So after I destroyed my front splitter at Cascade I decided to repair it and repaint as opposed to spending big bucks for a new one. The fiberglass repairs went OK, bonded three separate pieces back together.

Next on to the painting. I used a two stage process, with the clear coat being Nason 462-00 with hardener. Also sprayed on a texture surface, before painting as the splitter is low and gets hit with cones and such. The stuff was pretty expensive and the paint guys said it was compatible with my base coat and clear.

I followed these instructions:

http://www.pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/vi...ason/462-00.pdf

The base coat went on nice and I waited until it was dry before spraying the clear coat.

First coat of clear was perfect, but my second, which was a bit heaver, i.e., trying to float out the last coat, ended up being cloudy or milky.

I thought this Nason stuff was a good clear and if you followed directions......

I just can't figure it out. Gun was super clean, outside temp was 70 degrees, ran 35psi at the gun input and so on.

Was thinking that I could actually paint my whole car, but not sure now.

So what causes the clear to milk up?

Could high humidity do it to two part stuff?

I know, just another question, but I'm gonna do the same thing this summer and want to know as well.

I'm in Northern California, so much humidity.

Moisture/Humidity would be the obvious culprit.
The other could be the stand time for the material you used for the second coat. If it had started to go off too quickly it might have had an affect on the result. Also the amount of time between the mist coats and the finals is critical with most paints.

If you're usign a HVLP gun, your pressure is WAY too high. Cut it back to 16-20

Humidity will cause the clouding
too much clear will also cause the clouding
Any light colored paint left in the gun, or mixing cup will cause cloudiness
dirty air can cause clouding


FWIW Nason is bottom end clear. I use it on CHEAP work only

Which clear should I use? It doesn't make any sense to use something that doesn't work, so what do you recommend? Thanks for the great feedback.

too much clear or time between coats is off.

This thread CLEARLY is:

This thread is NOT so clearly...

Where here is the before picture:

Click to view attachment

Not a great picture, but you can see the whitish or milky color, that arrived after I sprayed the second coat of clear.

Click to view attachment

The bumpy bits come from a coating that I applied before the base coat. Thought it would wear better against cones, but didn't go on consistently as advertised. I'll have to strip the entire thing (again), but will wait a few events as it takes hours to take the splitter apart.

I'm a beginner. But I hate to tell you those Dupont instructions suck.
I'm using PPG Deltron 2000. The instruction cut sheets tell you exactly how long between applications and coats.

I was in the same boat. I could lay on the base with my Devilbiss starter set. But the clear I had to redo it 4 times.
I couldn't get the pressure right. So finally the owner of the paint store came over to help me out. He brought and sold me $500 Sata gun for $200. He dialed it in. Showed me the correct spray pattern on my test paper. 15 minutes later I laid down two coats of clear.
Almost looked like I knew what I was doing. LOL.

With my limited knowledge. I'd say you passed up the window for the clear coat application without wet sanding.

Thanks for the info. I'll go with PPG next time and follow their instructions.

Curious as to what the PPG instruction say about time between clear coats? Also I might have laying more paint than necessary, but the clear seem to float out with more paint.

If I remember I'll grab them off the Info sheets I have hanging on the wall at my shop.
When I go to the paint shop. I think they call it wet on wet application.
With the PPG if you wait too long you have to wet sand it.

Looks like clear rock gaurd. Did you use that under your clear? That will definately cause the cloudy look and rough texture.

I sprayed the rock guard on before the base coat.

Don't mind the rough texture, in fact it's a plus with the splitter as it gets banged up. However, it didn't go on very even, but that is probably user error.

How long did you wait at this point. In many cases the maximum time until clear is 24 hrs.

It's the rock gaurd causing the blush or white haze. It's soft. The sovents in the base coat will flash out faster because it soaks into the rock gaurd and evaporates at the same time. When the clear goes on it shows the blush. I would suggest the next time apply the base coat, clear then rock gaurd protection. The rock gaurd won't protect the clear if it's under it.

Oh, the rock gaurd will dull the gloss slightly.