On my current paint job I used Concept 2020. It has very good gloss before colorsanding but is so hard that I am unable to buff out the scratches left by color sanding. I have tried several times and I simply cannot get the scratches out. I can "hide" them with polish or wax but after a month or so the gloss goes away.

I used to use Laquer and I guess I got spoiled by how easy it was to color sand and buff. I did some touchup work last year using Laquer. I used 1500 to prep the area and painted it with Base and Laquer Clear. It took about 10 minutes to buff out the laquer part. I spent over an hour trying to buff out the 1500 scratches in the surrounding paint and I simply could not buff them out. Is there a PPG Urethane Clear that will let me color sand and buff fairly easily even after the paint is fully cured?

If there is no PPG Urethane Clear that will work the way I want, is there another brand/grade of product that will?

Thanks, Joel

I have been spraying PPG for about 10 yrs now and have to say "I dont understand your problem". (LOL) concept 2020 is a little brickish when fully cured, but to me nothing looks better. Of course a lover of another product will disagree with me. have utried a wool pad? foam pads are everywhere today but just do not add up on cured paint. they are just for production and people who buff the same day or the following. Right now i am spraying PPG global and using the 893 global clear. I buffed mine after 3 weeks of curing and had to switch to wool cause the foam was doing nothing. I have to admit, after almost a whole saturday of wet sanding called for about 2 days of buffing. That is just how it goes when you sand every possible speck of dirt and every possible peel to make it like a mirror. PPG also has a global clear 894 which is made for over alls and is recomended for baking. I havent tried because we do not have an oven in the booth. Have you been using a wool or foam pad?I have also found that 1200 for me is easier to buff than 1500. A lower rpm on the buffer also works good for me. Are you trying to do more than a square foot at a time? That can also cause foreverness. If has been more than month or close to it any product can be like bringing asphalt to a shine. Didnt they stop making 2020 a few yrs ago? I thought 2002 was the new clear. I can understand in some sense and if you have tried everything, continue to sand the whole car again and shoot more clear over the car and try again. Let me know the answers and i will try to help you out some more.

good luck
http://budruski.myplace.com/

A much better clear to use is Spies/Hecker. PPG and others tend to "lock" after a day or so and make it seem like you are buffing concrete. Spies products are much higher quality chemicals and are a lot more forgiving. Belive me, once you try Spies, you will never go back to another brand.
Gordon VM

budruski, I painted my car 4 or 5 years ago and did not have the time to buff it out until a couple of months after I painted it. I then wet sanded it with 1000 then 1200 (I later tried 1500) and tried to buff it. No matter how long I worked on a spot I simply could not buff all of the sanding scratches out. I have a good Makita Buffer and have experimented with all of the speeds. Most of the time I was trying to use a foam pad but I did try a wool pad and even that would not get the scratches out.

I need to do an overall repaint (in my garage) and want to use a clear that I will be able to buff 6 months or 2 year after it is painted. I am considering going back to Laquer. I think I can still get it (PA) and I know it is easy to work with. I hit a deer last summer and where it dented the hood a piece of clearcoat flaked off. I touched the area with my pressure washer and more of the clearcoat came off. I think I can strip all of the clear off with my pressure washer. If I can't, how can I featheredge it when it is so much harder than the basecoat.

Thanks, Joel

Well that explains it. The drier the the paint the harder it is to work with. I have heard a lot of good thing about the hecker but have yet to try. I would say that if the clear is peeling off the hood, try a razor blade to finish it off. If not to be on the safe side I would strip it all off to the metal, though sometimes you can get away with a da sander tho feather edge, then block sand the feather edge all using 180, then some good PPG urethane primer. Block sand that and reprime for a straight finish. That also explains the 2020 situation. I would give the 2002 clear a try this time and stay with a wool pad. the foam just doesnt get the cured paint hot enough to buff. Also 3m perfect it II in the black bottle compound I found to be the best compound for any clear coat (real good stuff). The only way I would let somebody talk me into putting lacquer on there car today is if they never drove it. Lacquer just doesnt work in todays weathe conditions, and if they did drive it it should have 20 coats of clear and 20 coats of wax at all times to protect it.

good luck and let me know how it goes.

Damn....nice looking before and after pics http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Before (http://budruski.myplace.com/71%20Chevelle/before%20front)

After (http://budruski.myplace.com/71%20Chevelle/almost)

Joe

I had the same problem with some of the "econo-clears" if you let them set up to long its like buffing the concrete floor.I used a wool pad, with 3M's perfect-it III heavy duty compound(silver label) and once i lose the scratches and bring up the best shine i can get,i go to a foam pad with perfect-it II compound and then machine glaze,followed by the black foam pad,and the 3M foam pad glaze.Works for me. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

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http://photos.yahoo.com/ochrisl

[This message has been edited by 70isfine (edited 03-23-2002).]

Thanks for the compliment 72 ss.
70isfine, thats a great way to buff. that combo with the wool heavy and the foam light also cuts way down on the swirl marks. i forgot to mention that earlier. after my first buff it looked like i buffed mine with a grinder when i put in the sun. getting those suckers out is a pain too!

When I did my boat it was fall and I did'nt wet sand or buff untill the following year. 19 ft. of top and sides wet sanded and buffed 2 people 2days sanding and 3days of buffing it was all deltron clear. Looked fantastic and 12 colors gets noticed.