SPI Matte Black on completes.

J

Jorge M.

Member
Looking for advice from people that have used the Matte Black on completes, preferably on a big vehicle.

I have sold a few gallons of it to shops here in BC but those shops have only done smaller jobs. Chassis paintjobs, firewals, suspension parts, couple of hoods and spoilers. It has worked great, super easy to spray, etc. But I have yet to see it on a complete, I may have a shop calling me next week to use it on a Ford ECONOLINE, it's kind of a cool project from a construction company that has money to burn by the looks of it. If I understood correctly this van will have customs wheels made with the company logo on them and they will cost 20K?

Talking to the painter I know he will do the roof first, then do the rest of it in one go of course. If I had to guess the panel temperature will be in the 70's , they have a regular crossflow booth, nothing fancy.

I'm hoping they settle in a mixing ratio of 4:1 or 6:1 and they are happy with the flatness of it, I hope they don't want it any flatter than that and then having to play with adding reducer or additional SPI flattener to the mix. More than likely the 2103-4 slow activator will suffice to keep a wet edge from panel to panel.

It will be finished on top of SPI Turbo primer, I don't think the painter will want to use any sealer prior to shooting and I'm hoping the prep work will be immaculate with no cut-troughs or any metal edges showing up.

Anything in particular to watch out for?
 
i have not use it on anything large but i have used the matte clear on large stuff. same rules apply as with spraying any matte material. the biggest thing you need to do is make sure you have a well clean and properly tuned gun that atomizes well and gives you a nice even fan. dont spray the panel too close. what you are really trying to do here is make an extra effort in getting the coating to go on evenly and not have thin areas and heavy areas. this is just going to cause stripes and an uneven gloss. whatever the distance the painter normally clears the panel at, have him add 2" to that and maybe bump up the psi a couple pounds. the matte will dull 90% in about 48hrs on average but can take up to a week to full flatten and even out. i would not ever go flatter than 6:1 with it. it will get really chalky grey and probably be a little unstable.
 
This painter uses an older Devilbiss gun, the GTI plus I think, with a 1.3 tip. I know the tech sheet calls for a 1.4 nozzle, but I think his gun will not pose any problems.

As always, thanks for the great info Jim.
 
If I can do a complete with SPI Flat Black, any painter can. Flattened urethane finishes have always been a sort of nemesis of mine, but there's something about the SPI product that makes it about as friendly as any I've ever used. Personally I think the job would be better with one coat of black epoxy sealer 1:1:0.5 as a ground coat sprayed the night before, a good portion of the junk that gets in a job jumps in it on the first coat, and a coat of epoxy will allow some nibbing to be done the next morning before go time. It's not like you can buff it later.
 
Just out of curosity, why does the painter not want to use a sealer over high build before finish coat?
 
Outlaw;n81042 said:
Just out of curosity, why does the painter not want to use a sealer over high build before finish coat?
Click to expand...

Some painters don't see any advantages to sealing when finishing a car in black single stage, since there's no coverage issues to worry about.

They see the sealer as an invitation for trouble, having to denib for trash, etc.
 
if everything was well prepped then i wouldnt bother with a sealer either if i was doing a single stage. if it was base/matte clear then different story. nothing wrong with a thin epoxy coat though under it but a single stage bonds well enough without it.
 
i used to use the 2k sealer alot more. i do like it because you can denib it really quick and it locks up so its nice under candy but i really like adhesion benefit of an epoxy compared to a urethane. i get alot of parts also that are a real bear to prep. injection molded plastic parts with tons of little crevices and thing like that. the epoxy ensures a good bond even though i cant get my fingers or a scotchbrite in a super tight area.
 
crashtech;n81037 said:
If I can do a complete with SPI Flat Black, any painter can. Flattened urethane finishes have always been a sort of nemesis of mine, but there's something about the SPI product that makes it about as friendly as any I've ever used. Personally I think the job would be better with one coat of black epoxy sealer 1:1:0.5 as a ground coat sprayed the night before, a good portion of the junk that gets in a job jumps in it on the first coat, and a coat of epoxy will allow some nibbing to be done the next morning before go time. It's not like you can buff it later.
Click to expand...

Crash, you make an excellent point about the dirt jumping on the first coat. I will try and talk the painter into a reduced coat of epoxy like you said.

I was at that shop today and did 3 Hrs of blocking on that van, it's not ready for prime time yet. Needs another round of Turbo and final prepping.
 
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