I am trying to nail down the color for my vette. I don’t have a lot of experience with painting. I have the color laid down on a test panel and decided to see what it will look like with clear over it. The instructions for the clear say to spray after 30 minutes but not after 24 hours, if it is to be applied after 24 hours to re coat with the color then spray with the clear. This does not sound correct to me I mean it is all lacquer over lacquer I think it should be fine I am using acrylic lacquer from TCP Global the restoration shop line. What do you pros think.
Not sure, but back when I shot lacquer all the time, I didn't do any wet on wet stuff as far as waiting 30 minutes between a base and clear. A lacquer base really isn't a base. It is a topcoat or at least used to be. I always just shot the color, let it dry a while (like a few days), sanded it, then shot lacquer clear if I was going to clear it at all. All that being said, I would trust whatever the manufacturer says. They know what the paint can and can't do.
guthriesmith Thank you for the quick reply my brother is a painter and he told me the exact same thing, but also said to check on some forms and see what others might think
Those sound like instructions for BC/CC. Or they are just generic, and not actually product specific. Name brand automotive acrylic lacquer. Has been out of production, in the U S, for so long ( decades ) They also may just be guessing at it. They mention to SAND the color coat. Reapply color, then clear. If after 24hrs. They also mention to apply both the color and clear, in the same day, to avoid issues. If this is just for a test panel. I wouldn't worry about it to much. Just spray it.
Call them and confirm. Companies are not in the habit of putting incorrect information on their TDS sheets.
The between 30 minutes and 24 hours is a reference to the time the paint is 'open', not fully dried / cured, which allows a chemical bond with the subsequently applied clear. Beyond that the recoating suggested would require sanding to allow a mechanical bond to the new base to then be followed by clear in the specified window ie start again! Chris
https://tcpglobal.com/collections/acrylic-lacquer-paint-Jet-Black-Gloss Boy they sure arent giving that stuff away $$$,... It must be good though cause its illegal in california .
Not sure why you don't just call them and confirm. Lacquer shouldn't need to be scuffed because it is not catalysed. If it's a metallic you are spraying I would be very leary of sanding and just spraying clear as you could very well end up with a mottled look of bright spots where the colour is sanded off the metallic. If you sand a metallic you pretty much need to spray another coat of base to avoid this. I know lacquers are a little different when it comes to sanding but their TDS seems to indicate their lacquer works different. It sounds like it needs to be treated much more like a BC which would require another coat.
PPG's Duracryl, basically followed the same out line. Color sand, if after 24hr, reapply color, then clear. I would probably only color sand with 1000g. 600g is going to be aggressive, if you only have a couple/few coats of lacquer on there. Repair/blends were done with 1200g and a bonding clear. ( PPG )
I just got off the phone with TCP global and their response is: You cannot color, sand, metallic paint it will ruin the finish. You must reapply color and then use the clear. Well, I’ve already color sanded it and the finish isn’t ruined so I think it’s just a CYA thing.
You may be surprised by what it looks like once you clear it especially if you used 600. You cannot really tell that you have exposed metallic on a sanded finish because it all looks kind of light coloured. It's pretty common knowledge you don't sand metallics without recoating.
As above. Anything that is not a solid color ( metallics/pearls ) should absolutely be re-based. Prior to clear coating. If you've color sanded them completely. Or just de-nibbed them. Some color should be dusted/blended in. And even with solid colors, it is still the best practice. Often times with metallic/pearls you will be able to see. The grain/scratches of color sanding them. After its been clear coated. It can also expose/cut into and dull metallic faces and edges. And if the metallics are coated/colored. It will disrupt that also. You most likely won't see it, color sanded and dull. But once you clear coat it, it will be magnified. They are not talking about the paint substrate itself being ruined. Just the surface image, of the color. But again, if you are just talking about a spray out card/test panel. Just spray it. You are just looking to get some gloss on it. To accurately judge the color. It doesn't need to survive, long term in the RW.
In the summer of 76 a friend of mine painted his 55 metal flake blue and over a month or more put three gallons of clear on the cat to give him enough to sand it smooth. He might nibb the dust but for the most part he didn’t sand the entire car after a few days he would just tack it off and spray. There was no reaction from the paint. I’d say if you’re spraying a test panel I wouldn’t worry too much about it and spray your clear coat but probably wouldn’t do it on the car.
Sorry I missed the test panel part originally. I would have just sprayed it even if it was outside the recoat window for a test panel. All that would have possibly happened would be a delamination somewhere down the road which who cares that's why its a test panel. The good thing is now you know before you paint your car get it cleared within the recoat window or be prepared to respray colour before you do.
I want to thank all who gave advice. What I didn’t mention is my test panel is a mailbox that painted to match the vette colors when it’s done. I was trying to avoid remasking it. However, I will remask it put some more color on it Then spray the clear. I do want to look good in front of my house sitting in the hot Texas sun.
For a smaller project like that I would go ahead and clear it with three or four coats of lacquer and then sand it out with 1200 grit and let it breathe out for a few days and then apply a few coats of urethane clear coat, the final finish will be shinier than buffed lacquer overall and last longer.
The Jalopy Journal
