Thread: Clear coat questions

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Ok my question is to the painters out there,, I'm a painter myself but have a question that i'm not really getting a good answer to..

I've used,
R-M Glasurit
Nason
Cumberland
Keystone
Transtar
Matrix
PPG
Omni
Global
U-tech
Rubber-seal


I think that's about it..

but my question is other than sprayability and buff-ability what is the main difference...
Right now i primarily use the transtar, and have used it on and off for 4 yrs... I have not really had any problems with it, haven't seen die-back, it buffs good, I can spray it fine. and i only pay like $80.00 a gallon, so my question is to you why pay $200.00 per gallon if what i'm using seems to be working great.. am i missing something.. It actually seems to buff easier than the expensive ppg stuf..

Check out my user photo's to see some of the stuff i've painted with it, and you'll see that i'm not some backyard rookie, i'm really looking into the detail of it, and just haven't seen anything bad with it, but I don't want to have a prob with it either, which is why i'm asking...
and in all actuallity of it there are suposedly only 2 companies out there that are making the resin for the clear coats, which is from what I gather the main part of the product,
So once again what am i missing???

I will also point out that i wet-sand everything all the way to 3000 grit and buff.

My first question is how does it hold up over long periods?

I expect a paint job to last indefinitely, if well cared for. I've used cheaper topcoats that failed in about 5 years. Since I guarantee my work long term, I need to know it will hold up 10-20 years, on every job.

I haven't seen a problem with it yet,, but that's what i'm wondering,, i've only been using it since i've been in my own shop,, which has been since 01. so not sure if that is long enough to see a prob.. What clear coat do you use?

I use R-M Diamont DC 92. I've used it for about 10 years.

I may change to a new new clear they have, but from past experience, I like don't like to use a product until it's been on the market a little while. It's gives the company time to work out any problems that did not surface in testing.

After it becomes a "proven product", I will give it a try. I'm hoping that some day they will develop a self-sanding, self-buffing clear! :-)

self sanding/self buffing...lol.. good luck with that one..rofl....
yeah i've sprayed alot of the DC92, but it's been a while... no one really carries that around me anymore... I'm debating what to do still i'll probably start using the global clear, but it's like $250, which is like 3 times the cost of transtar,,, so it better be worth the difference in price if i'm going to pay that much. Hmmm, what's the DC selling for now? argh,, what to do what to do...lol..

HOTRODPAINT has a point. I hear the cheaper stuff lasts about 3 years and starts fading or peeling, etc. May still spray and look nice when first done but won't last as long. Now if you like to change the paint color on your hot rod every4 years or so then that isn't a problem IMO. Not sure how many people repaint their cars every 4 years but I am sure there are some out there that do.

If you like repainting, get into doing bikes! A few of my customers fall over each year, and I get to put "bandaids" on the paint. :-)

I've never had a customer, in 30+ years that repaints his car for a change, but I do work at the mid to high end, of the hired painter spectrum, so it's a higher cost to them. Maybe that's why they expect it to last....ya think?

I'm guessing, but I think the cost on DC92 is about $ 100, $90 for the catalyst, and it would be about $25 for reducer, so with tax, figure $225-$250 for 7 quarts of sprayable material.

For the last several years I have been using X-treme clear by Five Star. It sprays nice and dries with a glassy finish. I painted my old Nissan Sentra with it (used over DuPont Chromabase) about 6 years ago. This car sits outside in the hot sun (that's very intense here in Florida), the rain, etc. 365 days a year and has never been waxed or polished in all that time. It is just now starting to oxidize on the roof. The paint would undoubtedly last longer if I had taken care of it, but I wanted to see just how it would hold up. This stuff costs about $85 for a gallon of clear and a quart of catalyst (5 quarts sprayable).

