Pro Auto Painters: Can you flow coat matte clear?

[DMucci]

This one's for the pro auto painters out there. I'm working on a motorcycle paint job that will have multiple layers of color sealed in a matte clear coat.

I want a ridge-free finish, i.e. so you cant feel the different layers of base coat.

I've read to do this with gloss clear you do the following:

- Spray all your base coat graphics
- 2-3 coats of clear
- Let it dry then wet sand to smooth all the ridges
- Then spray a "flow coat" clear with extra reducer to get the glossy ridge-free finish.

My question is, can I do the same with matte clear coat?
Do I spray a gloss clear for the first process then the matte for the flow coat?
Do I use matte for both processes?

 

[scottydosnntkno]

While I’m not a auto painter, I’ve sprayed more than my share of lacquers which are chemically very similar.

I would spray your bases, spray a couple clears (high gloss if possible) as gloss has the highest percentage of material than any other sheen. No flatteners or fillers, just the finish. Also why gloss typically costs more. Pinpoint the layer lines to get better build in the valley between colors and then fan the entire thing.

Wetsand/sand til smooth looking with no ridges. Gloss will also help at this point to see when everything’s evenly matte with no lines

Spray your last coat or two of matte. No special extenders should be needed, as the base should already be smooth before the finish coats

 

[Bill Bowman]

^^^^This is what I would do.

 

[zmotorsports]

I do like scotty does on the last coat or two add the flattening agent to the ratio you are after. I also go one step further as I use urethane, but I add an additional 10% of reducer (usually warm temp such as PPG's DT105) which really helps the clear flow out nice and flat.

 

[ScottsGT]

Scotty hit the nail on the head. When I sprayed my '66 with rally stripes, I shot three coats over the entire car with an heavy emphasis (OK, 4 coats) on the stripe edges. Next morning, I block sanded the entire car and removed all seams. Shot on 3 more coats of clear the following day.

 

[durk_2007]

Scotty has the right answer

 

[Hammer1963]

These are all great ideas, but whatever you do, DO NOT USE LACQUER. If you want a matte finish as your final finish, use a clear that can be adjusted by a predetermined ratio of catalyst to achieve the desired degree of gloss vs using a flattening additive as you are basically guessing at the sheen that you will see when sprayed. I have one I use for such occasions and it works very well. If you need that information, feel free to ask.