Cure time for paint
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale TX
Cure time for paint
HI
How long does it take for paint and clearcoat to fully cure?
ive recently begun painting small pieces of the car (minor stuff) and after 2 weeks, the paint still seems kind of soft. enough so that i can scratch it with my fingernail like scratching a really tough lottery ticket. the clearcoat i used is maby about a year old along with the hardner but it is my understanding that it has a long shelf life. also, these pieces have NOT been in the sun at all. is it really take 3-4 weeks for this to fully cure??
THANKS
JIM
How long does it take for paint and clearcoat to fully cure?
ive recently begun painting small pieces of the car (minor stuff) and after 2 weeks, the paint still seems kind of soft. enough so that i can scratch it with my fingernail like scratching a really tough lottery ticket. the clearcoat i used is maby about a year old along with the hardner but it is my understanding that it has a long shelf life. also, these pieces have NOT been in the sun at all. is it really take 3-4 weeks for this to fully cure??
THANKS
JIM
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 9,429
Likes: 44
From: Macon, GA
No. You should be able to sand and buff clear very soon. It is ideal to do this within the first two weeks before it gets really hard. Now it WILL still be "soft" after a couple of weeks, but soft is a relative term in relation to it's final cure. You should not be able to scuff it off with your fingernail in the time frame you mentioned. At most you should only be able to dimple it, but not scratch it off. Ultimately, it will take more than 90 days for the paint to fully cure, but you should be able to "work it" within a day or so.
What brand materials are you using and are you sure you followed the suggested mixing ratios?
What brand materials are you using and are you sure you followed the suggested mixing ratios?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,752
Likes: 4
From: Austin Texas
You can cut and buff all catalyzed Acrylic Urethane paints the next day. If you used acrylic enamel without a hardener, it will never get really tough. It sounds like the mix ratios were wrong, or there may have been contamination of 1 or more components in the mix.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 30,995
Likes: 99
From: Ontario
I hate to say it but I agree with big_G. These paints have initial cure times measured in minutes (15 to 90) depending on temperature. They can be buffed within days. Something went wrong 
.
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Last edited by Paul L; May 20, 2007 at 04:41 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale TX
Im using a quart of diamont DC5100 clear with DH14 hardner
the clear has hardend enough to color sand, and i have color sanded everything it just seemed like the paint should have hardened faster. I actually just went out and checked the the very first t-top i did and it has started to harden even more. Very difficult to scratch it right now and i can just barely dimple it (all this is being done on the edge of the t-top btw where the chrome trim goes). it Appears to just be taking a long time to set up. maby not adding enough hardner??
Ratio shown online was 3:1
THANKS
JIM
the clear has hardend enough to color sand, and i have color sanded everything it just seemed like the paint should have hardened faster. I actually just went out and checked the the very first t-top i did and it has started to harden even more. Very difficult to scratch it right now and i can just barely dimple it (all this is being done on the edge of the t-top btw where the chrome trim goes). it Appears to just be taking a long time to set up. maby not adding enough hardner??
Ratio shown online was 3:1
THANKS
JIM
Last edited by BigJim13 JR.; May 20, 2007 at 07:34 PM.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 140
Likes: 0
From: Sunnyvale TX
alright thanks for all the replys!
just wanted to make sure everything was alright before i started doing the hood and doors. Didnt want to have to redo everything at the end after finding out that everything was going to come off later because it never hardened
THANKS
JIM
just wanted to make sure everything was alright before i started doing the hood and doors. Didnt want to have to redo everything at the end after finding out that everything was going to come off later because it never hardened
THANKS
JIM
