Guidence needed for a semigloss black for my steel dash. Mixing clear with a base?'s

F

Fastback

OK, so I am painting the dash on my 65 mustang and I went to the local jobber to get some single stage and by the time everything was tallied up I was over $100. In reality I only need about half a pint but the hardeners and reducers dont come in small cans and the added costs seem like a waste just to spray a few ounces.

I want to avoid spraying black base and then spraying a flat clear, I would like to spray once to avoid as much overspray inside an assembled car. However...

A friend told me to mix black base it with SPI clear and let the activator in the clear work as a hardener for the black base and then possibly reduce it to get the amount of semi gloss that I need.

In practice this sounds appealing to me because I have some clear left over from my exterior paint job and would only need to buy a 1/2 pint of base black, but I wanted some more insight as to how to best attempt this to get a sheen like you find on electrical tape, a real semi-gloss/satin.

I just cant wrap my head around where to start, do I mix the clear and then just add black and shoot a test panel? Should I mix it with 2 parts base to 1 part clear to get started and work it out from there?

We also discussed reducing the clear with lacquer thinner to knock the gloss down a bit (but that may have been another conversation).
Can anyone provide some insight as to where I should start with my ratios or should I just stop and rethink this idea?
Here is the desired finish I am going for.
IMAG0655.jpg


Thanks
Alex.

LFS.jpg
 
I see where you are coming from but to be honest, I have never heard of anyone doing it that way.

Some people will activate the base and leave it at that. (in my book, that would be stronger then the dye)
Some people use the sem interior dye.
Some leave it in epoxy.
To do it your way, I might look at adding maybe 5-10% activated clear (by volume) to the black and that may get you in the gloss range you are looking for but understand, I'm guessing at the gloss level.
 
Thanks Barry. I may give it a try. I have lacquer paint in a can but it lacks any real durability and it takes a lot to get all of the knobs and switches out of the way to repaint these things so I am just trying to sort out an easy way to get durability.
 
Spend 12 bucks for the sem dye....prep...3 coats and you're golden
 
On my 66 coupe I was planning on just leaving it in Epoxy. I'm not really worried about a Concours look, looking at the other parts of the car it's not really glossy. Barry, would durability be better with a matte clear going over it? I was just thinking of areas around the glove box or by the ignition switch where the keys rub. I don't want those to be gray if they get scratched up.

Oh also a tip for Fastback I learned over on Mustang Steve's forum, if you can paint behind and under the dash white, it makes working in there much easier once everything is put back together :)
 
Thanks Raymond, but I am trying to get as close to correct as I can. At this point I am seriously considering lacquer in a can.
 
Raymond_B;27138 said:
On my 66 coupe I was planning on just leaving it in Epoxy. I'm not really worried about a Concours look, looking at the other parts of the car it's not really glossy. Barry, would durability be better with a matte clear going over it? I was just thinking of areas around the glove box or by the ignition switch where the keys rub. I don't want those to be gray if they get scratched up.

Oh also a tip for Fastback I learned over on Mustang Steve's forum, if you can paint behind and under the dash white, it makes working in there much easier once everything is put back together :)
Click to expand...

Of course any Matte 2K black or clear would be stronger but cost is a real concern in the question, the Sem does work well and inside the car it is really not a concern.
I have some metal trim in the 57 I did either in 96 or 99 and with 30,000 miles since, I did touch up one panel 3-4 years ago.
 
Too bad you don't have any of the matte black ss laying around! Its awesome foe this kinda thing!
 
I guess the SEM can is a sort of lacquer, it really is the best alternative to buying a flattened 2K product. Mixing odd stuff together and expecting results is an accident waiting to happen. The SEM stuff is easy to use, gloss level is uniform an tolerant to variations in coating thickness, etc. it's exactly what i would use if there was no money for the right material (SPI Hod Rod Black.)
 
this is the dash for my 71 Satellite I painted a little while back, its done in SEM Hot Rod Black satin finish, its great paint, sprays nice & isn't too expensive. I think I bought the 3 part kit on line for less than $50......

P1060031_zps245eac72.jpg

P1060028_zps5d4bea8c.jpg

I didn't know SPI was making a hot rod black, is it a satin finish & UV rated?

Thanks, Evan
 
I didn't know SPI was making a hot rod black, is it a satin finish & UV rated?

Thanks, Evan[/QUOTE]

Yes, exactly the same UV as any of our clears.
 
Thanks for the tips guys, I have a can of the SEM and will use it and post results when done!

:eek:nthego:
 
Barry;27160 said:
I didn't know SPI was making a hot rod black, is it a satin finish & UV rated?

Thanks, Evan
Click to expand...

Yes, exactly the same UV as any of our clears.[/QUOTE]

Hi Barry, very cool, I think I found a thread on it - 2200 product # or something like that? The thread has some sprayout cards showing different mixes for different amounts of sheen. Is it a single stage paint then?

I was looking on the SPI site & I couldn't find a list of products, I looked under the Products tab but no list of items to choose from. Am I looking in the wrong place?
 
Here are quarter windows that I have been doing in Spi SS Matte black...... It works great
windows2.jpg

windows1.jpg
 
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