Clear Coat spray paint

jbum

New member
Will using a bottle clear coat spray apply smoothly on the car surface? I'm thinking of applying a coat and do not want to screw it up... make it look blotchy or just ugly.
 
Are you talking Krylon or clear that the paint store loads in a can? I can't imagine it giving a good finish out of an aerosol can. You might just get lucky though.
 
Cyclopsblown34 said:
Are you talking Krylon or clear that the paint store loads in a can? I can't imagine it giving a good finish out of an aerosol can. You might just get lucky though.



I'm new to all this car care stuff. I guess Krylon or anything in an aerosol is what I'm talking about.



What's the best way to get a decent finish?
 
We need a little more info. Are you fixing a damaged area? Or is the paint dull? Not sure why you need to use clear.



At any rate, spraying clear out of a can onto a car's paint doesn't sound too safe!



If you need an area "re-cleared", I'd take it to a body shop.



Again... need more info.
 
I have a '93 Civic and the paint is dull and it has a lot of tiny little specs wedged in through the years it was in service. Short of a dramatic polishing, the paint isn't going to be smooth or clean.



Lately, I've been getting these brow water spots that may be due to acid rain or rail dust. They do not come off by a simple wash. I have to use toothbrush or clear coat cleaner to get it off (with some elbow grease).



I'm thinking about putting a layer of clear coat to put some added protection... from the spots and in general.



It isn't necessarily for any specific damage.
 
If the car has never been polished, that might do the trick, even if it is severely oxidized.



Do you have pictures?



Spraying clear out of a can is pretty drastic. You could really mess up the paint.
 
well I posted something in here asking about the brown spots... but it's in the moderator's queue I think. But the picture doesn't do a good job about how the paint looks.
 
jbum said:
I have a '93 Civic and the paint is dull and it has a lot of tiny little specs wedged in through the years it was in service. Short of a dramatic polishing, the paint isn't going to be smooth or clean.



Lately, I've been getting these brow water spots that may be due to acid rain or rail dust. They do not come off by a simple wash. I have to use toothbrush or clear coat cleaner to get it off (with some elbow grease).



I'm thinking about putting a layer of clear coat to put some added protection... from the spots and in general.



It isn't necessarily for any specific damage.





it sounds to me like you just need a good ol clay and polish

and a few coat of sealant or wax



I don't think the clear is a good idea
 
ok, thanks for the suggestion. what is the aerosol clear coat normally used for then? only damaged areas?
 
Definately a good agressive clay and polish. Klasse AIO or better yet Menzerna.



Pads? Green or orange (EDGE)? Then Orange then white.



Top it off with a good sealant and you should be all set.
 
Is most of this info in the detailing guides in the forum? If so, I'll check it out. Thanks everyone for all your help!
 
jbum said:
ok, thanks for the suggestion. what is the aerosol clear coat normally used for then? only damaged areas?



I don't think it's made for automotive paint finishes. I have used it for painting projects around my house, such as painting metal deck furniture and clearcoating as the last step.
 
ugh typed up a long thing here then hit the back button.... so now you get the simplified version!





Don't use spray paint. Its not the same type used on a car, it wont hold up, you can tell it has been spray painted and so on. The paints we use today are Urethane paints which are two part paints that you mix a catalyst into and its a chemical reaction that allows it to dry.



Anyways, putting a clear coat on will magnify any defects you have and is a lot of work. If you are looking for something to protect your car surface, then go ahead and use spray paint I guess, it wont do much more damage if you just leave it alone though because either way you do it, you wont be able to get it to look good.



I'd have to see the damage but it sounds like its in pretty bad shape and the least you could do is hit it with a buffer or even try sand it down with 2000-3000 grit sand paper. If the damage is only in your clear coat, you might be better off, but if the damage goes into your base coat, most likely a full repaint is required. If its only in your clear coat, you might be able to sand it down to the point where the defects are gone, then leave it, or apply some real clear coat to it. I'm taking a class in auto collision and I need to ask my instructor if you can re-clear a car the way we re-clear panels that we are currently working on, but I think you can.



