Hardener and clear coat questions

55 50 Ron

Well-known Member
My main "experience" with painting is painting house interior walls with latex paint.

I have used "rattle" cans and brushes to paint imperfectly on old machinery.

I have heard of hardener and clear coat in regard to painting professionally, but don't properly understand the words, their use when, where, how, etc.

Can someone do a "nutshell" explanation or suggest a website that would already have that info??

Thanks as always.
 
There are people on here that paint a lot more than I do but, basically there are single stage paint systems and 2 stage systems. I personally use PPG Omni for most my projects. Single stage acrylic enamel can be used with or without hardner. The hardner makes it dry faster,with a better shine and will hold up longer,but you need a supplied air breathing system to safely spray it. The 2 stage systems use a base clear system. You spray the base color, then you cover the color with 2 or 3 coats of clear.The clear has a hardner or activator in it also. It can then be wet sanded and buffed if desired.This is my latest project. 2 stage.
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I agree with welding man, but can add to it. While acrylic enamel can be used with or without hardener, acrylic urethane must have hardener. The single stage urethane has clear in it to reduce fading. The base clear system also has to have hardener in the clear. Single stage urethane and the base clear system will not dry properly without hardener. Base clear is the better system but will take twice as long to paint as you have to apply the base that has the color, and the clear that brings the shine to appear. If you are willing to buy a supplied air system for your lungs, try single stage urethane first, then you can go to base clear as I did.
 

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