universal clear/metalflake

S

shelby1965367

I use universal clear in all my paint work, if I use universal clear to lay down metalflake, is than anything I need to know before trying it out. I use the regular activator, should I use a slower one when putting down metalflake? I paint enamel and bc/cc but have not used flake before, I will be using a hvlp gun with 1.8 /2.5 needle and seat. any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks john
 
I would use the slower one, it'll allow the flake to settle a bit better.
A HVLP gun that is gravity feed style can be a problem for flake.
It tends to settle in the neck between sprayings.
I use the Devilbiss bag system in the cup so I can lay the gun on its
side in between sprayings.
It also allows you to shake it once in a while too.
When I spray flake I prefer a suction feed, it just works better and
doesn't have those problems.
there are HVLP guns that are suction feed but the old conventional
el-cheapo "Binks" copies work great. That's what I prefer for flake.
 
I don't have a lot of experience to advise here like Jim, as I have only use the clear as a carrier for smaller flakes and in those cases, just using the right activator of the size of job and temp worked great but Jim does have a good point about the big flake flow.
 
i use and old suction gun with some 55 chevy wheel bearings in the cup to keep the flake mixed. big flake only takes a few seconds to settle. gravity feed just wont work. the head will be full an no time. use the slowest acc and maybe some retarder.
 
i actually use a gravity feed all the time and it works well with either clear or intercoat and flake BUT you need to keep the gun moving and the paint in the gun sloshing around at all times.
 
I appreciate the response to my question, I had not thought of a syphon feed gun even though that's how it was done before. I will post my results after experimenting with different type guns.
 
Forgive me for hijacking the thread, but if I am understanding correctly you all are recommending mixing the flake into the clear and spraying it. Similar to how a candy is sprayed? I am asking because I may be soon spraying flake for the first time and a lot of the stuff I have read and watched videos of so far, has shown a wet coat of clear with the flake applied dry on top and then coated with more clear. I want to learn the best way to apply flake (hence the reason I am asking here), and I am a little confused as to which way is the better way? Mix it in the clear or apply a wet coat of clear and dry spray the flake with something like a "flake buster", then clear over it? Forgive my ignorance on the subject and thanks in advance for the knowledge and education.

Kelly
 
Kelly, mix it in clearcoat or if its mid to small size flake you can use the spi intercoat clear. The dry method is one of those things that can be done. They make a special gun for doing that. The dry method is done very rarely. 99.9% of the time a flake is sprayed with a carrier like clearcoat.
 
ThankS JimC, I was getting confused trying to figure it out on my own. I did notice that the people doing the dry method looked to be using the large flakes. Thanks for the education and for sharing your knowledge.

Kelly
 
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