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So I’m currently painting my car and I used crappy clear coat on my fender and it’s just not cutting it. So I ordered some 2k clear and I just finished spraying my final layer of my base coat on the car. Will I be fine spraying the 2k clear on the car a week later when the clear coat arrives ? And do I need to do any type of extra prep work before I spray it on

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  • Welcome to Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair! I'm not a paint guy, however, my understanding is the new clear needs something to adhere to. Normally, you'd apply the clear within enough time so the paint is not completely dry. This gives the clear something it can grab hold of. Once the new paint is set, it is too smooth for the clear, so you'd need to scuff the paint with some very fine sand paper. Again, this is my understanding, but I wouldn't know for sure, thus just a comment.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Dec 25, 2020 at 11:40
  • Check the instructions ; depending on the type of each coating the answer is yes or no.
    – blacksmith37
    Sep 26, 2021 at 15:19

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The concept is that the base coat not being cured will be soft enough for the solvents in the clear to allow the clear to adhere to it like Paulster2 explained. You might get away with sanding the cured color coat and applying the clear but the surface needs to be rough enough for the clear to stick. The gamble is if the surface is sanded too fine, then the clear won't stick, or if it does, it won't be durable. If too coarse, will the sanding scratches show through the clear? Why not sand the cured color base coat with the same grit paper you used for the primer, reapply the base coat to fill the scratches, and then the clear within 24 hours? The hope is that the new color layer will stick to the cured layer while filling in the sanding scratches. Study the directions from your paint manufacturer with respect to time between primer, color, and clear. You also need to pay attention to compatibility of the solvents/thinners used in each coat, so staying with the same paint manufacturer for the job can't hurt.

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