I use spi universal clear to judge all other clears by.
so far only one is equal and that would be Glasurit. I stopped using PPG's concept clear 20-25 yrs ago and used duponts chroma clear for many years then found SPI its the one I've been looking for low price high quality ez spray ez buff and it wont get too hard to buff after a 2days ...

 

I've used clears from many companies over the last 45+ years, including two from PPG. (Not the one you have though.)

I am totally satisfied with the SPI Universal clear. At this time I will not even consider any other maker.

 

same opinion of every professional who has tried it jay . still we have to put up with the trolls on here always talking trash. i think the mods if there are still any need to put a stop to it but i doubt it will happen .

 

on a scale of 1-10 I'd say PPG rates a 5, Duponts chroma clear 6 they have better though......and SPI and Glasurit at 9 ....10 if either of them were free... this is just my personal opinion for how I spray and what I need though....

 

Was A PPG shop for over 30 years, then 12 -13 years ago tried SPI. There was no turning back
SPI = 2nd to none in my book

 

Arguing clear coats is like arguing
wether Chevy or Ford is better.
Everyone has their favorite and likes to bad mouth the
other.

 

I would disagree. More than once in my almost fifty years of painting, I have had to repaint cars at my own expense because a clear product failed. I see nothing wrong with sharing those experiences... and the fact I may have found a products that are more reliable, with those who have not had those negative experiences ...YET. {:-(

 

I totally agree with ya Jay. (That is to disagree) with JC
Between you and I we have probably 95 years of experiance, but what do we know?
SPI 4 me and nuttin else !
And I've used em all, from the bottom of the barrel stuff to the Hi end euro stuff

 

I use SPI too, not to take away from them, it's a great product for sure
but over the last 35 yrs of painting I've used a lot of different
clears, I've never had one come back or fail.
For every brand out there there are some that swear by it
and someone that will never use it again.
Just remember, for a cheap brand that has been around for
a while, there's lots of cars out there where it's doing fine,
and never had a problem. So is it a cheap clear when 1 or 2
painters have a problem with it?
I know painters that had problems with SPI too, I know of times
SPI replaced product because it was bad. That's a fact.
It happens, even with SPI, but that doesn't make it a bad product.
Every product out there has had a problem one time or another.
There are a lot of good low priced clears out there. SPI is just one of
them that seems to be better, that doesn't make the others bad.

 

I don't care what's on the label. Be it SPI, PPG, DuPont, or Costco. If it works, I'll use it. I've not tried SPI yet, but may do so on Ol' Blue.
I just wish they could mix OEM colors. They're just up the road from me,
And If I could use their system from bottom to top, would be great.
I turned on a buddy of mine to their single stage matte finish urethane.
He had trouble with it at the start. Mixing it, and spraying it according to label directions, he got a bad, orange peel/dry spray finish. There was no way to wet it enough. So, after the first coat dried, he sanded, and reduced with PPG 885 reducer (it's what he had on hand), and achieved a nice slick matte finish that he was looking for. Apparently, the label mentioned nothing about reduction, and when he called the reps, they didn't know what the problem was either.

I'm using "Ol' Blue" as a testbed. So I've been using some products that I've never used, just to see what will happen.
What would be the best SPI clear to use? Their top of the line.

 

I'll bet his tip was too small....thats where the experiance part kicks in solving your problems you cant blame the paint for bad job or the tools ...
a painter friend (with 10 yrs exp) was having trouble getting runs in some SPI Uni clear and asked me to come over it took all of 1min to straighten him out ..he started out saying this stuff sucks how the heck can you use this stuff.....somethng just aint right I said and I pulled out my gun filled it up with his mixed clear and shot the hood it glassed right up ,no problems I handed him the gun and he went around and did the rest,no problems,not quite glass but pretty good and no runs,he liked it and was smiling.
on the next coat we filled his gun and he started spraying I stopped him instantly his gun was spraying heavey on the bottom of the fan so I held his gun up to the light and pulled the trigger so he could see the fan and how heavey it was on the bottom then we did the same with my gun ,mine was nice and even we cleaned it good and it did same thing so I pulled out the pin and rolled it across the table and sure enough it was bent ,he probably dropped it or something but That was the problem it just took a second for someone with experiance to know what the problem was,he's loving the SPI clear now....and MY gun but he DID say it sucked at first

 

orange peel / dry finish is not a result of a product but rather inexperience with a gun or failing to read the tech sheet..

