Clear coat durability

K

Karmin

I hope this is the right section to post this. My first post. I'm currently in the process of repainting my 94 Porsche 968. It's Guards Red. After googling and reading for what seems like an eternity, there is no doubt that SPI products and BarryK have a great fan base. My question is regarding the durability of the SPI clears (specifically Universal) vs. other brands (most likely PPG since they are 5 blocks from me). I read somewhere that the UC is soft and easily swirled even from car washes. If this IS the case, do you recommend another clear? I've read somewhere that BarryK likes PPG DCU2002. I am looking for a shine and depth that beats the OE finish, but I need to be practical also.

Oh and my skills are average. Last car I sprayed was about 10yrs ago with enamel. It was a work van with severe oxidation. Got off work early one day and on a whim went to paint store to buy paint and sprayed outside when I got home. Didn't sand, scuff or anything. Just washed and painted. Lasted for 5 years. :eek:

Anyway, the reason I say this is because I notice a lot of members refer to the Universal Clear as the noob clear. Great for me :)

Thanks,
Karmin
 
The Universal is your choice if you want the ability to sand and buff it easily months later. If thats not important to you and you want high scratch resistance use the Euro 2020.
 
There is no standards organization that tests and rates clear by its properties the way that, say, motor oil is tested. So nobody can say for sure which clear is most durable, it is all anecdotal.

In my opinion there ought to be a standard. But as it is, it comes down to where you decide to place your trust. I trust SPI more than any other paint company. You will have to decide for yourself.
 
Hardness and softness do not define the quality of the clear. Spot and production clears tend to be hard fast for production purposes, in and out the door, however chemical resistances and stone chipping are sacrificed to accomplish the fast in and out the door hardness.

You are right the 2002 clear, is the closest clear PPG has to the universal, both are softer clears and yes both will tend to show minor scratches for the first few weeks or couple of months, depending on the color of the base and how many mils of clear you apply. But this softness when filly cured, equals better chip and chemical resistance then a harder clear could ever hope for.
 
i spray the UV clear almost everyday in my shop.

love it and i have abused this crap to no end but it is the best stuff i have used and i have used a lot of different clears over the course of the years

very easy to spray.Best of luck Travis
 
Thanks. From the other posts, I kept thinking the Universal clear would stay soft as in that you could leave fingerprints in the clear. I think I'll use the Universal. It seems to be what I need. Gloss, durable and easy to apply.
 
As already posted you want the universal clear probably.. If you are going to buff immediately after your spray the clear and swirls or scratches are your concern, then the Euro 2020 is your ticket..

HOWEVER and I do say HOWEVER.. If your not accustomed to buffing or wont be able to buff out your ride all at once over the course of a couple of days, then you may want to stick with the Universal clear.. I think Barry extended the buff time on the Euro to about a month, however it is more difficult to buff than the universal is..

I have used the Universal clear for probably 5 years now.. I love the clear, however I fell in love with the Euro from the 1st time I used it because it is harder and doesnt swirl as easily.. But like all things, the trade off is a harder clear to buff right out of the gate.. So it really depends on how fast you are going to buff and how comfortable you are behind the buffer..

I forgot to mention.. The Universal, the Euro 2020 and the MS clear all share the exact same resins.. So basically that means, the main ingredient in those clears are all the same.. The other differences are solvents and ISO's in the activators..

Happy spraying
 
i think when people read the universal is a soft clear that they get the wrong impression. thinking the clear will fingerprint forever is not at all what is meant here. once fully cured you cant really tell the difference between a rock hard clear and a softer clear. they are all hard really, just some are so hard that they become brittle which makes them hard to buff and a bad choice for plastics and custom work. universal will swirl easier than a hard clear so yes you need to wash it will a microfiber instead of the brush at your car wash. i would much rather polish my car once maybe twice a year than have to go fixing chips or spider cracks.
 
