How do you use clear coat?

T

tommy83

New member
I've read multiple tutorials on fixing scratches with touch up paint/wet sand/polishing. I haven't seen anything specifically on using the clear coat. If the area will be waxed/sealed afterwards, is it not necessary? The oem BMW paint came with the clear coat, no idea how or if I should use it.



Thanks,

Tommy
 
I never use the clearcoat touch up. I find it makes the attempted repair far more noticeable. I've never had an issue where I skipped using it.
 
I, OTOH, almost always use clear as part of my touchup, unless using the Dr ColorChips system or some other single stage touchup process (e.g. Ford's touchup paint). Most of the touchup paints I use come with the clear and the basecoat doesn't have nearly the right look when used by itself.



No way I can ever get those two-part touchup paints to look decent without using the clear, and I use a *lot* more clear than basecoat.
 
tommy83- After properly prepping the chip, I use just enough basecoat to give a proper foundation- can't use too little or it won't look right (you'll see the underlying primer/rust coverter/whatever if you use way too little and it'll just look "off" if you use more but still not enough) and/or a metallic will look even worse than it will when things go properly ;) Don't use too much as the idea is to fill (and then some) the chip with plenty of the clear.



I apply the clear in a few layers rather than one thick one. I usually "overfill" the chip so it leaves a bit of a "blob" raised up above the surface of the surrounding factory paint. Then I either level the blob (chemically or mechanically) or just live with it (at least for a while).



I want lots of clear, both for looks and for UV resistance. The basic idea is to do what's done with any quality repaint- surface prep/primer/basecoat/clearcoat.
 
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