Black epoxy topcoat

B

basscat

The white epoxy primer worked so well on my son's race car, that I want to try black on one I'm restoring. I realize the black has a chocolate hue when in direct sunlight so I'll tell people it is "Midnight chocolate" or some BS like that. :)

Anyway, I ran into a thread where Jim posted:
"ive been spraying the epoxy for 15 years and its not the easiest thing to spray and have look good. its a very odd material. i dont know if its the solvents used in it or what. for something that is visible and needs to look good i always put a touch of flattener in it. 5-10% maybe. it changes the whole product. it looks alot nicer, sprays 100 time easier. honestly i wish it came from spi like that. it behaves more like the matte black ss. everyone i was selling it to over the years all went back to their old epoxy because of the spi is too glossy and too difficult to spray and have look good. in most cases it doesnt matter because its just getting primered over anyway and as an epoxy undercoat its a great product but as a final finish on a frame or something like that, i havent found anyone that likes it. i try to tell people about the flattener trick but no one wants to bother. spi should add it to give the stuff a little more control"

Does the flattener at 10% dull the sheen much?

I have at least 2 good coats of epoxy on every panel. I shot the tub and all the jambs and am reassembling the panels so that I can shoot it all together. I will block it out with 320 and then plan on a final topcoat of epoxy. I'm using an LPH-400 with a 1.4 tip. Anybody have any advice or experience they can pass on?

Thanks
 
If you are going to sand and do a final topcoat, why not just get satin black single stage? Everyone says it comes out perfect.
 
mitch_04 said:
If you are going to sand and do a final topcoat, why not just get satin black single stage? Everyone says it comes out perfect.
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I have about 100 oz of the matte black and considered using it. BUT, when cured, the epoxy is tough and easy to repair (I hit alot of tire walls). We routinely clean our other car with laquer thinner to remove tire marks. I doubt the matte black would hold up as well.

I will use the matte if you guys think I'm making a big mistake.
 
Epoxy is a very weird duck compared to normal automotive paint materials.

Is there anything in this market as strong and chemical resistant? No at any dollar amount.
Sprayed 1:1 and wet coats, next to the matte black at 4:1 it is hard to tell the difference.
Yes, flattener will make it spray easier as the same thing as reducing it but black sprays a lot easier the white witch is the hardest to spray nice.
Could I make it easier to spray? Sure I could but it kills the things it does best and I will not compromise my standards because I know we have the best in this industry, hands down.

It is almost like comparing clears, what is the easiest to spray without orange peel, runs? The cheaper its made and lower the solids the more child proof it is.

SPI epoxy gains flex and strength with mils and like I told a shop doing an old Vette yesterday want that body to last forever, make the epoxy 4" thick. LOL
 
Barry, my thought was that flattener would dilute the epoxy and it would stay, but reducer would mostly work its way out.
 
If I reduced the last coat and shot it like a sealer (for the sake of consistency) would it hide 320 dry scratches?

Definitely leaning towards epoxy and now it is whether or not to reduce the last coat.

Thanks for the responses.
 
Only if you want to kill the sheen or to make it lay slicker as far as reducing.
Being old school I finish my primer in 320 dry and if you reduce the epoxy no more than 25% you will cover the 320 just fine.

We are on a lot of dragsters because of the chemical resistance but remember if you do use as a final coat it is important that you induce the epoxy 4 hours before shooting if that area is exposed to UV's.
If it was me for a final coat, I would not reduce but I have no problem laying the epoxy slick.
 
So if I want to use the Black Epoxy Primer as a top coat on my driveway gate, I just need to induce it for 4 hours to give it UV protection capabilities- correct?
 
The longer you induce, the longer it will go without chalking.... from my understanding.
 
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How does induction time increase UV resistance? I would think as long as it's mixed 1:1, it wouldn't matter? what changes?
 
How's heat effect induction time..or lack of. weird it has to sit.
I know marine epoxy can't be mixed then sit in container too long.
I've melted cup luckily in driveway many yrs ago. Was regular 5 min stuff in stores.
Edit- 1hr hardeners same story, get hot quick if too deep.
 
mitch_04 said:
No idea how it works. I know Barry has mentioned the big 3 inquiring about it for plastic protection.
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It may be related to the solvents in the epoxy absorbing moisture and that's what can cause the chalking, so the induction time takes care of that. I don't think it has anything to do with the UV inhibitors in the epoxy. Just going by memory from something I read in the old SPI forum , but maybe Barry took care of that with different solvents in the epoxy as of last few years.
 
Jorge is 95% right on, we are letting it induce to a state that the humidity has no effect when we spray it.
 
Ok Berry - so inducing the epoxy 6-10 hrs is best if the painted part is going to sit out in the sun all the time?
 
No, i do believe i have always said 4 hours after that no difference is made but don't hurt.
 
So essentially, by letting it sit for 4hrs mixed, it allows it to get acclimated to the surrounding air/environment that it will be sprayed in?
 
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