Help ... clear coat emergency

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AlxxNova

Guest
I'm painting a set of tanks and fenders that my customer is coming from VA to NC to pick them up in a few days. Everything was going good. No problems from primer to clearing over the flames. Thought I'd spray the last coats of clear tonight and sand a polish them out on Saturday for Sunday. So tonight I sanded down the clear (UC-35) to remove the slight edges from the flames. Then went to spray them with another 3 coats of the UC-35. While I was spraying I noticed that there were these tiny spots on every part that looks like the paint didn't stick. The spots look like orange peel that goes all the way through the clear I just sprayed down to the clear I sanded.

Here's a quick breakdown of what I did today. Wet sanded the parts with straight water and 600 3M paper. I had on rubber gloves so as not to get finger prints on the parts. Then after sanding I rinsed them off with some water. Dried them with a clean towel. Stopped for dinner. Came back and wiped them with a tac cloth. Mixed up some clear (UC35), reducer (RU310), catalyst (KU150) (8oz - 4oz - 4oz). Then started spraying. During the second coat I noticed the spots. Thought it was something I was doing wrong like moving to quick. So I shot the last coat a little slower and it got a little smoother but some spots are still there.

So does any one know what I did wrong? Is this easy to fix? I sprayed the first coat of clear a little heavy could that have done it? I really need to fix this in two days if it's possible.
 
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ezrider

New member
The way you descibed the problem it sounds like fish eyes. The surface you were spraying could of gotten contaminated or it could of been somthing air born. you didnt mention using a final wash ( wax and grease remover) before reclearing just water. the UC- 35 is a real high solids clear, nice for leveling out art work but it dosent buff for crap i try not use it for final clearing. try using a medium solids clear for final clearing it lays out nicer and buffs alot nicer
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Any way back to your problem if the craters go al the way through you will have to reclear but get some crater eliminator just in case it starts again, its not a solution but a quick fix that should only be used in emergencies, what you are doing is actually contaminating the clear so it dosent react when sprayed on the contaminated surface, like i said though it isnt a cure just a quick fix and should only be used in emergencies.
 
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AlxxNova

Guest
Thanks ez,

Due to lack of experience I figured I'd stay with HOK to play it safe, but after looking at HOK's web site I didn't see any crater eliminator. So any brands of crater eliminator that you would recommend using with the UC-35 or UFC-35 ? I'm going to see if they have any UFC-35 tomorrow, but I doubt it, so I'll most likely have to use the UC-35 one more time. The only place close enough mainly sells Dupont but has a few shelves of HOK. They can get anything I want but I have to wait for it to come in.
 
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shaunboy

Guest
Hi im from New Zealand so I may be a little different in technical terms, but....
Just go into the auto paint supply store that you get your stuff from and ask for crater eliminator or "silicon drops" as we call them over here in N.Z.
If it is the same thing as EZ means it should come in a tiny little bottle that you add into the paint and is used for emergencys only because to paint over it again once it is in there you have to use it again.
Also if I was painting anything that has been sitting around for quite some time I would "wax and grease remove"the panel 2 or 3 times before spraying it.
I hope this may help
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ezrider

New member
Thanks Shaunboy and DDG. Any brand will work (crater eliminater)that is.But like Shaunboy said once you use it on a job if you have to coat on top of what you have used it on you must continue to use it.Also using it will make your clear a tad more peally.
 
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Jim

Member
Hey EZ,This is the second time I heard someone mention HOK Clear doesn't buff well,I used it and all HOK products on my bike(first time painting) and I was amazed at how well it turned out,the clear was so smooth and made the black look a mile deep.How does it differ from PPG?I wetsanded from 800 thru 1200 and buffed with micro something from 3M,then swirlmark remover then I hand glazed it.Is PPG easier to spray or buff?I'm gonna do my car in the spring and was kicking around the idea of useing PPG but,I know how easy HOK is and was leaning in that direction.Let me know why PPG is better in your opinion.
 
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ezrider

New member
JIm, whats happening?i dont think its the HOK brand. in general high solids clears dont buff well. i am not knocking HOK clear but it takes alot more effort to get a shine out of HOK UC-35 than some PPG, Omni and other brands.No i am not promoting PPG i have used it for the past 10 years or so, i dont know any thing else any more, i havent touched DuPont for atleast 10 years. right now at work i am trying an off brand medium solids clear which a rep told us that he hasnt had a problem yet with, so i tried it and let me tell you i sprayed a couple of panels and they could not have layed out any flatter, buffed the next day, for very minor dust, very easily, with a finished gloss that was incredible.the price was also incredible, with a warranty like the name brands. almost too good to be true. HOK lists a medium solids clear but my suppliers dont stock it, they say no body really asks for it. Shop around talk to some sales people at the supply house see what other painters are buying, try the better selling ones that body shops are buying, product sales tell alot about a product, your not gonna buy it a second time if you really dont like it. Hope this makes sence to you and hope it helps.
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rex

New member
Alex,don't feel bad.I don't know how many times I've recleared something and had a fisheye or 3 pop up.You should have wiped her down with prep solvent though to be safe.A cheap trick for this is to have a touchup brush and when a fisheye pops up dip the tip of the brush in clear and put a small dab in teh fisheye.If there's a pronounced spec in the center of it it will still be there,but the dab will fill it in and eat in since everything's fresh.If the next coat doesn't melt things out scuff and buff it and most people will never know.

