Auto body repair & detailing: clearcoat, clear coat, candy look

Question
What's the max # of clearcoats can be put on a car.  I'm being told that it takes 20 coats of clear to acheive the "candy" look.

Answer
Hi Barry,

If the car is being cleared with Acrylic Lacquer then it will need about 20 coats. If it's being cleared with a Urethane 4-5 coats is all that is needed. I have a good friend that owns a muscle car restoration shop. When he clears he sprays 3 coats then wet sands with 1000 grit to get all the orange peel and other imperfections out then reclears with 2 more coats. He then lightly sands the dirt nibs and polishes it to a near mirror shine. He uses the 3M Perfect-It 3000 Extra Cut rubbing compound and refines it with 3M Perfect-It 3000 Swirl Remover and then he uses 3M Perfect-It 3000 Ultrafina Swirl Eliminator. Check out these links for more information:

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_perfectit_3000.cfm

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd_perfectit_3000_swirl.cfm

http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd-3m_06068_ultrafina.cfm

Good luck with it and I hope this helps you out.