Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 239
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: Technical Painting Question....Experts help....
High humidity can cause blushing in a basecoat/clearcoat system, but rarely happens. I paint daily, not cause i'm a painter, but b/c i am a research and devlopment chemist for an automotive refinsh company. The type reducer used isnt really a big deal this time of year, only when its extrmemlty hot or cold. When dealing with clears the most common problem when using the incorrect reducer is solvent pop. Solvent pop occurs when solvents trapped under the top coats are still trying to evaporate. Therefore if you use a slow reducer, wait a little longer before applying the next coat.
Most basecoats can be topcoated within an hour. Rule of thumb, as long as the base is dry enough to wipe down with a tac cloth and not rub off any paint, its dry enuff to clear. [ this is not the case for single stage paints! ]
Just outta curiosity, what brands are you using for:
Primer?
Basecoat? [what color also?]
Clear and hardener?
This would help, some paints are diffrent that others, as far as recoat times and final dry times.
The paints we make here are sold to body shops across the good ole USA. The ones I have visited in the past normally use the following method:
1. Prep car and finish all body work
2. shoot primer [normally takes from 1 - 2 hrs to dry]
3. lightly sand [400 wetdry paper]
4. spray the basecoat [color] [1/2 hour to an hour to dry]
5. spray your clear, the clear will take the longest to dry, most clears are dry to the touch in about 1 - 2 hours depending on shop conditions, but no where near being totally cured. I have been making some new clear in the lab taht is buffable in 3 hours, but thats another story. I would recommend starting in the morning, once you clear is on, shut the gargae door and dont go back in untill the following morningto wetsand and buff. Hope this helps.