White blotchy spots in re-clear

[mehal]

Hey guys,

I have some suspension parts on an early Bronco that I painted and cleared (glossy) with SPI Universal Clear a few years ago. I recently had some additional parts I wanted to do but decided I wanted them in a satin finish (its all the rage these days). To make everything match, I purchased some flattening agent for the clear and mixed it 50/50. I contacted SPI on what to do about re-shooting the glossy clear parts I had already done, and was told to sand them with 1500 and then shoot them with the new satin clear mix. I followed the instructions and everything went well and came out great. Then about a week later I started getting all these white blotchy spots on the parts I re-cleared with the satin mix. See pics.

Any ideas on what went wrong and/or how I can fix it.

Thanks in advance for all your help. - Mike

 

[shine]

my guess is the clear let go. take an air blower to it .

 

[dhutton01]

I think you exceeded the recommended amount of flattening agent.

Don

 

[mehal]

Hey Shine (I'm a fan). Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "take an air blower to it"?

Don, I mixed according to instructions for a 50% flattening effect. Not only that, but the spotting is somewhat random as other parts and areas I did came out fine with the same mixture.

 

[shine]

if it's adhesion with the clear the blower will bust it loose. your going to end up getting it off and reshooting .
could be sever solvent pop but i doubt it .

 

[Jim C]

1500 seems really fine to me to put clear over. seems like you wouldnt get much adhesion. i would have used no finer than 600 and a red scotchbrite pad. not saying thats your issue. maybe 1500 was ok to use. thats just not what i would have used on it.

so is this universal clear with the spi flattener in it?

 

[mehal]

Jim - sorry (brain fart) I actually used 320 for prep. 1500 is what I was thinking of using to try and sand the spots out, but then I don't know how to get the satin look back.

Yes this the universal clear with the flattening agent.

 

[metalman]

I think what Shine is explaining is the existing old clear was ready to de-laminate. When the new clear on top got harder (the week later you mentioned) it pulled the old clear off.

 

[jlcustomz]

Though it does look like possibly a delamination issue, flattening agents can separate & make white spots for several reasons. Too much reducer can wash it out of suspension. Premixed Matte clear is instructed to not reduce, which is because of this. Also in my experience with it I have noticed it being more sensitive to hazing. Spraying too heavy WILL make this happen, particularly along corners where coating spray tends to end up thicker. Pic k looks alot like this to me as far as locations. Also in my experience it has involved completely sanding off the offending clear. Sorry.

 

[dhutton01]

Hey Shine (I'm a fan). Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "take an air blower to it"?

Don, I mixed according to instructions for a 50% flattening effect. Not only that, but the spotting is somewhat random as other parts and areas I did came out fine with the same mixture.

If I am following you correctly you mixed it 1:1:2 clear:activator:flattener. Data sheet says 1:1:1 for max totally flat...

I’m guessing you laid it on thicker trying to get coverage where it turned white.

Don

 

[sprint_9]

50% clear, 50% activator, 50% flattener, 1:1:1

 

[dhutton01]

50% clear, 50% activator, 50% flatter, 1:1:1

Pretty sure it has to add up to 100%: 33%clear, 33%activator, 33% flattening agent, 1:1:1.....

 

[sprint_9]

The ratios are the same, we just get there differently.

I always figure on mixing the primary product correctly first, so two 50% parts to equal 100% in a 1:1 product. Any flattening agent or reducer comes secondary to making sure the two primary parts are mixed right. This is just what works for me.

 

[mehal]

I may be stoopid, but I'm not a complete idiot (my personal opinion). Yes I mixed the universal clear according to instructions and then I added the flattening agent. The original gloss clear was on there for a few years with no signs of de-laminating.

The satin clear was mixed according to instructions and only certain areas were affected, so I'm going with jlcustomz (thanks for the help) explanation as it makes the most sense. I probably went too heavy in the corners as I tried to paint around the engine and other obstacles that I couldn't remove. As I tried to hit certain areas that were difficult to reach, I probably laid it on too heavy.

Crap....I'll sand and re-shoot.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[shine]

you can do everything 100% right but the minute you pick up the gun a 100 things can go wrong .