Per TDS for UC you should have 2 mils thickness after complete with cut and buff. For a backyard hack how to know know though. I know there are gauges for the pros, but is there another way to tell? For a guy that may do 3 paint jobs in his life that tool doesnt make much sense.
Mil thickness after cut and buff
- Thread starter aviator8
- Start date
It doesn't. That's why the top pic is right before I put clear on. If you want to know what every layer is in the finished product youll have to pull measurements after every application.
Truth be told, I have measured paintwork before cut and buff and honestly you aren't removing as much as you would think you are when cutting the clear down.
Opinions vary of course, but if i am going to cut something flat I put down 4 coats of clear and I usually start with 800 and work my way up to 5000 before buffing.
Truth be told, I have measured paintwork before cut and buff and honestly you aren't removing as much as you would think you are when cutting the clear down.
Opinions vary of course, but if i am going to cut something flat I put down 4 coats of clear and I usually start with 800 and work my way up to 5000 before buffing.
Ahh, then one wouldnt help me now with clear on. Im working some runs out so I'm paranoid about cutting through. I have 4 coats on, I'm taking my time and using protective measures around the runs so I'm probably fine, but it would be nice to really know how much I have left.
Whitesnake
Newbie
That’s quite the paint scheme you got there.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Not about just burning through though. You need to have enough clear or SS left on the panel so that the paint can live. Too little of even the best clear means premature failure.
Consider 3 coats of a high solids clear to be the absolute minimum if you are going to cut and buff. Four coats is better.
It was just a test panel to try some things out and I wanted to bury lines! Basically I got bored, when I should have been doing real work!
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
The amount of orange peel also plays a roll in how much clear is removed.
Three coats of a quality clear that has minimal orange peel can be sanded flat with almost no clear being removed. After all, you are only lowering the high spots down to the existing clear level.
It is when you have heavy orange peel and/or dirt in the clear that excessive sanding is required.
Three coats of a quality clear that has minimal orange peel can be sanded flat with almost no clear being removed. After all, you are only lowering the high spots down to the existing clear level.
It is when you have heavy orange peel and/or dirt in the clear that excessive sanding is required.
Well that answers a question I had,first two coats went nice.Third coat I got a little quicker for some reason and have some heavy peel in spots.I may have to re spray,arg.
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Steady and consistent with distance from panel, speed and overlap are critical when spraying. I think the tendency is to be fearful of runs because you already have two coats on there so you speed up.
I went ahead and got a mil gauge. Im thinking I may be able to back into what I'm doing. Can anyone say what a mil range would be per coat of UC? If I have that I can take the conservative side for X*4coats. Then I can take some readings on the panel I am working. I can monitor how much i am taking off by reading those same spots as I go and guesimate whats left based on avg mil thickness per coat.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Really not neccesary but if you are going to use it you need to have a baseline after you base. Take multiple readings after your basecoat. Then take readings after you have applied the clear. Do the readings in the same spots that you took your baseline readings. If not then it won't be accurate. Then you will know roughly how much is on there. It won't be accurate for every part as you will probably not be able to apply it completely even everywhere. More or less overlap in places, etc. And it will only be accurate in the actual place you checked. Don't use it like it's absolute.
Millage per coat of UV is probably around 2.0-2.5 depending on how you spray. 4 coats is a safe amount to apply to be able to cut and buff. Check your progress often. Sand evenly, don't hammer an area. Stay off the edges completely. You are only trying to flatten the clear. After flattening each further step is simply refining the scratches.
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dhutton01
Backyard Hack
This is why my first cut is always dry. It makes it very easy to tell when the peel and trash are gone to minimize the amount of material removed. Wet sanding it’s hard to tell unless you stop and dry the panel.
Don
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
If you do it wet, get a squeegee of some type. 3M still sell the black rubber ones. Squeegee the area every so often to check your progress.