Your best bet is to bring it to a shop, mask it up, then pay them to spray the car and bake it, then un mask it yourself. OR you could do it yourself and buy some automotive paint (not the type at home depot, go to a specialty store) and buy an air compressor and HVLP spray gun and spray it yourself.





Your best bet is to hope that buffing will solve your problems because if you have to add paint, its going to be a long and potentially expensive process
 
It's going to look like crap if you spray clear on the car. I'd either contact a professional detailer in your area and see what they can do or maybe look into having it repainted if it bothers you that much.
 
STOP! DO NOT DO THAT!





Step 1) Spend about 10 Total hours on Autopia



Step 2) Buy a Clay bar



Step 3) Buy a Dual Action Polisher



Step 4) Buy 3 Yellow Lake Country CCS foam pads

3 Orange LC CCS pads

2 White LC CCS pads



Step 5) Buy Menzerna Super intensive Polish and Menzerna Final Polish



Step 6) Order a bottle of Zaino All-In-one and a bottle of Zaino Z5pro



Step 7) Claybar the car (how? go back to step 1)



step 8) Polish the car (maybe twice) by doing a 2 x 2 area with a yellow pad at speed 6 (remember step 1)



step 9) Polish again with Menzerna FP and an orange pad speed 6



step 10) Polish again with menzerna FP and a white pad speed 5



step 11) Apply Zaino AIO with a White pad at speed 4. (remember step 1)



step 12) Apply Zaino Z5p by hand



and Done!!



thats the recipe to making your car look like a new car again.
 
Finaltheorem47 said:
ugh typed up a long thing here then hit the back button.... so now you get the simplified version!





Don't use spray paint. Its not the same type used on a car, it wont hold up, you can tell it has been spray painted and so on. The paints we use today are Urethane paints which are two part paints that you mix a catalyst into and its a chemical reaction that allows it to dry.



Anyways, putting a clear coat on will magnify any defects you have and is a lot of work. If you are looking for something to protect your car surface, then go ahead and use spray paint I guess, it wont do much more damage if you just leave it alone though because either way you do it, you wont be able to get it to look good.



I'd have to see the damage but it sounds like its in pretty bad shape and the least you could do is hit it with a buffer or even try sand it down with 2000-3000 grit sand paper. If the damage is only in your clear coat, you might be better off, but if the damage goes into your base coat, most likely a full repaint is required. If its only in your clear coat, you might be able to sand it down to the point where the defects are gone, then leave it, or apply some real clear coat to it. I'm taking a class in auto collision and I need to ask my instructor if you can re-clear a car the way we re-clear panels that we are currently working on, but I think you can.



Your best bet is to bring it to a shop, mask it up, then pay them to spray the car and bake it, then un mask it yourself. OR you could do it yourself and buy some automotive paint (not the type at home depot, go to a specialty store) and buy an air compressor and HVLP spray gun and spray it yourself.





Your best bet is to hope that buffing will solve your problems because if you have to add paint, its going to be a long and potentially expensive process



Actually, I may have made it sound a lot worse than it is. I'm pretty sure I still have a lot of clear coat left. The damage isn't like rust. It seems to be superficial brown water spot-like stains that don't come off easily.



The other thing is that there are many little tiny specs of stuff (probably road dirt, etc.) that you can feel when you run your fingers on the body. I have another car which is absolutely silky wet smooth and I'd like to get this one closer to that. It doesn't have to be flawless but smooth enough to feel nice.



I've never used clay so I'm not sure how much it'll help.



Actually here is the link to my other thread (http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/102748-reddish-brown-water-spots-acid-rain.html)



That's the real reason why I'm trying to clean the paint. I used paint cleaner (pre-wax) to get rid of these spots (and wax) but they appeared again after a couple of weeks.
 
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