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Talk with a painter who uses nothing but single stage changed my mind on clear coats
I was at the supply shop last Tuesday picking up some 2k primer and got to talking with this older painter who's been in the game since the 80s. He said he hasn't touched clear coat in 15 years and just shoots single stage on everything including his personal Chevy truck from 72. I laughed at first but then he showed me photos of a 5 year old job that still looked wet. He pointed out that modern clear is great for fixing mistakes but if you lay single stage down right it's tough as nails and way easier to buff out later. Now I'm thinking about trying a single stage job on a beater just to see how it holds up compared to my usual base clear routine. Has anyone here actually gone back to single stage for daily drivers or is this just old timer nostalgia talking?
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oliviabutler10d ago
Honestly that's what I noticed too when I switched to single stage on my old Camry. The shine is different, more of a deep glow than that plastic look clear gives you. It also hides minor scratches way better because the color is all the way through the paint, not just a thin layer under clear.
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angelamurphy11d ago
I swapped to single stage on my old F150 about two years ago after a buddy talked me into it and honestly I forgot clear coat existed until just now. The trick is you gotta lay it down thick enough that it flows out like glass or it looks like a bad rattle can job from ten feet away. But when it works it works. Plus touching up a scratch is just sand and spray again none of that blending nonsense.
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Man, ain't that the truth about forgetting clear coat exists until someone brings it up.
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