Flo-Coating
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 488
Likes: 0
From: Australia Victoria
Your paint job is only going to be as good as the effort you put in.
Flo coating (ie: shooting a couple layers, sand then shooting your final layer) will be better than just shooting a few layers of clear and leaving it off the gun as you wont have as much peel. The idea of flow coating is to cut back on the peel in your finished job, but it you're not that flash at spraying then your flo coat wont be that great anyway. Will still be better than if not done.
I myself like to shoot extra layers of clear (between 4-6 all up depending on project) and then wet rub it all back to 2000 then cut & polish. Thats just the way I was taught and I keep doing it that way. I'm not a "professional" painter so this method allows me more freedom and still gets me a brilliant end result. It does waste a lot more clear though as you have to shoot a couple extra layers and rub them back.
It's all personal preference in the end.
Flo coating (ie: shooting a couple layers, sand then shooting your final layer) will be better than just shooting a few layers of clear and leaving it off the gun as you wont have as much peel. The idea of flow coating is to cut back on the peel in your finished job, but it you're not that flash at spraying then your flo coat wont be that great anyway. Will still be better than if not done.
I myself like to shoot extra layers of clear (between 4-6 all up depending on project) and then wet rub it all back to 2000 then cut & polish. Thats just the way I was taught and I keep doing it that way. I'm not a "professional" painter so this method allows me more freedom and still gets me a brilliant end result. It does waste a lot more clear though as you have to shoot a couple extra layers and rub them back.
It's all personal preference in the end.
Last edited by demonx; Feb 27, 2010 at 10:55 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,709
Likes: 3
From: Savannah GA
I "perfect" all my final coats, whether cleared or not. Why spend the time, effort and materials to demask, sand, clean, remask and reclear just to do it again? If you're not getting a "slick" coat in the booth, add an extra (final) coat after sufficient flash time, then sand that. That way you get chemical instead of mechanical bond in ALL layers of finish... a better way in my estimation.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,442
Likes: 87
From: bluff dale tx
the purpose of sanding and flow coating is to cut down on thanewave not orange peel or trash. urethane has a tendency to push a wave as you shoot. i do 4 coats then block with 600 then 2 coats. in doing this i have only 2 coats of texture to deal with . makes detailing much easier and the end job a little flatter .
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,000
Likes: 659
From: Puget Sound
the purpose of sanding and flow coating is to cut down on thanewave not orange peel or trash. urethane has a tendency to push a wave as you shoot. i do 4 coats then block with 600 then 2 coats. in doing this i have only 2 coats of texture to deal with . makes detailing much easier and the end job a little flatter .
3rd Gear
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
So you are saying when you sand down with 600 and re-coat, you don't recieve a deeper and flatter finish?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 8,000
Likes: 659
From: Puget Sound
The purpose of cutting and buffing is to have a perfect surface. Once you cut it, it's as flat as it's going to get. Then you polish it to a beautiful shine. Why would you sand it, re-spray, sand it again and then polish it. Like I said, flow coating is a trick used by body shops to eliminate the polishing step for the average driver.
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