Zero Colors/Gravity Colors and Clear Coat

[joey21]

Hi guys, hope you're all doing well. I've recently switched over from rattle cans to airbrushing and I have a few questions on achieving the best paint finish with airbrush ready paints from Zero or Gravity colors.

With Zero Colors, or Gravity colors, the colors go on flat over your. The glossiness then comes from a clearcoat. This is where my questions start.

-Do the color coats need to be sanded at all before clear?

-I know that decals need a gloss finish to adhere correctly. Should the thin gloss layer for the decals need to be polished/sanded, or will is the top coat that seals in the decals the only layer that needs your attention?

-Lastly, I've seen on Gravity Colors website that they recommend 1K clear over small, canopy parts, but not larger parts like a car's body. Why is that? I'm not sure I want to mess with the mixing that comes with 2K clear, plus the stuff seems very toxic.

Thank you in advance!

[SteveNoble]

You don't need to sand/flat the colour coats at all before the clear application. The only time I'd flat the colour coat is if some dirt fell into the paint whilst spraying it. If this happens, flat out the dirt and apply more of the colour coat. You don't need to do anything with the thin clear layer that you apply before decals. Just apply, allow to dry then apply your decals. If you spray the top coat of gloss well, you may not need to polish the finish at all. You can use 1k clear over a car body with no problems. The 2k will probably give a better shine, but 1k clear still gives a decent finish, some would say that the 1k clear is actually more realistic a finish than 2k..

[joey21]

Thank you Steve I appreciate the response! I think I'll go with a 1K clear.

Do you happen to have any recommendations on polishing 1K clear? I have the Tamiya polishing compounds and the micromesh sanding pads.

[stubeck]

Regarding polishing, since I have a problem with going through the clear (and even through the color coat) while wet sanding, I simply do dry sanding. This makes it more obvious what I'm actually sanding. I sand until the paint feels smooth, and then move on to the next coat. I do wash the polishing clothes to remove the paint from them after I'm done. I then will use Tamiya polishing compounds to get a gloss coat out of the paint.

[joey21]

Regarding polishing, since I have a problem with going through the clear (and even through the color coat) while wet sanding, I simply do dry sanding. This makes it more obvious what I'm actually sanding. I sand until the paint feels smooth, and then move on to the next coat. I do wash the polishing clothes to remove the paint from them after I'm done. I then will use Tamiya polishing compounds to get a gloss coat out of the paint.

Thank you. Is this with a 2k?

[stubeck]

Thats with 1k. I typically don't need to polish with a 2k as its already too shiny for a realistic F1 car for example.