Clear coat over latex paint

[Robtstee]

I have searched, couldn't find a definitive answer. I used flat latex on my 1028 about 2 years ago, Sherwin Williams because it was closer than Lowes. Looks perfect, but gets dirty very easily. Looks like it's been dusted for prints everywhere you touch it and of course you can't wipe it off. Anyone have any experience with flat/matte clear coats over their Behr Paint jobs? What exactly did you use and how did it hold up?

 

[Mullaney]

I have searched, couldn't find a definitive answer. I used flat latex on my 1028 about 2 years ago, Sherwin Williams because it was closer than Lowes. Looks perfect, but gets dirty very easily. Looks like it's been dusted for prints everywhere you touch it and of course you can't wipe it off. Anyone have any experience with flat/matte clear coats over their Behr Paint jobs? What exactly did you use and how did it hold up?

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Completely UNRELATED to a vehicle, but a matte finish on wood doesn't hold up nearly as well as a high gloss finish. The short version of WHY is that the matte is created with (as explained to me) lacquer thinner. Guessing there is an equivalent in water based paint.

It will suck a lot, but wiping down the whole vehicle with something like WD40 would give you the "oily hand" look all the time. Heck, a cheap test would be to wipe down the drivers door and see how it works...

 

[nyoffroad]

Adding clear to an existing color coat is going to present problems with adhesion, lifting ect. It will also still have the 'stickyness' that any other flat paint has making it hard to clean, if you go with a semi gloss then you have the shine and that isn't very OEM looking.

 

[Mullaney]

Adding clear to an existing color coat is going to present problems with adhesion, lifting ect. It will also still have the 'stickyness' that any other flat paint has making it hard to clean, if you go with a semi gloss then you have the shine and that isn't very OEM looking.

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Well, I guess not being a painter - adhesion never even crossed my mind.

In my "day job" we put ink on paper and there are adhesion measurements that we do here regularly. Simplest one is a simple tape test and I would imagine that would be something to be done with paint as well. Stick tape to the surface, burnish it down, then give it a yank. It the paint comes off (like it would with ink on paper) then the jig is up...

 

[chevymike]

I think adhesion issue is where the clear coat won't stick well to the old paint. You likely need to scuff the entire truck before even trying any clear coat.

 

[Mullaney]

I think adhesion issue is where the clear coat won't stick well to the old paint. You likely need to scuff the entire truck before even trying any clear coat.

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Don't know, but in the ink business there is also "Adhesion Promoter" too and that might help as well...