too close to the work,then it shoots on nice but it didnt atomize the clear so it ends up runs and lots of orange peel,do what was already said,set your gun at the recommended pressure and test a few trash panels,keep that gun further away from the work so it atomizes better and it will lay out better

as far as over reducing clears,not a good idea at all,i always stay within the manufacture's recommended mixes

50/50 chance of disaster when experimenting with mix ratios

[Countilaw]

practise, practise, practise. And experiment with mixtures that suit your painting style. I've shot clear using the manufacturers recomendations and meet with less than desired results. Then I try different mixtures and get it to flow the way I want it to.

And I think you will find this experience with most professional painters.

[Rag top bird]

I have found that spraying with more air pressure and spraying about 12-14 inches away from the panel will give a flatter finsh this works with all clear coats that i have used make sure you have the right reducer and hardner and good luck

[redfeathered]

I adjust gun so I get less clear on a pass, but over lap 100% till it is wet (2 or 3 times per pass), not to slow or not to fast on gun speed. test on a junk hood and the a junk fender. you will find it will run on a fender more than on a hood. so adjust paint flow on fenders to less clear per pass. but do get the panel covered so it looks wet in a couple of passes. then come back and do the same thing again for second coat after you wait for it to flash. time depends on temperature. hot shorter time, cold longer time. use fast activator on cold days, slower on hot days.

[LCAAR]

It is ok to over reduce a coat of clear with HOK. In fact if you read their tech manual it recommends it for a perfect finish. It's called a flow coat. However if you use too much reducer it will cause solvent popping which is caused when the surface skins over or flashes and there is still trapped solvent underneath. If you like I could dig out my tech manual and type in the exact instructions for a flow coat if you like. I am a perfessional painter and use flow coats all the time. I do not use HOK that much anymore but used it a ton years ago. One thing I know for sure is that if you want a nice finish you need to use alot of air pressure and a 75% overlap due to the fact that it is a very high solids clear. We just quit using it because it's really outdated technology. It is a very good product though, and at the time, was way ahead of it's time.