Auto body repair & detailing: flatten agent in clear coat, dc3000, flattening agent

Question
after googling how to flatten clear coat, i read your answer to Ricky. i am restoring a 1959 Harley,I"m using PPG dc 3000 and a flattening agent you recommend. I would like to simulate the amount of gloss it would originally had. I"m not sure if you would call it "semi gloss, matt or satin".What agent and amount would you recommend. Thanks  Cliff

Answer
Hi Cliff,

To be quite honest, I'm not certain what gloss level those bikes were from factory. My best guess would be that they were painted using a lacquer based paint from factory which would be approximately a bit shiner than a semi-gloss by todays standards.

The only flattening agent currently recommended by PPG is DX685. According to the Tech bulletin the ratio would be 32 oz (pure) DC3000 to 11 oz DX685 to 11 oz of DCH30xx. (Where the xx is would signify the temperature of the hardener. I believe if it were me I would back off the DX685 to about 7 oz to match the OEM shine a bit better. (Note: According to "Ricky" DC3000 doesn't work well with DX685. My guess would be that it caused his DC3000 to dry really fast which may have caused re-coat issues.) My recommendation would be to switch to DCU2021 using DCX61 hardener. I know for a fact this clear works well with DX685. Should you decide to use the DC3000 I would recommend that you spray a test panel to ensure that you get the gloss you are wanting and this will give you an idea of how the product will handle. Good luck with it and if you have any more questions please feel free to ask.

Gary