Clearcoat?

[<50miles]

Hello Everybody,

This weekend I finally saw the car after it came from the paint shop. Strangely, the painter decided to put multiple layers of clear coat on the exterior of the body, and the top areas of the engine bay, but not so many in the bottom areas of the engine bay where it would be partially covered by the engine. He also did not put that many layers of clear coat in the trunk area. Due to this, as you can imagine, the lower areas of the engine bay and trunk are not as shiny as the rest of the car. I asked about this and the reply I received was that those areas don't need as many layers of clearcoat because they would not either be readily seen (lower engine bay area) or not seen at all (trunk area). Does this answer make any sense?

Andrew

 

[HB Chris]

Clear coat on the exterior gets color sanded to remove orange peel and imperfections and it only needs two or three coats. I wouldn’t worry about the engine bay, once the motor is in you can’t see the lower areas.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

Clear coat on the exterior gets color sanded to remove orange peel and imperfections and it only needs two or three coats. I wouldn’t worry about the engine bay, once the motor is in you can’t see the lower areas.

Agree. Because the exterior is color sanded and buffed (I assume your painter did this) it may appear shinier than areas that are not color sanded and buffed (like the underside of the hood, engine compartment, trunk, underside of the trunk lid, door jambs). It is impossible to color sand and buff these areas due to the irregularities in those surfaces.

In my (limited) experience, covering the color in the "non show off" areas with just enough clear to seal it is all that is needed since no clear will be removed by color sanding.

 

[dang]

Yes, "thicker" clear coat is probably not needed in those areas for aesthetics, but in my humble opinion, you're already there, the additional clear coat cost is negligible and I'm assuming it's a base/clear paint so the protection comes from the clear coat with hardener/activator. Would I do anything about it now? No, not enough to worry about, but during the process, on a car like a coupe, no excuse.

 

[<50miles]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you very much for the considered responses. This weekend I went to the shop where the car will be undergoing its final assembly and wanted to take more pictures but due to certain limitations I could not. The pictures below were taken by the person managing the project in the new location. As you can see some areas are shinier than others. To me, since I have between 800 - 1000 hours into the body/paint I am going to ask the person managing project to apply the same level of clearcoat to all exposed areas. As Dang noted, since I am in the process, and have been for a long time, I say why not. Sometime in June I will be going back to the shop to take more pictures.

Andrew

 

[HB Chris]

More clear won’t make it any shinier, it is the color sanding that brings out the shine. The lighting in your pics makes it hard to tell how shiny it is.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

It's tough to tell from the small pics you posted if there is any sheen difference.

I think you might be disappointed if the areas that get more clear don't end up with the same sheen as those that have been cut and buffed. In addition, it is a pretty major job to apply more clear now. Those areas will all have to be scuffed well in order to get adhesion. Then there is masking and the possibility of a visible break line where the new clear meets the old clear.

The painter probably should have explained to you more carefully what his process was and why, so if you didn't like it, you could have explored alternatives.

I know with the Corvette crowd (and for other makes) there are value penalties for over restoration. Is it the same for E9s?

 

[dang]

More clear won’t make it any shinier,

It can if you're not putting enough on and it doesn't have a chance to lay down. Less shiny because it's not as smooth. I'm sure you've dealt with spraying into boxy areas or areas where the air coming back out fights the material going in. The clear can go on quite a bit thinner in those areas.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

The clear can go on quite a bit thinner in those areas.

Then I'd get runs

 

[dang]

Then I'd get runs

With or without high heels? Wait, never mind, I don't need that image in my head.

 

[JFENG]

I have the engine and trunk of my GTV project painted, and The shop did it in 2-stage. If the color were metallic I think it would’ve been ok. But in a pastel I have to say it looks TOO glossy, and very unoriginal.

I like the exterior bling of the 2-stage, but I think I overdid it in the engine bay and trunk. The white stuff is compounding residue.

in the end it’s a matter of personal preference.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

in the end it’s a matter of personal preference.

...as with every decision we make on our collector cars. We need to (only?) please ourselves.

 

[dang]

I like the exterior bling of the 2-stage, but I think I overdid it in the engine bay and trunk.

I always have to remind myself that as I'm painting everything and finding all kinds of little imperfections, or thinking it's overdone in other places, once the rest of the parts and trim get put on the car most of those concerns diminish somewhat. It always gets down to what your eye is drawn to. Like you said, your "over done" could be someone else's "great attention to detail".

 

[Markos]

What say you forum? Two stage or single stage colorado paint? I don’t mind deviating from original if the car looks better.

One from my “orange” album...

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

Everyone will have an opinion on this. Here's mine...

I don't think you can successfully paint a metallic color these days without using a base/clear product.

With that said, I can't tell the difference between a well done base/clear paint job and a well done single stage. So if you are painting a solid color (I think Colorado is?), I would use single stage. Less labor and material cost. Fewer passes = less chance for screw ups.

Here is my Baikal E3 (metallic...base clear) compared to my recently sold Malaga 914 (solid color single stage)...

 

[HB Chris]

Mine was repainted 15 years ago in base/clear and my new paint job is also base/clear even though Malaga was originally single stage. With the clear coat you can color sand and polish out every imperfection, I have no evidence of orange peel which came in the factory paint jobs.

 

[dang]

With the clear coat you can color sand and polish out every imperfection

Same with single stage. Both types of paint are good and the way our cars get used and stored I don't think anyone needs to worry about anything other than the way it looks, which has been covered.... personal preference.

I painted my E3 with single stage, or "fleet paint" because they use it in industrial type conditions. It's very hard and durable. I could've painted it with good two-stage for about the same price and it would be debatable if it were more glossy in the end. When I talk with the paint supplier they say one isn't any more popular than the other with painters, some use single stage, some mix single stage with clear and some use two stage.

 

[Dick Steinkamp]

With the clear coat you can color sand and polish out every imperfection,

Not if the imperfections are in the color coats. Single stage is cut and buffed just like clear....and you can get those imperfections in single stage that are going to show if they are in the color coats under the clear.

 

[shanon]

2 stage /base & clear = Street/Show car? Shinier potential w/ wet sanding (polishing) and better element/ weather protection. Higher material costs.

Single/1 stage = Race/event car? Easier to touch up/feather if car sees harms way and less expensive in material costs.

I did a 2 stage/base-clear and 'buried' it in color and clear. Painted/pulled trigger myself. Then had a pro shop 'color sand it' after I let the paint cure for 1 week. Then trim went back on. Huge difference with a pro's color sand job on clear coat = very juicy and worth the few extra bucks after all the effort. Just pops!

Ecstatic with overall results for a homebrew/driveway paint job

Just my 2 cents and HTH!.

 

[paul]

A good spray painter will not get orange peel. The clear coat is to give the topcoat colour more depth.