The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Adding clear to single stage paint

Just wondering if you guys ever heard of actually mixing clear with single stage?

This is how my truck has been painted. Two coats single stage and then the last two are mixed 50/50 with clear. Seems to work great as the paint looks deep and shiny.

Just wondering how common this method is.

pretty common around here, in fact I sell a urethane which requires clear mixed into the final coat.

My local PPG dealer told me to use 50/50 mix clear w/single stage for final 2 coats for a real deep shine.

The paint guy at a local O'Reilly's told me that the recipes for their acrylic enamels call for a certain amount of clear to be mixed in. I don't know how much but it soulds like putting more into the final coat should work.

Good to know! The paint looks really great. Do you think the extra clear helps protect against UV rays from the sun?

I was told it makes the finish more durable & much deeper shine, but not sure about fade resistance.

One thing to keep in mind guys is the more coats of paint you put on, the more likely you are to get checking. While adding clear to your paint may be common don't get the idea that it's OK to pile the coats on to get that deep looking finish. Read and abide by the manufacturer's recommendations.