Can someone explain or better yet what is better, a clear with a mixing ratio of 2x1 or one that is 4x1.
Thanks

That's a tough question if not impossible to answer. Are these low solids fast-drying production clear? High solids clear? Does the company use cheap resins imported from India or China? Do they mix in bulk enamels to cut down costs? Is the clear yellowish or tinted looking in the mixing cup or is it "pure water clear"? How about after it cures -- does it retain that water-clear or does it yellow?

None of those issues has anything to do with mix ratio, and all about how good a product the clear is regardless of ratio.

The bottom line here is that the "best" clear is the correct clear for the job at hand, the one that will give you the highest probability of success and long-term quality, and you are comfortable using.

Another aspect of clear is buffing performance. Some clears can be buffed easily even weeks after application. Some (like Tamco's Hi-Impact clear) take on a diamond-like hardness after 2-3 days -- great for guys who use it to clear sports helmets, but maybe not a great choice for a complete car. For a new painter, generally we expect a need for cut & buff so this characteristic of the clear becomes important.

Hi Slong,

I'm not sure it's that simple. The paint formulation is different for every brand. This is kept secret. I don't know if it exists, but if all other things in the formula are equal, then a 4:1 would have higher solids.

To me, none of this has anything to do with the quality of the Clear. Also, a high quality high solids clear may be difficult for a beginner to spray. Some clears are hard to buff. I wish that manufacturers would give more detail about some of these things like, dries rock hard, difficult to spray for a beginner. Actually I think Tamco does a pretty good job on this.

I once used a clear that had a reducer and a hardener. I could be wrong, but I think what manufactures are doing is trying to make it easier for the painter. The hardener is such a small part it's difficult to measure such a small amount. So they might mix the hardener and the reducer together and say mix 4:1 use slow, med or fast for you temperature conditions. The ratio stays the same and you cover the most common temperatures.

Please correct me if I'm wrong...

-Vetsen

This post is in conjunction with my post about clear recommendations . I had a friend of a friend ask about my car and one thing lead to another. This guy works at a very reputable body shop and we got to talking about what clear to use on the car and that's where this 2x1 4x1 came from. He was telling me that most of your high end clears were 2x1 mixing ratio. He said they use standox clear on all there top end cars and something else I can't remember what on the lower end stuff. As I said in my earlier post I'm no painter and this guy was talking way over my head. Thanks guys for all your help.