I have also used Transtar with good results and durability comparable to the Five Star.

mopar ,
I have been using PPG's Global D-893 Clear over my DBU for 5 years now , and will never go back to PPG's other clears , reasons :
1: No solvent popping ( it will pop if sprayed in a garage with no air movement ) .
2: High Solids ( like all clears = a 2 coat system )
3: Fast dry times with the D884 catalyst .
4: Sands easy
5: Buffs like butter , doesnt get like a piece of marble , after 24-48 hours dry time .
6: Excellent Longevity .
7: Can be Baked in a Heat makeup booth , ( Its true design ) but can be sprayed in a conventional booth with no problems .
8: Sprays nice and lays out nice .

Cool, sounds more like what i'm looking for, i'm not a fan of ppg's concept clears, so i've been wondering what global clear to try, so maybe i'll try that one. Do you spray in a conventional booth or bake booth? so it'll buff ok after a week or no?
also if i'm spraying a overall would i use the D884?
and how much is it going to run me?
Hmm,,, you got my attention on this one.. thanks for the info.

Originally posted by J. Robinson
For the last several years I have been using X-treme clear by Five Star. It sprays nice and dries with a glassy finish. I painted my old Nissan Sentra with it (used over DuPont Chromabase) about 6 years ago. This car sits outside in the hot sun (that's very intense here in Florida), the rain, etc. 365 days a year and has never been waxed or polished in all that time. It is just now starting to oxidize on the roof. The paint would undoubtedly last longer if I had taken care of it, but I wanted to see just how it would hold up. This stuff costs about $85 for a gallon of clear and a quart of catalyst (5 quarts sprayable).

I have also used Transtar with good results and durability comparable to the Five Star.

I can get X-treme through my tool business so i can get it really cheap, prob would have considered it 5yrs ago, but when someone's paying top dollar for paint i'd like to put something really nice down, that's why i'm considering global clears.

but my buddy uses cheap stuff so maybe i'll see if he want's to try it

Originally posted by mopar978
Cool, sounds more like what i'm looking for, i'm not a fan of ppg's concept clears, so i've been wondering what global clear to try, so maybe i'll try that one. Do you spray in a conventional booth or bake booth? so it'll buff ok after a week or no?
also if i'm spraying a overall would i use the D884?
and how much is it going to run me?
Hmm,,, you got my attention on this one.. thanks for the info.

I spray in a heat makeup down draft booth .
I shoot the D893 with the D884 and the D872 reducer from spots to completes .
Its just an excellent system I got going , and have had no problems in the 5 years of spraying it .

And it gets rather hot here in Kansas , and my booth has been in the 112-116 deg / 92% humidity , range and no problems with it so far .
I try and spray at 90 deg. all year round to keep a consistent system , as I am able to do this with the heat make up booth .
Then I cook it for 40 minutes at 140 deg.
then 30 minutes cool down , nip and buff .
But you may want to jump up to a slower reducer for an over all , I just stick with the one reducer .

Sorry I cant even give you a price range as my jobber comes in and keeps my stock in line and I never see a bill , so I have no clue on that.
If I had to guess some where in the $200+ range for 1 gal of D893 - 1 qt D884- 1 gal. D872
It mixes 3:1:1
I also spray it with a Iwata LVLP 400 , never cared for the SATAs , but thats just me . :-)
Also I might add , lay 3 coats down , one coat for the cut and buff , if you are going to sand it flat , as PPG wants the required Mill thickness for proper UV protection !
I dont buff anything flat , as My job is to match the OEM factory Orange peal , so the car doesnt look repaired ! And global matches it damn near perfect on the Cadillacs .
Theres nothing worse to me then to see a car repaired , and see the repair paint job super slick , and the rest of the factory paint peal , shows right off its been repaired .

SprayTech

yea i know what your saying about the orange peel thing, but i've been working on more show cars lately, so for the most part i want to see it flat.. for the smaller panel jobs i don't start with rough grit sandpaper, i just use 2000 to nib. i'm just wondering how it'll work in a 70 degree atmostphere, as i cannot bake, i'm sure when it's hot out it'll work good... I guess i'm just wondering what it's like with air dry. in the winter i usually keep it at around 70 so that would probably be the coldest it would have to be... let me know what you think about that. most clears now have bake times and air times so i'm assuming it'll be ok.