Q&A for How to Do a Good Base Coat Clear Coat Paint Job

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  • Question
    Will clear coat protect my car?
    Angel Ricardo
    Auto Technician
    Angel Ricardo is the owner of Ricardo's Mobile Auto Detail headquartered in Venice, California. With over 10 years of experience in mobile detailing, Angel continues to attend auto detailing trainings to improve his customer service and auto detailing skills.
    Auto Technician
    Expert Answer
    Totally. All of the sunlight, rain, bird droppings, and whatnot won't damage your paint if you've got a clean clear coat on top.
  • Question
    How thick should my clear coat layer be?
    Angel Ricardo
    Auto Technician
    Angel Ricardo is the owner of Ricardo's Mobile Auto Detail headquartered in Venice, California. With over 10 years of experience in mobile detailing, Angel continues to attend auto detailing trainings to improve his customer service and auto detailing skills.
    Auto Technician
    Expert Answer
    It really shouldn't be thicker than a piece of paper. You don't need a massive, thick clear coat layer for it to do its job.
  • Question
    What actually is clear coat?
    Angel Ricardo
    Auto Technician
    Angel Ricardo is the owner of Ricardo's Mobile Auto Detail headquartered in Venice, California. With over 10 years of experience in mobile detailing, Angel continues to attend auto detailing trainings to improve his customer service and auto detailing skills.
    Auto Technician
    Expert Answer
    It's basically just clear paint. It functions kind of like a sacrificial paint job so that you don't scuff up the actual paint job underneath.
  • Question
    Is it necessary to sand the car to bare metal before starting the process? And is it necessary to sand the base coat before applying clear coat?
    Steve Lindsay
    Community Answer
    Its not always necessary to sand down to bare metal. It depends on the base coat that you will be repairing. Most automotive finishes can be sanded to take the gloss off the paint but not down to the steel. Using the correct grit sandpaper is very important so you don't leave deep scratches in the paint. Sand-able primer is good option to get imperfections out, sanding between coats allows for a very good finished end result.
  • Question
    If I have lighter spots after painting a base coat, will the clear coat show them?
    Sarah Battilana
    Community Answer
    Most likely, yes. Your best bet is to apply another coat of the base to try and even out the color before moving on to the clear coat.
  • Question
    Do I need to wet sand and buff a new paint job?
    Community Answer
    Not always, but to get a show-like finish, yes. The sanding and buffing will remove any bits of dust and debris that settle into the paint.
  • Question
    Do I need to prepare the base coat before applying the clear coat?
    Louis Ahlers
    Community Answer
    Not necessarily. It's not advisable to do repairs and/or preparations on the freshly painted base coat as it may leave undue repair/sanding/wiping marks on the "exposed" base coat layer that will show up more clear once the clear coat gets painted over. On metallic base coats, the clear coat brings the real shine and the small metallic particles to light, but also can show up repair marks done on the base coat layer. Body and primer preparation should be close to perfect before spraying on the base coat layer(s).
  • Question
    Can base coat be used as a finish coat?
    Louis Ahlers
    Community Answer
    No, as it needs the clear coat to bring out the "metallic shine" and to protect the base coat layer against damages and fading.
  • Question
    what is the ideal shop temperature for application
    Sarah Battilana
    Community Answer
    70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit is the best temperature for applying the base coat and clear coat.
  • Question
    How do I get a nice polish after wet sanding paint? At present it is quite dull.
    Steve Lindsay
    Community Answer
    That will depend a lot on the type of paint that was used. You can add a top coat of clear gloss finish to the paint. That process is normally called base coat clear coat. OR, You can buff some paint to a gloss finish using a buffing pad and special compounds, but be careful and read the instructions about the paint being buffed and the compound being used.
  • Question
    My base coat is lighter than my old color,why?
    Community Answer
    Have you matched the primer colour to the base colour? It can either be several shades of grey or white or black or red etc. You need to check the paint manufacturer's details to achieve the paint matches optimum colour tone which is matched to the vehicles paint code. If you have yet to put your clear coat on the base it may also be little lighter to the eye in comparison. Or thirdly, have you put several coats of the base colour onto the panel/s?
  • Question
    Can I spray a second coat of clear-coat?
    Steve Lindsay
    Community Answer
    It requires wet sanding between coats with fine wet/dry sandpaper. A good rule of thumb is to only sand until the gloss is off before reapplying another coat. Use the correct grit sandpaper, and don't sand more than you need to.
  • Question
    What is a good air pressure for base coat clear coat spraying?
