i can't decide between a satin finish tuxedo black basecoat/clearcoat or a high gloss tuxedo black basecoat/clearcoat.is it the clearcoat that controls the level of gloss? if i go with the satin finish and change my mind how much trouble would it be to upgrade the gloss level? is it just a matter of sanding the clearcoat with ultra-fine paper and then shooting high gloss clearcoat over it or is that too easy? thanks for any help!

:confused: anybody?

Yes the clearcoat is what gives the paint its shine.

You add a flattening agent to your clear to dull it down to your desired gloss level.

Each paint manufactor has different rules or ratios of agent to clear, so if you hear someone say its a 50/50 mix they are talking out their arse smile.gif

PPG has a different ratio for each clear and hardner used. They also make a PRE FLATTENED clear that has roughly a 5% gloss level, you can increase the ratio by adding regular clear to it. That PPG clear is DCU2060.

Instead of spraying the whole car why not spray some test panels or scrap metal to see what you like and find the right gloss level,instead of experimenting on the car??...Eric

thanks a heap for the advice! graemlins/waving.gif i have my hood and decklid off of the car and am almost finished prepping for the hi-build acrylic primer-surfacer.i have thoroughly sanded all the black 1973 gm original paint,sanded all the repair areas to bare metal,applied the short-strand fiberglass body filler and sanded smooth twice.i applied the polyester filler putty to all the minor imperfections in the filled areas and sanded smooth, and have spot-primed the bare metal repaired areas with a self-etching black primer.the black finish of the spot-primed and sanded hood looks really cool graemlins/thumbsup.gif with the harwood 4" cowl.it has a satin sheen to it.i believe i'll go with a tuxedo black with a satin clearcoat.it rocks!