How to Apply Automotive Clear Coat? | Palmgear

A clear coat is a transparent paint that you coat over the base paint of your car to protect it from exterior damage and UV rays.

It also helps prolongs the lifespan of your car base paint and provides it with a glossy finish that gives it a shiny, appealing appearance.

Applying clear coat paints will be problematic if you don’t use the proper process. Thankfully, we have come up with a simplified guide to steer you through the process.

Steps for Applying Automotive Clear Coat:

For the best results, when applying this coat, choose quality equipment and mask the body of your car. You’ll need to ensure you get the best automotive clear coat spray can for you to achieve good results.

Step 1: Hold the applicator 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) away from the surface.

Once you fill your spray gun with a clear coat, spray it 6-8 inches far from the car surface. When spraying on slanted surfaces, tilt the gun as well to be parallel to the area.

This should deliver you the most even, lightest paint layers possible.

Step 2: Make even and steady that overlap one another by 50%.

Make sure to spray on the paint in even lines, consistently straight across the surface base.

Repeating half of the earlier pass each time will increase the chances of achieving an even application and avoid the “tiger striping” effect. 

Step 3: Apply a clear coat of paint to the car.

Spray a thin coat of paint all over the body of the car. At all times, keep the paint wet and thin to keep the drying interval short and get a uniform application.

If the paint is simply too thick, you are bound to have problems like a foggy, filminess, hazy effect.

Step 4: Wait for the paint to dry for at least 10 minutes.

With thin clear coat layers of paint, the drying period is fairly short between applications. This also depends on the weather. Hot days allow the paint to dry faster and vice versa. Waiting for the paint to dry prevents heavy orange peel texture, a color mismatch, and a loss of gloss.

Step 5: Apply a second coat of paint to the entire car surface.

Once the first layer has dried, spray the second layer of paint. For this layer, you can make it a bit thicker because it has more time to dry out fully. Apply the paint carefully and slowly to avoid any imperfections and drips. You can add more than 1-2 layers depending on your taste and preference.

Step 6: Wait 1 hour for the layers to totally dry.

Avoid touching the clear coat while you’re waiting for it to dry. Let it sit untouched to let the paint set and cure properly. This will help ensure the clear coat’s quality and durability.

Why Use Clear Coat On Your Car?

If you’re at the crossroads on whether to apply a clear coat on your car or not, analyzing these key benefits of a clear coat will help you make a wiser decision.

A clear coat enhances your car appearance

A clear coat finish offers a glossy look and deepens the color of a car’s base coat. It’s a good way to create your paintwork look shiny and new. It even appearance better when sprayed on a newly cleaned car.

Protects your car exterior

Your car’s exterior is vulnerable to damage by stones, dirt, and other debris flung when you are on the road. Most car clear coats fight to peel and add an additional layer of protection against corrosion and UV rays on the paintwork.

Hide minor scratches

It’s practically impossible to escape minor scratches on your car. You don’t have to worry about that because most of the clear coats are known to buff out dents and minor scratches on a vehicle. They also coat those minor spots triggered by acid rain, hard water spots, and bird droppings.

Increases your car value

When selling your car, it’s a great idea to spice it up with a clear coat so you can get more value for its look. Many people buy cars with their eyes, so give that old car a brass spray paint look.

Final Verdict

An automotive clear coat has many benefits when applied to your car. And getting it on your car is nothing hard if you have the right clear coat and follow the correct procedure. We have just discussed the steps you can take today to apply an automotive clear cat on your car, so you shouldn’t have any issues clear coating your vehicle.