The Universal doesn't hold up well when an 1100deg. heat gun is held 1/2in from it for several seconds. The plastic on the bumper didn't like it much either. Otherwise, it is a great product.
 
AAE;4913 said:
The Universal doesn't hold up well when an 1100deg. heat gun is held 1/2in from it for several seconds. The plastic on the bumper didn't like it much either. Otherwise, it is a great product.
Click to expand...

No kidding?
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i think when people read the universal is a soft clear that they get the wrong impression. thinking the clear will fingerprint forever is not at all what is meant here. once fully cured you cant really tell the difference between a rock hard clear and a softer clear. they are all hard really, just some are so hard that they become brittle which makes them hard to buff and a bad choice for plastics and custom work. universal will swirl easier than a hard clear so yes you need to wash it will a microfiber instead of the brush at your car wash. i would much rather polish my car once maybe twice a year than have to go fixing chips or spider cracks. JIMC
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What a lot of people do not realize is a polyurethane has minor self healing properties.
If not and a Black car, that will tend to slow the clear down and tend to show minor drying scratches, also slowly disappear, if not by the time the clear cured in 30 days there would be no gloss.
 
The 2002 is not particularly easy to spray if it's your first time. I think the Universal clear is easier to buff also. It's been said before, but the light swirl marks that you will get with normal use of the car do come out very easily. A little glaze on a foam pad and it's light work. I think it takes more time washing the car and cleaning up the glaze the buffer slings than actually polishing it to remove those little swirl marks down the road.
 
@Jim C - Thanks. That's exactly what I thought a "soft" clear was. Fingerprints and stuff. I'm definitely relieved to hear this. As for the cracks vs. swirls. I agree, polishing and buffing swirls seems a much easier task than fixing cracks and nicks. I've started sanding down the car (actually just the front bumper) and it's been 2 days already. LOL. What the hell am I getting myself into.
 
I've been monitoring some jobs with UV clear and durability has been unbelievable-I think it almost repels rocks. It also stays flexible on the plastic parts unlike some that crack from a bug hit. The scratch resistance isn't great untill full cure is reached but after that it is very good. There's a lot of specialty clears out there now like the ceramic stuff, and self healing clears but overall UV is a very good product.
 
I have Universal Clear on my daily driver, it's over 3 yrs old now
and I don't have the first chip, even on the bumpers.
I have small dings from parking lots, but no chips.
It's unbelievable to me. I have the clear over a single stage urethane color.
 
What is the full cure time for UV? Thinking of using it on a daily driver not garaged.
 
strum456;4966 said:
What is the advantage of putting clear over single stage? Why didn't you use base under your clear?
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My pre-packaged single stage was 1/3 the price of basecoat.

The color was a large metallic It is a color intended to be used
under candy, the mfg. recommends covering it with clear when not
useing it in a candy system.

I wanted to make sure I didn't sand into the metallic when buffing.

If I did buff through, or get a chip in the clear, the durability
is still there. Unlike basecoat that has to have clear over it.

I believe that single stage has better color/depth than basecoat
and thought it would look better, I think it does.

And of course, more UV protection of the color, which is orange
and is more likely to fade.

I still use basecoat for all my collision repairs, but I used urethane
on my car just to try it out and am very pleased with the durability.
 
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So, should I use base or single stage under universal clear for my 34 Chevy Street Rod?
The color will be black.

I can see where single stage would be more durable and UV resistant.

If it is cheaper too, why would anyone use base? Just becasue it dries faster?
 
This is a debate going on for ages.
they both have their advantages.
Base haveing more,I'm sure.
SS is much harder to spray (IMHO)
Base is much better for color matching and
easier to spray and control.
Especially when there's not a booth clean environment
to spray in.
It's not that much cheaper when buying a factory color,
I used a custom pre-packaged color, that's why mine
was so cheap. It's in limited colors.
I actually recommend basecoat to new painters.
But a lot of "show cars" are urethane.
 
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