Softpaint

[holy85]

Hi All,

I've painted a part on the car 2 months ago, and it's been bolted back onto the car. Just today I pressed my nail into the lacquer to see if it was fully cured. To my surprise it left a nail impression. I gave it about 10 seconds and it basically disappeared.

Why did this happen?... does that means it not full cured?...Too many coats of lacquer?

 

[jaykay]

more info needed.
most likely,if 2 pack not enough hardener

 

[holy85]

yh, its 2k.

I did use the correct quantities.

Could adding too much thinner cause this effect as well?

 

[jaykay]

what brand are you using,and line??
what temp. have you had it stored at???

 

[holy85]

It's HB Auto Clear and HB 722 Fast hardener....2:1
They are stored in the garage...I did spray this when it was really cold tho.. just before when we had the heavy snow fall.

But I did bring it inside the house after that.. and left it near a radiator.

 

[jaykay]

you asked about over thinning,did you do that?
it's a sikkens clear, i would phone them and talk to the tech guys there.
they are in abingdon i think.
if the paint did in fact get to cold it can muck it up.
but mixing ratios can be very critical.
if it has got past it's user life you will have to clean it off,and start again.

 

[holy85]

I'm certain that I didn't. But I do remember the lacquer being very thin but I put that down to the weather being very cold.

I normally notice this with primer once sprayed while it dries.. it will leave a nail impression in the primer.. but give it 10 seconds and it goes away. But once primer is fully dry and cured is don't leave any impressions at all. Which was why I though it was a bit weird that this panel don't seem to be fully dry as it seemed to have a bounce in the surface after 2 whole months.

Thanks for help tho jaykay. I'll get in contact with them to see if I can shed any light on this.

 

[jaykay]

if it's not dry by now ,it's not going to dry.
also contamination can stop drying.
if it's cold,paint/lac.thicken up.
did you get a spec.sheet with the lacquer,did you follow it to a "t"????

 

[holy85]

yea I asked for mixing quantities over the counter... I didn't get a spec sheet though...I'll try and get one next time.

I did put the lacquer on heavy I must say, at least 4-5 coats. But saying that I did rub about 1 1/2 layers back down.

 

[jaykay]

jk

thats alot of coats your putting on,2-3 is enough.
let me know how you get on with sikkens.

 

[holy85]

I was going to wet sand it flat plus I didn't want to throw the rest of the clear away that was left in the pot....Would I be right in saying too many layers can cause cracking in the paint?

I'll let you know how I get on with Sikkens. I've dropped them an email, so hopefully they will get back to me.

 

[jaykay]

jk

i think you will be stripping it,and starting over.
i hope you gave sikkens full run down.
dont think you'll hear of them til tuesday now.

 

[dunsdale]

i dont like calling products down

But H.B. body products arent really up to much, i belive you followed the correct mixing ratio's . I have tried their clearcoats in the past and have found similar problems.

It is probaly down to the product and excessive film thickness.

4-5 coats is way to much decent clearcoats only need two full coats. and top end clearcoats need only 1.5 coats.

Not sure how sikkens got into this thread. but if it was H.B. Body product they are nothing to do with sikkens Akzo Nobel

This is the hb body link

http://www.hbbody.co.uk/clear_coats.htm


.

 

[jaykay]

woooo,i stand corrected.
i was reading h.b as high build.
looked at the link and it is nothing to do with sikkens.
now how do i get this egg of my face.

 

[jaykay]

looking at spec sheet, you've put way to much on. and they will say its down to you.

 

[holy85]

I'll make sure I don't spray too much on next time, and see whether the surface remains rubbery or whether it marks easy.

I looked on the can.. and it had the same pictures Sikkens had on their spec sheets... so I thought maybe they are using the same ingredients but re branding as a different package?

Anyway as I've emailed them... I'll wait to see what Sikken's say about it. I'll drop HB a line as well.

 

[holy85]

Separate question from the topic...

If I wanted a really flat finish on my clear coat.. would I be right in saying I should be sanding in between coats... or is it the same thing as sanding right at the end?

 

[jaykay]

jk

by flat,do you mean smooth?
if so paint the required coats let it dry,then wet flat and polishloss back.

 

[holy85]

yh, to achieve that un-wavy, ripple-less hotrod show room finish... I might start another thread on this.. when I come to spray my project car.

I want to achieve something like this (that's not mines by the way).. when you see a reflection of a florescent tube in this paint...you don't see any waves/ripples.. just the straight tube.. no distortions.

 

[jaykay]

well it looks good. i'm sure you will get there.
most people who start spraying move way to fast with gun.and end up with dry coats.
keeping flask off times right helps also,as one coat blendes in to the other.
go to soon and it will sag.