Watched a pro video where he stated no more than 2 coats of clear. said more than that the risk of getting in trouble greatly increases.

accurate? 2 coats only recommended?

It depends on a number of factors. The solids content and quality of the clear you are using is one. Another is how heavy a coat you are applying and still another is whether you plan to cut and buff the clear.

Personally, I shoot 3 coats minimum but I lay it on pretty heavy compared to some. 4 coats if you plan to cut and buff will offer you a bit more room to work without sanding through the clear.

Some times guys will do a flow coat. They shoot 3 - 4 coats of clear, sand it flat and shoot two more coats.

I have used Ppg deltron all the way so it will be the same clear.

so if I screw up, get a lotta orange peel, I can wet sand that out and spray more clear?

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:It depends on a number of factors. The solids content and quality of the clear you are using is one. Another is how heavy a coat you are applying and still another is whether you plan to cut and buff the clear.

Personally, I shoot 3 coats minimum but I lay it on pretty heavy compared to some. 4 coats if you plan to cut and buff will offer you a bit more room to work without sanding through the clear.

Some times guys will do a flow coat. They shoot 3 - 4 coats of clear, sand it flat and shoot two more coats.

almost always 3 coats relitivly wet, sometimes 4.
Jay D.

Buckwheat wrote:I have used Ppg deltron all the way so it will be the same clear.

so if I screw up, get a lotta orange peel, I can wet sand that out and spray more clear?

Coming from a hack painter...I shoot 3 at least since I assume I will be cutting it. I tend to be light but am trying to put more clear on each coat. For me, it is a fine line between too light and getting peel or too heavy and getting runs.

Personally, I would rather have to sand out a small run than have a peely panel/area. To answer your question, yes, you can sand out the peel and shoot more clear--done it many times myself (just don't go into the base--not that I have ever done that, LOL). The
Pro's will have better advice but, that is how I do it.

depends what you are painting and your overall goal

I use the TDS recommendations. Usually in the range of 50-60µm.

I do have a paint thickness gauge and I know how to spray the clear with different guns. I've checked and I'm usually pretty close.

For me, using a 1.3mm with, say, a T20 cap on a Pro Lite, 60µm comes up with 2 medium wet coats. With the T110 cap it's more like 2.5 coats.

The only time I spray more than 2 coats is if I know that I want to get a really flat finish and will be wetsanding and buffing. Only then will I go to 3 coats. Otherwise I might spray 2.5 coats if I think it might need a light cutting.

Of course, most of what I've been doing over the last 20 years or so has been production stuff - repairs where the primary objective is to match the factory finish in gloss and peel. With some cars, like Mercedes Benz from about 10 years ago the peel was quite heavy and the clear was quite thick, but more recently, starting with Mazda and now all cars made in Thailand, clear thicknesses are much lower and the finish is almost dry. That's why Axalta (and others) are now recommending 1.5 coats for about 45µm. Personally I don't think that's enough to give good performance over a period of years, but the new clears are quite different. Time will tell, just like it has with the places that bucketed on the clear a few years ago and now it's all failing.

The other thing is that I've nearly always used premium clears from major paint manufacturers. A bit more expensive to buy, maybe, but if you can reduce usage by up to 30% then the savings are right there. I few times I've tried cheaper clears and they're the only times that I've had clearcoat failures.

so that must be what the paint society you tube fella was doing. 2 coats to replicate a factory finish. which is exactly what i'm after. he sprayed it and it did not look like it even needed buffing. hes a pro though, pros can use anything and make it nice it seems. the closer I get the more anxiety builds! ha

sure appreciate the help here. i will be asking questions about weather/reducer needed and such. only car I painted I orange peeled the heck out of the clear and must have made every mistake in the book. hot humid day etc etc