Jim,PPG's 2021 buffs nice the next day but if you can't cook it better wait another 1/2 day,it will spot from compound slinging if it air dries and you get on it too quick.It looks great but all the spots from compound spatter will slightly spot.Another 12 hrs or so and it's not a prob.2042(the faster stuff) isn't bad on small stuff like scooter parts or 2 panels on a car but it seems to want to die back if you do large areas with it.If it's finished off in 2000 you can buff it with a foam pad and fine compound most of the time,but I hit it quick with a fine wool pad first to save time.

EZ,what's the clear you're trying out,if it's good stuff I could be interesed.
 
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ezrider

New member
Rex, how are things? The clear is distributed by a local Glaserit( sorry for the spelling ) jobber and is called Transtar, i believe. The owner and store rep both sell a ton of if,can bearly keep it on the shelf and swear buy it. Get this now, about $110 for a gallon set up , mixed 4 to 1, i pay almost that for a Quart set up of HOK.i am not going to the shop today but i will get product # on monday if you want. they also have an epoxy primer ( looked, smelled and behaived like PPG s DP)only mixed 1 to 1 insted of 2 to 1 , and cost about $100 for a gallon of Epoxy and a gallon of Activator, yes 2 gallons total
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. yes they will stand behind the products they told me. If this line is being used by Glaserite( sorry again) shops how bad can it be. if any one else has any feed back on this product line please let me know, possative or negative.i hope your still putting the miles on the scotter Rex
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rex

New member
Hey man,thanx for the info.The name rings a bell from a flier or something so I'll ask around,this stuff sounds good.You know we just started something again about staying with one line
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Still riding some.I think it was low 50s this morning when I left (now remember that's freezing to us) on a mission to toast my rear tire before putting on a new one.I'm still picking chunks of rubber out of my hair and that VenomX compound is still soft and smearing 6 hours later.Guess I should have thrown on the dew rag eh?Take care for now man.
 
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AlxxNova

Guest
Thanks everyone for all the help. Much appreciated. There looking good and ready to go. Thanks again.
 
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Bigdan1928

Guest
We have used transtar product on trucks lately and with much success.as you can imagine,trucks take a lot more product to paint than a car or pickup so to keep a profit we are constantly looking for cheaper but good
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lines.The transtar is slightly better than the ppg omni in my opinion and buffs nice.Also check out transtars warp speed line. Their 2k primer filler sells for $50 a gallon with activator and is ready for sanding or paint 12 mins after its sprayed!!!Talk about a time saver.Ih yea, if you want another good clear, try rubber seal.Its good for spray and be done type jobs, it lays down nicer than any clear on the market but isnt so friendly if you try to buff it.
 
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rex

New member
That RubberSeal stuff is prety good.Shot the front clip of the rep's car with it and about 5 years later it looks great,and he isn't much on cleaning other than washing it when it's filthy.He said it's never been waxed yet too.Their urethane primer beats any of the big name stuff I've used.It sands a little harder than most but this stuff won't shrink,period.More than I can say for most of the surfacers I've used over the years.

Alexx,I forgot something.Did you drain your traps and filters on a regular basis?If they get alot of buildup in them and you don't drain them often eventually some of it gets farther up line into the hose.Then again it could be something in the water.I have the problem at times myself.I can paint all day long without a problem,but the minute I reclear something I'll get a friggin fisheye that wont burry.Some clears also tend to fisheye if you put a coat on too wet,PPGs DAU82 Delglo clear was notorious for it and if I remember right the medium solids 2020 did it.
 
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AlxxNova

Guest
After thinking over what I did a few times I think I figured it out. It had been a looooong day and it was really late when I went to lay down the clear. Plus I was in a rush since the guy was driving 5 hours to get here in a few days. Just before I went to spray I noticed the exhaust filter was getting kind of full so I changed it. Then I noticed a little dust from the filters had settled on the parts. So I took a tack rag and just wiped them down then went to spraying. I'm figuring I should have used a cleaner after the tac rag since who knows what else could have been in the dust. But being tired and in a rush I wasn't thinking and figured it's only dried paint. Anyway I'm guessing that's what caused it.
 
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kevsLX

Guest
ezrider, i have heard from a couple folks that the Transtar clear is great, I checked out their site and they have a couple different clears listed, which are you using?
Alxx, is it possible maybe that the towel you dried you parts off with maybe had some gunk in it?
 
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ezrider

New member
Hey Kev, whats up? the transtar clear i have been using is The Kwick Gloss Low VOC 4.2 The gallon part#is 6841 and the quart is 6844. this is a 3 coat clear its a medium solids clear, so its not too good for leveling out art work but for a final clear its awesome.the rep gave me a tech book so if you need any info give me a hollar. when i asked the rep about warrenting the product he said no problem, even for my custom paint work, they cover their products both under coats and top coats for 5 years,yes i do have a copy of the paper work .if you want i can look up their high solids clear for leveling out art work, but like all other high solid clears he said it dosent buff as well.
 
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