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Clear coat cut and buff?

Terry Kitzman

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I am using Omni plus clear coat on my car, How long can I wait to cut and buff?
 
I am using Omni plus clear coat on my car, How long can I wait to cut and buff?
You can wet sand the next day, but I always let it set for at least 3 days before I buff. This gives it time for the solvents to dissipate. If you buff to soon your subject to solvent pops in your paint job.
 
Wait a while , let the clear gas off. Leave it for at least 2 weeks after spraying.

Reason is dyeback from sanding to polishing right away. They look good as soon as you polish but the clear will be still drying off and you will see those sand scratches come back through.

Solvent pops are from waiting between coats to long and trapping solvents

Dyeback is caused from baking the clear and cooling it off to fast.
 
Wait a while , let the clear gas off. Leave it for at least 2 weeks after spraying.
This will work too. The gasses will dissipate quicker with wet sanding.
 
True. But leave it so it can dry out.
Our climate is completely different here 70 degrees plus 75-80% of the time. It's dry enough to wet sand the next day and then we roll it out in the sun for a few days. Yes, I agree it needs to dry good before buffing.
 
Our climate is completely different here 70 degrees plus 75-80% of the time. It's dry enough to wet sand the next day and then we roll it out in the sun for a few days. Yes, I agree it needs to dry good before buffing.

Ya , our climates are so different. Here it changes so much.

Like the lacquer days. We had a real issue with warmth and real cold. The finish sat well with a consistant warmth. When it got cold here it would go brittle and shrink then crack. Making a real mess.
 
We waited a year with my House of Kolors solvent paint and Klear... it was probably gassed off by then! :D
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PPG stuff has a weird window on their clear. Stuff gets really hard to work, literally hard, with after about a week, lasts for about 2-3 weeks. It doesn’t buff out very easily. I’ve always either jumped on it or let it sit for a month or longer.
 
PPG stuff has a weird window on their clear. Stuff gets really hard to work, literally hard, with after about a week, lasts for about 2-3 weeks. It doesn’t buff out very easily. I’ve always either jumped on it or let it sit for a month or longer.

Ppg is weird. I use it daily. The key to ec530 or 520 clear is to lay your first coat down like your second coat. I usually wait about 4 minutes after the first for the second. Any longer flash time it will pop after the bake cycle. As for polishing. Its such a hit and miss when to sand and cut polish. Sometimes going back over the same areas several times. I start at 2000 grit wet on a da with a interface pad. Then over it with 3000 wet the same way. Then 5000 grit the same way. 2000 grit wool pad , 3000 grit wool pad. 5000 grit black waffle pad all with white 3M rubbing compound.
 
What I am asking is, If I wait a month or so before I do it, Is that OK?
 
I usually give the clear coat a finger nail test. If I can press my fingernail on it and leave a mark it's too soon to buff.
 
Waited for 6 months between painting and cutting/buffing here...different climate, and the finger-nail test was used. Can't complain at the results...3 x Best Paint Awards spanning 8 years. :D

:xscuseless:

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I have heard of people cutting and buffing (or color sanding as I call it) on new factory cars to get rid of factory orange peel (or refrigerator finish as I call it)
And that would scare me. The paint on these new cars is so thin it's only got one side!
 
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Is there any advantage to waiting longer to wet sand and buff? Does time buy you a better canvas to work with, or does the clear get too hard to work with? Paint isn't my thing so I think I am looking for the same info as the original poster.
 
I don't think too hard would be a problem. Too soft would be the problem.
 
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