Paints UV coatings

[Barry Theal]

What are your thoughts about it. Does it sit on top of paint or go the whole way threw the clear. I thought this would make for a great thread. With all ?`s about uv coatings is there someone here who has a real answer? Or someone who has an that sounds good lol. Lets talk UV coating in clear coat.

[getcha]

The clear coated paint on top of the color IS the UV coating. It run the entire thickness of the clear itself. It is put as a sacrificial layer to defend the color from oxidation.

[MarcHarris]

^yes...kinda?

UV inhibitors are in the clear-coat to help protect against degradation, but it`s not just a sacrificial barrier. Without the clear-coat, the paint would look extremely dull as well - the clear is there to add gloss. Additionally, UV inhibitors only go so far as paint will still fade over time which is always a problem for painters trying to color match (which is, in part, why the primer-sealer used must be tinted the right way: to give the right look).



Oh and to the original question - if it`s in the clear, it`s surely mixed all the way through. No way its only sitting on top nor only on the bottom.

[getcha]

Eh my bad. I tried to give a very straight answer that wouldn`t be left open to much debate :(. Thanks for building on that Marc

[Accumulator]

What are your thoughts about it. Does it sit on top of paint or go the whole way threw the clear..



Heh heh, you already know *my* position on this one ;)



IMO it`s either a matter of the UV inhibitors somehow being in the top portion of the clear (maybe like the way some single stage metallics "settle out" into stratified layers) or, more likely IMO, a matter of the overall thickness making the decisive diff. NO, I don`t claim to know which it is; I want to be perfectly clear that I don`t know from the science behind this stuff :grinno:



But I`ve sure *seen* what happens when an aggressively thinned clearcoat is subsequently exposed to plenty of sunlight.



Besides having observed UV damage on vehicles that`d been aggressively corrected, I base my opinion on what Ron K. at AutoInt has posted/said regarding how taking off too much clear precipitates cc failure and/or fading of the basecoat.



If somebody *really* wants the straight scoop, I`d contact somebody like Ron who`s made a career out of knowing such stuff. Get the specifics from him...he and I have discussed it, but only in general "yeah, I agree that..." type terms.