thinning clear coat???????

[nasty72nova]

Hey guys, I painted my 72 nova last spring and it came out decent for a back yard paint job in a car port. I never got around to spraying the under side of the hood and trunk and was wondering if anyone has ever thinned their clear to make it lay down flatter. I used shopline jc620 clear. I like the gloss but it had more peel then I'm used to getting when I paint. I want the under side of the hood/trunk to lay down flat because, as you know, wet sanding and buffing would be a nightmare. Any tips on how to or why not to thin clear? And if so how much

[BuzzKillian]

Over thinning the clear usually produces runs. Slower thinner and a smaller needle/tip (breaks up the paint more) will help.

The Gun you use has a lot to do with it too. I can't afford some of the Uber exspensive guns, I use what I consider a mid range gun, DeVellbis GTI+ with a 1.3 tip for base and clear. I'm not unhappy with the little orange peel I get with this.

My paint guy tells me I should try clearing with the 1.2 tip. I have not tried it yet.

[snappytravis]

Two things will cause the orange peel, ^ Like Mike said, to much material, Either screw in the bottom screw on your paint gun, This controls the fluid amount, Maybe bump the air pressure a bit. The other thing you need to watch is the hardener you are using in the paint, What temp is it for? If your painting a fender by itself I would go with the faster hardener, say 60-75 degree hardener if it is 70 and your doing a fender it will dry pretty fast. If your doing a whole car I would go with a hardener that is 75-85 degrees, It will allow you to go around the entire vehicle without the clear setting up to fast. The hardener is what actually controls the flow, The solvent is just used to get the paint to the car. It then evaporates, If you use to much solvent to thin the paint you could also end up with dieback, where the paint looks kind of cloudy, Adjust your paint to the temp. You also should be using a high flow air fitting if it is a hvlp gun.
Hope this helped al little
good luck

[nasty72nova]

I have an Iwata LPH 400 with a 1.4 tip. The tips are super expensive so I never changed it since I maybe spray paint once a yr. The clear I used requires no reducer on the instructions. Do they make slower hardeners?

[nasty72nova]

Ok so shopline should have a slower hardener for me to try. It's cold where I live right now(New Jersey) but I can heat up my paint area pretty easily. I'm going to try the slower hardener on the bottom of the hood/trunk and see how it works. I'm spraying my dads vette next spring and I wanna try to make the wet sand/buff stage easier.

[Bad94]

I have an Iwata LPH 400 with a 1.4 tip. The tips are super expensive so I never changed it since I maybe spray paint once a yr. The clear I used requires no reducer on the instructions. Do they make slower hardeners?

You have a very good base gun. But if you want to lay clear out look at the Iwata supernova hybrid LS400, i spray clear with it everyday.

[nasty72nova]

Thanks. I'll look into it. For someone who doesn't paint every day, do you think it's acceptable to just get a smaller tip for the gun I have now??? Or are there other major differences. The paint did come out great. It just didnt have the smooth glass look until I cut and buffed it. I took off a lot of product when I wet sanded because the peel was tight deep holes vs the wider shallow ones if prefer

[BuzzKillian]

You can get the results you're looking for with that gun. You just have to find a technique that works for you. I'm in the same situation you are. I don't paint stuff for myself at home all that often. You actually have a better gun than I do.

I would try backing down the material flow, to try to better atomize the clear. You might have to move a little slower to keep it wet. Good Luck.

[BuzzKillian]

Thanks. I'll look into it. For someone who doesn't paint every day, do you think it's acceptable to just get a smaller tip for the gun I have now???

I'm pretty sure when this gun came out, There were good reviews on the way it laid out clear. (with different tip/air cap)

[kush69]

you can use a viscosity cup to measure the clear .to determine how much you can thin the clear .In the colder weather the clear will always be thicker than the warmer weather

[nasty72nova]

I was watching videos I have of me spraying the car. Im extremely close to the car on my final coat. Moving very slow. I think I went the right speed but need to pick it up off the car for the better atomization buzzkillian mentioned. Ill try this on my trunk underside in a few weeks. Its more likely my technique is wrong than the paint mix not being a good combo. Theres a reason they have mixing instructions haha.