Without clear coat, even perfectly matched paints won't match.
Clear coat is the glossy protective layer of a car's finish. It adds durability to the fragile base coat while providing
UV protection to help keep the paint true to its original color longer. Clear coat also enhances the paint's color effects.
For example, clear coat allows pearl mica and metallic flakes to shimmer, as it enables shifting light to create certain
perceptible variations in the vehicle's finish. So in addition to not being able to withstand the elements, paints without
clear coat will appear dull and flat. The new paint simply won't match the rest of the vehicle.
TIP: Don't pay more for a lower quality clear coat from a big box store. Our clear coat is specially formulated to work with
our precision-matched paints as part of a complete system. Remember, don't skip the clear coat, and don't risk using anything
less than pro-grade clear coat from AutomotiveTouchup.
What about single-stage factory finishes?
Regardless, our paint system will still benefit from being paired with our clear coat. In fact, most professional body shops
use a base coat / clear coat (2-stage) system, even when repairing single-stage factory finishes. Single-stage finishes
are typically reserved for repainting an entire car, not repairs. Most body shops prefer a 2-stage system because it delivers
a more accurate paint match and allows access to more special effect pigments found in newer car finishes. These modern
OEM finishes are simply incompatible with single-stage coating.
What is clearcoat?
Clearcoat is the glossy protective layer in your car’s paint job. It adds durability and longevity to your coating. It enhances
the color effect in the paint, allowing pearl mica and metallic flakes to be seen and also allow colors to shift on different
angles of light. With UV protection it allows the color to stay vibrant much longer than the older paint systems. Clearcoat
is a protective layer much like the laminate on an ID card, an ID card left out in the rain and sun.
Why you should use clearcoat
Clearcoat allows your paint to match. Without clearcoat the color will look off. Clearcoat allows the metallic to shimmer,
pearl will have a richer color as intended on your car. Clearcoat is the glossy layer and without it your repair will look
dull, not dull like boring but completely flat like eggshell gloss depending on the color. Clearcoat allows a blend in
a spot repair.
What happens if I skip clearcoat?
Your repair will have no gloss which makes it obvious since it will be a dull/flat while the rest of the car has clearcoat
on it. The color may not match. The basecoat color with no clearcoat will not be durable, it cannot withstand the elements.
If you don’t order clearcoat from us, you’ll realize it won’t look right without it and pick up an inferior product from
a big box store while paying more for a lower quality product. Clearcoat is part of the system; don’t skip it, and don’t
risk using someone else’s.
More information
Car manufacturers developed basecoat/clearcoat systems to avoid pigments from being exposed to the atmospheric conditions.
Sun, rain, road dirt, grime, car wash chemicals all destroy pigment left unprotected. Clear resin is strong, pigmented Basecoat
is fragile. It’s loaded with pigment which is not weatherproof. Aluminum metal flakes would oxidize if left to get wet.
Wet aluminum eventually turns to a white color. Resin + pigment = basecoat. Clear resin with no pigmentation added to it
is very durable.
Do I want acrylic lacquer or urethane clearcoat?
It depends on the application and the user. Acrylic lacquer is more user-friendly, and has an infinite shelf life for what
you haven’t used. Urethane clearcoat is better in almost every way except usability. Urethane is more durable, more chemical
resistant to solvents, more flexible, and glossier. The problem with urethane is that it’s toxic and a respirator is highly
recommended, and once the clear and hardener are mixed it must be used or discarded as it has a pot life of less than 24
hours. Sometimes you need to pay attention to a re-coat window, repainting over urethane clear can be a problem and a re-coat
window must be considered. Urethane dries through a cross-linking chemical process which cannot be undone much like epoxy
glue.
Lacquer is super easy, it’s user-friendly. What you don’t use will be good forever provided it does not evaporate. You can
repaint over it at any time, and it won’t ruin your paint job. It dries through evaporation of solvent so if you don’t like
it you can wipe it right off with some strong solvents like acetone. Lacquer is easier to buff with rubbing compound by
hand. Never pour gasoline on your lacquer finish, never clean lacquer with solvent, or it will re-wet and melt. It’s a lower
solids product, so you may need more lacquer than urethane.
If you are doing a chip repair the acrylic lacquer is perfect.
If you plan on buying aerosol spray paint, It’s up to your commitment level. Urethane is a better quality product, but acrylic
lacquer is an easier learning curve. My opinion is to learn using the acrylic lacquer clearcoat and get comfortable using
it before moving up to a more expensive product which is more complicated to use.
If you are using a spray gun, urethane clearcoat really starts making more sense. Acrylic lacquer is still much easier, but
depending on how much you will paint it will pay off with increased durability. Only mix what you are willing to use and
the shelf life will extend further. Once the hardener has been exposed to oxygen it will slowly crystallize so don’t plan
on keeping it for a year in the garage. The cost of a disposable breathing respirator is insignificant when you are doing
a larger repair.
What if my car came with a single-stage finish from the factory?
Our repair system will still require a clearcoat with very few exceptions. It is possible, but when you bring that car in
for professional bodywork repair chances are that they’ll still use a basecoat/clearcoat system to repair it. In the body shop
industry single-stage finishes are best for repainting a taxi on the low end using a low-cost acrylic enamel, or a fleet
owned truck using single stage urethane. When using a single-stage paint body shops are often painting the entire car. Body shops
try to stay with a 2 stage basecoat/clearcoat systems for most repair work, and for good reason.
Modern 2 stage basecoat/clearcoat systems have a better paint match, and also use more special effect pigments incompatible
with a single-stage coating. If you really want a single-stage paint we may be able to mix it for you, but we do not guarantee
color accuracy. When single-stage was used in the 70s it was acceptable for the paint to be mismatched on a panel repair.
Back then, it was more common to repaint the whole car. It was a lot cheaper to paint a car too!