Painting over factory paint?

[maluminas]

As we all know some cars have very very soft paint that no number of sealant or wax coats can adequately protect from daily scratches. The easiest way to aleviate the problem right now is to apply a semi-permanent coating such as CQuartz or OptiCoat, but even that will provide only partial protection.

And although polishing is fun, doing it every 6 months will probably cause premature clearcoat failure since you remove a thin layer every time.

So i was wondering, would it be possible to spray an extra layer or two of actual clearcoat over the factory baked paint? It would certainly not be practical or cost-effective, but i was wondering if it's possible. That way you could polish it to your heart's content without fear of cutting right through to the color layer for many more years. You could even wet-sand it to remove orange peel, since the factory orange peel will be masked under the extra CC.

Just wondering :poke:

[CrownKote]

This could be done... BUT! lots of prep and the more coats of clear there are the less brilliant the color of paint will be...

[maluminas]

I see, so i guess it would be better suited for white since darker colors will lose depth from internal reflection and/or light scattering at the interface between CC layers?

What kind of prep would be needed? Sanding to help the new layer bond?

[David Fermani]

This could be done... BUT! lots of prep and the more coats of clear there are the less brilliant the color of paint will be...


Can you elaborate why you think this? Feed back please

[CrownKote]

Can you elaborate why you think this? Feed back please

This was the short version... I have painted a few cars in the past and obviously depending on the quality of the clear coat you have the thicker the layers of clear the less and less the true color would shine through. have you ever spray painted something then cleared over it wanting to make sure that you protect the color and while doing this in the end the color is kind of muddy?

I do some airbrushing as a hobby and honestly I have made the mistake of doing a few too many clear coats and the end result is "milky" ruining the art... This is most prominent on the hockey helmets I have done... Trying to protect the base finish... I do have to say that I was using PPG pro diamond clear... (NOT OUT OF A RATTLE CAN) but then again I have seen cars (restos) that have gotten like 6 coats of clear to make them look a mile deep...

[93fox]

I paint cars very often and i havent seen extra coats of clear making the paint less brilliant. The max i always put is 3 or sometimes 4. Even at 4 the color still looks great. The clear matters alot too. One of the best clears that i have used has been PPG 2021 and PPG 2002. Both of these clears are hard and dont scratch up easy. The cheaper the clear is the softer it is. Now if you really want to make your color pop out i would recommend some house of kolor clear. Ive seen how nice that clear looks. It makes the paint pop out more since its used alot for show cars. I know glasurit offers clears for show cars aswell. But yes, getting your car cleared is something i reccomend. Especially a good hard clear. Cheap clears always tend to be really soft and scratch up really easy.

[BobbyG]

So i was wondering, would it be possible to spray an extra layer or two of actual clearcoat over the factory baked paint? It would certainly not be practical or cost-effective, but i was wondering if it's possible. That way you could polish it to your heart's content without fear of cutting right through to the color layer for many more years. You could even wet-sand it to remove orange peel, since the factory orange peel will be masked under the extra CC.

Just wondering :poke:

Of course and this is done frequently.

Clear coats are so thin today and they don't have to be, it's only done to cut costs..Adding additional clear correctly give the paint added protection and depth all the while give the detailer added flexibility to perform his magic...

[David Fermani]

This was the short version... I have painted a few cars in the past and obviously depending on the quality of the clear coat you have the thicker the layers of clear the less and less the true color would shine through. have you ever spray painted something then cleared over it wanting to make sure that you protect the color and while doing this in the end the color is kind of muddy?



Color and brilliance are 2 totally different things. Yes, I totally understand clearcoat causes color variation, but the more you add (within reason) the more depth you create. Single stage finishes (especially solid colors) are much more to color spec than bccc because clear is not clear, it's yellowish.

[maluminas]

I know cost probably varies a lot depending on where you are, but what kind of bill can be expected to add extra clear on paint in excellent condition?

[David Fermani]

For an entire car? Atleast $3000 just for clear. Remember the whole car needs to be detrimmed, sanded and refinished. Not a small job.

[CrownKote]

Color and brilliance are 2 totally different things. Yes, I totally understand clearcoat causes color variation, but the more you add (within reason) the more depth you create. Single stage finishes (especially solid colors) are much more to color spec than bccc because clear is not clear, it's yellowish.

Good points... Although I have seen a few blueish hazes in some of the new clear coats...

[jbgrant]

If this is a daily driver like you suggest, I would hang on to your money and take the best care of it possible until it's deteriorated down the road. I've heard of people adding clear, but most of those people do the paint work themselves and on their own time. If you hire a shop to do this, they better know what they are doing or you will be more likely to have clear coat issues down the road then if you leave it alone. 3000 bucks will be a lot more valuable put towards a proper paint job 5 years from now than a couple more layers of clear unless this car is going to be your personal museum piece. As far as depth of the clear, I have examined show cars with 4, 5, and 6 coats (perhaps more) that have fantastic clarity; of course, it depends on the quality of paint and prep before and during the applications.

[jbgrant]

Automakers need to start offering an "extra clear" option for thicker paint for people that care about keeping the finish looking better than new for the life of the vehicle. I would pay an extra 5% of paint that could be cared for.

[jbgrant]

You could even wet-sand it to remove orange peel, since the factory orange peel will be masked under the extra CC.

Just wondering :poke:

A painter would almost certainly sand off the existing orange-peel before applying the new clear. 2-3 new coats of clear applied properly would not result in any peel.

[CrownKote]

Automakers need to start offering an "extra clear" option for thicker paint for people that care about keeping the finish looking better than new for the life of the vehicle. I would pay an extra 5% of paint that could be cared for.

:iagree: