Speed Clear

[AAE]

What would cause 20hr old clear to ball up on sand paper when hand sanded? I used slow. It didn't do it has badly with a DA and backing pad.
Thanks

 

[dhutton01]

What grit and type of paper?

Don

 

[AAE]

800/1k- 3m dry

 

[dhutton01]

3M finishing film? I am not an expert but I would try a few hours in the sun. Either that or text the tech line

Don

 

[texasking]

800/1k- 3m dry

Have you had this happen before? I've never sanded the Speed dry with that coarse of grit, only wet, with 600, so I haven't experienced that problem. I've sanded dry with 1500 the next day without a problem. I have found a big difference in sandpaper, especially on the initial cut. Sunmight 1200/1500 will plug bad on initial cut but is fine after. Eagle Assilex 1200/1500 cuts with almost no plugging and lasts forever.

 

[Jim C]

not sure what your issues is but i am sanding and buffing speed clear prob 3-4 jobs a week. i usually sand and buff 20-24 hrs after the clear is sprayed. i have never had it ball up. its usually fairly cured in 24 hours. not rock hard but hard enough. thats also with me doing 4 coats which slows it all down quite a bit. the std 2 coat job should harden up even more. i start with 1000 dry. only thing i can see is not enough activator was added, activator is bad or low temps slowed the cure way down. my jobs are all held at 75deg 24 hrs a day.

 

[crashtech]

@Jim C , how do you get 4 coats of speed clear on something? Maybe I missed this in another thread.

 

[AAE]

I recant my question. I did something wrong or used crappy paper. Today I had a ton of trash that I removed after a 10 min bake. Buffed to a beautiful gloss.

We now return you to JimC's reply to Crashtech.

 

[crashtech]

Sorry for the hijack, but using speed clear that way seems really interesting and unusual.

 

[Jim C]

Ok so i spray it like the tech sheet says. 2 coats back to back. After 2 coats i let it sit 20-30 min so it sets up then do the same thing again

 

[AAE]

Sorry for the hijack, but using speed clear that way seems really interesting and unusual.

Nope. No hijacking. I was as curious as you.

 

[crashtech]

Wow, okay. That's kind of amazing! So the flash time is either 0-3 minutes, or 20-30 minutes!?
I was actually wondering if it was possible to do 2 coats with a minimal flash, say 5-7 minutes. Maybe, maybe not...

 

[Jim C]

Doing more than 2 coats really does open it up to solvent poping. I still fight that occasionally and i dont know why it does it sometimes and not others. Its maybe 1 ot of 15 jobs. For the most part if i get it its so mild that once i sand and buff you can never tell anyway.

 

[BrianK]

I was actually wondering if it was possible to do 2 coats with a minimal flash, say 5-7 minutes. Maybe, maybe not...

I have had headlights solvent pop on me by waiting 5 minutes between coats 1 and 2 in an effort to not run them. It's a gamble.

 

[Jim C]

Yes it seems the longer you let flash the more prone to popping you are which is a complete opposite to all known facts about paint lol. The speed clear is different animal for sure

 

[AAE]

What activator are you guys using when you get pop?

 

[BrianK]

I only use medium myself

 

[crashtech]

My only problem with speed clear is that I am crappy at accurately estimating the required amount. With regular clear, I will make more than enough for the first coat and see how much I used, then make sure I have that amount plus an ounce or so to do the second coat. That's not really possible with speed clear! So I get paranoid and mix way too much, usually.

 

[Jim C]

Typivally ise med but i have used all of them with no difference

 

[Jorge M.]

My only problem with speed clear is that I am crappy at accurately estimating the required amount. With regular clear, I will make more than enough for the first coat and see how much I used, then make sure I have that amount plus an ounce or so to do the second coat. That's not really possible with speed clear! So I get paranoid and mix way too much, usually.

I’ve run out of Speed clear mid panel, my guess is that it takes less than a minute to quickly mix a small amount to finish off the job. With medium activator it still melts in and there’s no dry spots, with fast activator there can be a bit of texture left but it’s easy to clean up and buff to a great finish. When doing a front clip I just make sure I never run out while spraying the hood.

Out of 10 painters using the Speed clear there’s probably 2 or 3 that aren’t comfortable with back to back coats and they give it about a minute flash time.