The owner told me that this Mercedez repaint with 12 layer of clear coated.

I

iamwashmania

New member
This car got repainted for 8 months. The owner told me that his car covered with 12 level of clear coated.



Anyone please explain how benefit of many clear coated levels. The car is incredible shine....



He let me buff with spong to reduce some swirl on the Front. I use MG no. 83, I forgot the name of Product but the some with dual action. After that I use speed glaze for maximize super glossy and deep shine. Also useing the MG Hand Polish by hand then Gold Class Wax. Finally with the Final Inspection to clean the oily wax that lefe on the surface......
 
Too much clear coat is NOT a good thing. The thicker the film build the higher the chances it will get stress cracking and cause premature failure.



No matter how many layers of clear are applied to a vehicle the UV blockers ALWAYS settle in the top .3 mil of clear (The chemical makeup of the clear is designed that way). So, you're not adding any extra protection with multiple layers of clear.



Extra layers are added on show vehicles for that extra depth and shine. But on daily drivers they are not a good idea and won't last very long.
 
The extra clear can also make the panels appear to be wavy. Your pictures are very nice. What camera do you use?
 
Based on the pictures, the reason for 12 coats of clear is that each coat was being wetsanded before applying another coat to make sure there was no orange peel. Since some of each coat was wetsanded/buffed off, it take more coats to get the same depth as just a few coats of clear when just the top layer is wetsanded and buffed.
 
Forgive the newbie remark, but I was under the impression that wet sanding in between layers of clear coat was difficult at best to do, and tended to cause some level of hazing. For CC can you just do the wet sanding and buffing at the end to get rid of the orange peel, or is it really best to do it after each coat.



On a somewhat related topic, isn't it even worse to wet sand a color layer prior to clear coat?



This is not suggesting that wet sanding in between is wrong, I certainly don't have the experience to say that. I just would like some clarification on the issue, of when sanding is appropriate during the painting process.



Edit: I don't know how I ended up replying to such an old thread.
 
In certain cases it is absolutely necessary to sand between coats. For example for two stage paint if you don't top the color coat with clear within a certain time (usually a few hours) then you will have to sand the color coat; it's in the product instructions for the paint system you're using. The VW Phaeton had a "Klavierlack" option where they wet sand the second clear coat with 1000 grit, then apply a third coat, to improve the gloss. I've had to wet sand clearcoat when I screwed up and got orange peel. I'm no pro by any means, but occasionally I'll dabble in body work.
 
elsdragon314 said:
Forgive the newbie remark, but I was under the impression that wet sanding in between layers of clear coat was difficult at best to do, and tended to cause some level of hazing. For CC can you just do the wet sanding and buffing at the end to get rid of the orange peel, or is it really best to do it after each coat.



On a somewhat related topic, isn't it even worse to wet sand a color layer prior to clear coat?



This is not suggesting that wet sanding in between is wrong, I certainly don't have the experience to say that. I just would like some clarification on the issue, of when sanding is appropriate during the painting process.



Edit: I don't know how I ended up replying to such an old thread.
Click to expand...



Sanding in between coats creats the flattest possible finish. The best way is to start at the base coat and work your way out/up. If you final finish has OP, chances are that it started much earlier than that. Sanding down will make it flatter, but it won't be flatter than doing it in between coats. 12 coats of anything is plain rediculous.
 
itb76 said:
The VW Phaeton had a "Klavierlack" option where they wet sand the second clear coat with 1000 grit, then apply a third coat, to improve the gloss.
Click to expand...



They do this procedure at the factory? You'd figure that would open them up for contamination in their paint station + add tons of extra man hours/labor?
 
elsdragon314 said:
Forgive the newbie remark, but I was under the impression that wet sanding in between layers of clear coat was difficult at best to do, and tended to cause some level of hazing. For CC can you just do the wet sanding and buffing at the end to get rid of the orange peel, or is it really best to do it after each coat.



On a somewhat related topic, isn't it even worse to wet sand a color layer prior to clear coat?



This is not suggesting that wet sanding in between is wrong, I certainly don't have the experience to say that. I just would like some clarification on the issue, of when sanding is appropriate during the painting process.



Edit: I don't know how I ended up replying to such an old thread.
Click to expand...



Actually, it's not very hard at all. Most body shops in my area will start their new trainees off wet-sanding. They can always add another layer if they sand too far, and it gives them good practice to see just where the thin layers are.



The show car level paint jobs all have "color sanding" done in which the color layers, as well as the clear, is sanding smooth between layers. No hazing is present, especially with a final grit of 2500 - 3000. It creates a flat surface that the next layer actually bonds with better. It is extremely expensive as it takes many, many man hours, and many trips to the paint booth, but you get what you pay for. Have you ever heard of a $20,000 pain job? This is why. Multiple colors with custom graphics and then you add in all the labor from the prep, sanding, etc... You get a VERY expensive paint job.



There is a thread on here somewhere of a guy that wet-sanded a black lexus with single stage paint. Then he polished the sanding scratches out with the sonus products on a PC I believe. The resulting reflection and smoothness is amazing. He really did a great job.
 
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