I have painted my car using matte / flat clear coat. The paint was bought from, mixed and prepared by a professional. Trouble is that it ain't equal matte everywhere. The difference is very noticeable. Not sure why this happened. some areas and strokes are not as flat as the rest. Is it a good solution to carefully wet sand the car with 2000 paper, to get it equal flat all over?
If you sand it with 2000 paper it will be shiny all over. Difference in flatness could be due to distance from gun to work. I painted my car with clear with 50% flattener in it and it was pretty much the same all over although there is different shades on some panels. Unfortunately the flattener means that the clear is not fuel resistant so you have to be careful with it.
I know a lot of people think that we guys who like flat paint do it as a shortcut, but as you are seeing, it is actually sometimes more work. I shot mine with a single stage paint, SEM Hot Rod Black, and I had to reshoot it because the first time came out streaky. Things like temperature and humidity can affect it a lot. If I were you, I would call the people that made your paint and talk to the tech line. They do this all day long and know the ins and outs of their product. They might give you an easy fix. As Swifty mentioned, you have to be careful when fueling up to not spill a drop on it because it can stain the finish. But I found by using paper towels around the nozzle I make sure I catch every drop. I also use Mequiars Tech 2.0 wax on the entire car and it does not make it shiny, just fresh looking and it does protect the paint from stains a lot. Don
Ok, thanks for your answers... So... Wet sanding the complete car will make it a little more shiny, but also equal shiny all over...?
Same amount of sanding/pressure will help keep it uniform. If you reshoot the entire batch should be mixed in one container. Constantly stirred between gun loading. And following the bulletin to the letter regarding temps/humidity/ect.
I'n not a painter but have sprayed matt/satin clear a couple of times. I really struggled with 'stripes' no matter how careful I was with overlap, distance etc etc, until someone said to mist over the wet surface using a little more distance and moving the gun in a random pattern....worked great.
+1 on the gray scotchbrite and use an abrasive paste like Final-sand, a product designed to be used with the scotchbrite for prepping clearcoat for blending when doing repairs. If unable to find that you might try comet or similar abrasive as it will help the consistency of the scuffing. Either one would be used with water also. I have done quite a bit of clearcoating with a flattening agent added, from satin all the way to flat and have had excellent results, but the trick is consistent, even coats with quality guns able to hold a perfect pattern. If it dries at different rates due to uneven coats, or a pattern that is heavy on the edges for instance, that causes your streaking. Matt
The key to a good flat paint is getting the paint on even and wet. Once I tried to get away with one coat of clear....didn't work. Two coats minimum and keep it wet. I usually reduce if ten percent. As for the streaking. Give it a little time before you do anything. Paint usually takes a week or two to really dry out. After that try washing with an abrasive like Comet or Ajax. Rubbing too hard will polish it. Use a scotchbrite as a last resort. Helpful tip...if you get oil or grease on a flat paint...use simple green first ,then wash like you would normally. I've had a couple of flat colored cars myself and painted more than I can remember Clark
Thank you to all of you for good answers. I will post some before / after photos when I'm done, and hopefully the "after" photos will be better than the "before" ones!
dont sand till you try this. buy a bottle of matte detailer from chemical guys will work miracles on blending out sheen
Any more info on this product? I was not aware such a product existed but having a satin car I don't look at the guys selling polish and detailing products.
it is a spray that works just like a regular detailer helps with water spots and keeps the paint from chalking. Simply spray on light mist wipe flip cloth and buff out must use microfiber cloths. Will remove minor strips in sheen and keep matte, satin and flat paint looking better longer the company also sells a matte finish car soap that is killer. There are a bunch of companies out there clamming they have soaps and detail sprays for mat none of them work except for the products from chemical guys. I have tried them all. link to detailer http://www.chemicalguys.com/Meticulous_Matte_Detailer_16_oz_p/spi_995_16.htm link to soap http://www.chemicalguys.com/Meticulous_Matte_Auto_Wash_16_oz_p/cws_995_16.htm
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