Reducing Epoxy to use as top coat

O

oldjunkster

Member
Will be using SPI black epoxy as a top coat on my inner fenders splash pans, etc.

1. What is a good rule of thumb for the amount of reducing the epoxy for using as a top coat using a HVLP gun with a 1.4 tip?

2. If you say "reduce 25%" is that say 8 oz. epoxy, 8 oz. activator and 4 oz.reducer? I am confused if the reduction is calculated based on the 8 oz. epoxy and 8 oz. activator or if it should be calculated on the 8 oz. epoxy only which in this case would only be 2 oz. reducer?

Thanks in advance.
 
Forgive me, but what is your reason for reducing the epoxy? Many use it unreduced as a top coat; reducing will decrease gloss and mil thickness, but the gloss reduction is not always predictable.
 
Just trying to learn what to do. I read to reduce the epoxy for a sealer coat and thought it would "Flow" better if I reduced it for a top coat. Maybe add some retarder? I am open to any suggestions.
 
I personally think it would be best to learn about how the epoxy works just as it is, without reducing. You want that mil thickness to protect the substrate. If you find that you want a duller finish, the best thing to do is use SPI Flat Black Single Stage #2200 over a sealer coat of epoxy.

But for future reference, reduction percentages are usually expressed using the activated material as a starting point, so epoxy 25% reduced would be 1:1:0.5, or 2:2:1.
 
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