QuestionQUESTION: Hi, I've done a small touch up paint job (about same size as a dime) on a Toyota 2004 with a small spot of rust. After removing all the rust, putting a bit of primer, and base coat (3 layers), everything was fine. Forty-eight hours after putting the last layer of paint, I've put the clear coat and, to my horror, the paint, which was blending undiscernibly with the rest of the car, darkened significantly. Waited 3 days for the clear to dry but the darkening is still there.
So, I don't know what can have cause this darkening and what to do from there. Options are to let thing as they are with the blotchy job, or sand a bit, add some base color and forget the clear coat. Any other suggestions are welcome!
ANSWER: Hi Carl,
Unfortunately, At this point there is no fix without sanding and reapplying base. Often times clear-coat will change the color of the base-coat and it's hard to know how it will change it before hand. High metallic colors seem to be the worst for color changing after being clear-coated. The only bad thing about using base-coat only is the durability. Base-coat will begin changing colors once it is exposed to sunlight and the great match that was there will begin to look like a color blind person touch it up in a couple of months.
The best way to do it is tint the color until you get the results you want. The bad thing is you have to clear-coat it every time to be able to check it. I wish I had better news or a quick trick that would solve your problem. Good luck with it.
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QUESTION: Thanks for the answer! You're perfectly right about the metallic color being worst: base is medium grey metallic and turned dark grey metallic with the clear coat... Do you know if all brands or types of clear coat will have the same darkening effect or if it may worth trying with another clear coat brand ? For information, the one I used was Krystal Klearkote from 5 star. Maybe another brand will give better results ?
AnswerHi Carl,
Yes it may be worth trying. I have tested several clear-coats for clarity. The clearest one I have seen personally is made by PPG and it's in their low cost line Omni or Shopline. The part #'s are MC260 or JC660. I have seen some clear-coats that are so yellow that it looks like "you know what". The way I have been testing it is catalyzing it and putting it in baby food jars and letting it set up. This will allow you to see how much it shrinks and how fast it cures along with how yellow it will be. Good luck with it.