 

orange peel / dry finish is not a result of a product but rather inexperience with a gun.

Most usually that is the case. But this dude has been and still is, in the business since the 60's. So this would not be a lack of experience problem.
Actually his experience told him what he needed to do. Go ahead and spray out what he had mixed. Then let it dry, and sand it out. While it's drying contact the sales rep. Rep was no help. Experience showed that it was kinda thick, and not flowing out. So a dab of warm urethane reducer fixed the problem.

 

All of the SPI clears are good and relatively easy to work with. If I had to compare one to the PPG 2021, I would say that the euro mixed 4:1:1 has to most comparable "feel" to the 2021, but it sprays better and buffs better in my opinion. I usually use universal on restorations and show cars, and use euro on collision repairs. I like them both, my brother does a lot more collision repair than I do and he swears by their production clear. As for "which one to use" I would recommend the universal for anything from a daily driver to the most expensive resto being done.

Here is their dark red with universal on top
before cut and buff:

After cut and buff (the tape measure is pulled to 48"):


Kelly

 

Not bad. in the pic, i can read the 12" mark, see the 24" mark, and barely make out the 36" mark. I suspect it's way better than that in person.

 

Here is my first try at Universal clear. I think this is even farther than 48" to the shop door behind me. ~

 

That ain't clear, that's black chrome. Looks good.

 

so your saying a painter with 50 years experience would shoot the paint knowing it was too thick then come back and fix it ? he should be able to tell while mixing it.
also the tech line is barry kives cell phone so i doubt he ever called.

 

I'm saying the painter with 50 years experience would shoot the paint, mixed according to the TDS, before trying to "doctor it up".

 

lays down like the enamels of yesteryear doesn't jay .

 

Shine, In my opinion, it sprays VERY nicely. Fills well, flows well, and is hard to run. It also sands and buffs well... the finishing time is minimal... the service is very good... and the price is also very good. I'll use it until it no longer performs satisfactorily, which is what I have done with the last four clears, which spanned about 25 years.

As each of them became a different product, I had to look elsewhere. I need dependability and predictability if I am to maintain a solid reputation. (Beside that... I hate doing things twice!!! {:-(

 

Looks great Jay, I need to take the real camera and get some better pictures of the 442 one day. I am still sanding and buffing on it right now, when I get it down on the frame, I will try to remember to post some more/better pictures. Between the Iphone camera and the photographer my pictures are a bit lacking

Kelly

 

Ooops! I already submitted it!

 

I'm not a pro painter (average 1 car of my own a year), so either my opinion is worthless, or the best you can get, depending on how you look at it
I've used PPG DC3000 with pretty good results, and two cars with Metalux 9700 with less that stellar results (avatar Vette was one). my current project is the first experience with SPI, but I can tell you without question that I won't be using anything else in the future. It lays down and stays put, sands well, and has excellent depth. this BelAir trunk lid was shot right where you see it and had the dust knocked off with 1500, 2000 and then a very light buff.

Russ

OOps. just realized I grabbed the wrong photo. the one shown was an as sprayed photo. maybe a better example anyway.

 

I have some pics of the spi uni clear too.

 

OOPS,,,,,thats SPI SS....(unbuffed):embarrass
heres the clear... just as I started polishing with the chem guys compound. I cut and buffed THEN put it the panels on the car....that tool box is about 10' away.

 

before cut and buff.

 

is that the same car thats on the SPI tec sheet???

 

Dont ya just love it when you can count the acorns in the trees when your done buffing...:thumbup:

 

And some days the nuts fall like rain.

 

SPI's uro clear...

 

I'm looking for some 10 year old paint jobs I took pics of ,there were some good ones of the chroma clear,it held up really well

 

yes . it is an epoxy only job . ppg concept color and universal clear.

 

Completely irrelevant to this thread, but I have to ask. Shine do you know if that car sold (or at least crossed the block) at Mecum auction in Dallas last year? I seen one that looked very similar, wheels and all cross the block, but never really thought about it until later.

Kelly