    Community Answer
    Depends on the type of gun you are using. if its conventional application then around 50psi at the cap is required. If it's an HVLP gun (HIGH VOLUME LOW PRESSURE) then around 25psi is required. The above is suitable for both base and clear.
  • Question
    What is the mixing ratio for clearcoat?
    Sarah Battilana
    Community Answer
    Each manufacturer has different specifications, so check the can or go online to the company's website for specifics.
  • Question
    What causes paint or clear coat to alligator or to shrivel up?
    Sarah Battilana
    Community Answer
    Not letting coats dry in between applications, or working in an area that is too hot or cold could cause the paint to alligator.
  • Question
    Why is my base coat lighter than the old color?
    Steve Lindsay
    Community Answer
    Paints fade and some darken or lighten as the paint ages, plus your old paint has been subjected to years of sunlight, dust, rain, etc. You can usually blend paint so there is no defining line between the old and new.
  • Question
    Should the base coat be lightly sanded if I'm spraying a second coat?
    Louis Ahlers
    Community Answer
    You may get a better final finish, but many times over many years I sprayed many layers of clear coats over each other -- up to 10 layer or more -- without sanding between coats with brilliant finishes.
  • Question
    Do I have to use a clear coat?
    Community Answer
    Clearcoat protects your basecoat from the sun if it is a 2 stage paint job, plus that is what gives it gloss. Your paint will not last without it. Some paints are too expensive to not protect them.
  • Question
    How do I do a clear coat paint job over wet paint?
    Community Answer
    Allow the paint to dry for 15 minutes between coats. Be sure to check the manufacturing label.
  • Question
    Why does the clear coat cause the base coat to wrinkle?
    Community Answer
    This is caused by applying the clear coat before the initial base coat is cured enough to apply clear coat.
  • Question
    My clear coat was dull and I have not buffed it yet. Will it shine?
    Dylan King
    Community Answer
    While clear coat does make the basecoat look less dull, you can't expect it to be really shiny until after the wax/polish is applied. Depending on just how shiny you want it to be, you may want to smooth out the clear coat too with some wet/dry paper (2000-5000 grit) and/or a cutting compound and buffer before applying the polish.
  • Question
    Does the buffing compound shine stay permanently?
    Dylan King
    Community Answer
    No, it doesn't. The shine slowly fades away. It often says on the polish container when the manufacturer recommends reapplying it.
  • Question
    Can I apply base coat, wet sand, apply base coat again and then clear coat?
    Community Answer
    You should only sand the base coat if there are imperfections in it. Clear can be added right after the base coat has dried.
  • Question
    Can I do a clear coat paint job to this to old base coat?
    Dylan King
    Community Answer
    Yes, you can. It will look better, but still won't look new. If you're going to the effort of sanding it back, you may as well put down a light layer of color coat, then spray the clear right on top of that. You don't need to sand in between the color and gloss if you don't get any drips, so it's only 1 extra step.
  • Question
    If I ran out of color and couldn't get more until the next day, do I need to scuff the color before adding more?
    Community Answer
    Not if you’re using a base/clear method, and you may still be within the re-coat window for single stage (check the tech sheet).
  • Question
    Can I polish over a coat that was recently done but is really dry?
    Community Answer
    A recent coat of clear, yes. It's best to wet sand with 1500 grit sandpaper and then buff with fine rubbing compound and power buffer.
  • Question
    Should I do a primer coat the first day, base coat the second day, and clear coat on the third day?
    Community Answer
    No, do the primer, then sand it with 1000 grit when it's dry. After that, do 2-3 layers of base coat, waiting 5 minutes between applications. Then wait 30 minutes before applying 2-3 layers of clear coat, waiting 5 minutes between applications. You can wait up to 9 hours before applying clear coat.
  • Question
    What do I sand my car's paint with so that I can apply a nice new clear coat to give it a really nice glass finish?
    Community Answer
    You don't actually sand the paint (base coat) itself, but the clear coat on top of it. If the clear coat isn't damaged and you want to buff it, you can try carefully wet-sanding it with 2000 grit to remove the orange peel before buffing, but remember that factory coats are extremely thin. If the clear is in good condition but just faded, just buff it with rotary or DA and pads/pastes. If you sand the paint (base coat), you will need to repaint.
  • Question
    How do I blend paint?
    Community Answer
    This is a lengthy process to try to explain, so it might be in your best interest to look up a video online that details the process. It involves getting the panel next to the panel you are working on ready for a gradual dusting of color and then clearing the next panel as well.
  • Question
    My clear coat turned white. What happened?
    Philip Still
    Community Answer
    It's called blooming. You most likely sprayed in damp conditions. Rub down the affected panel(s) and spray in warmer, dryer conditions.
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