clear coating go kart

[Cesar]

Should I clear coat my go kart frame? The guy I bought it from had some he was painting and I asked him for advice I told him should I clear coat it. He said no because it messes it up? Is this true?

Thanks in advance

Cesar

 

[afremont]

Sound ridiculous to me. You just mean clear lacquer, right or top coat?

 

[Cesar]

I think it's just top coat it's rust oleum 2x ultra cover gloss clear it's a spray can

 

[afremont]

I don't see why that would be a problem, as long as you keep it out of cables, clutch, chain, torque converter etc. The same rules you would use for tinted paint.

 

[Cesar]

Ok ill give it a few coats any tips for clear coat or it just goes on like regular spray paint

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---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------

Should I let my regular paint dry completely or just give it a little time? It's drie to the touch in 1hr and ive hard it there for 2 hrs now it fully dries in 24hrs. Can I clear coat it now or not

 

[afremont]

It generally goes on like regular paint, but it might run easier. As for how dry the base coat should be, read the directions on the color coat can. It should give explicit directions on how to handle multiple coats. Personally, I'd likely let it dry for the full drying time before putting the clear on it, but first I'd follow the directions.

 

[Cesar]

Ok thank you sir

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[Poboy kartman]

Time out! Need some clarification here. Are you talking about just clear coating an exsisting paint job, or are you going to repaint and then clear?

 

[Cesar]

I just painted it red a red gloss but it doesn't look as shinny so I have a clear coat spray can laying around I wanted to see if it would be ok

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[Joe-405]

Some paint is not compatible with each other. You could make it worse. It can crack or worse peel with in minutes of spraying it. What is the paint and clear exactly or pics of cans would be better or part numbers.

 

[Cesar]

Here are the pics

 

[machinist@large]

Here are the pics

Krylon and Rustoleum traditionally don't mix, That's probably is why the first person you talked to told you it was a bad idea.

If the base coat was Krylon, the clear coat needs to be Krylon. Krylon and Rustoleum are two separate paint formulation's, which are not compatible.

For the price of one spray can, get the correct Krylon mix and be done with it.

 

[afremont]

I did some digging around and the consensus is that Rustoleum over dry Krylon is okay, but not the other way around. Go figure. I'm pretty sure that Krylon clear is lacquer which wouldn't go well over enamel dry or not. Putting enamel over lacquer (that's dry for 24 hours) "should" (big keyword there be okay.

The OP could spot test a small area after letting the color coat dry for 24 hours, but honestly machinist@large is right in that you shouldn't mix brands. Another important thing is that you shouldn't mix paint types, regardless of brand. And absolutely most importantly of all, read all the directions on the cans and follow them explicitly.

 

[Poboy kartman]

And....as stated before...read the can on the both...but pay paticular attention to the recoat. time on the base color....

Some can be recoated at any time, but most either need to be recoated within an hour or several days later.

Since you said your paint job wasn't shiny enough, here's a couple of tips, (because your clear may not help):

#1: Your paint should be super smooth. If it's not wet sand with 1500 grit sandpaper until it is rinse well, wipe dry, and tack rag it.

#2: Try to spray when the temperature is low.

#3: Put your spray can in the refrigerator if its hot outside....and make sure you are in the shade.

If you follow the above ^ you might find clear coat unecessary...

At any rate....modern base coat /clear coat finishes seem to be based on an expected last step of wet sanding followed by buffing....