Been painting cars for 12 years and just realized I was using way too much hardener the whole time.

I was mixing my clear coat by feel until a sherwin williams rep watched me and said "that's double what you need." My orange peel finally flattened out and I wasted so much material over the years - anyone else had a dumb mix ratio habit they finally broke?

2 comments

2 Comments

paul_webb4527d ago

Twelve years is a long time to be burning money on hardener like that. What made you finally let the Sherwin guy watch you mix instead of brushing him off like the rest of us do? I'm curious if you had a specific job go bad or if a customer complained about the orange peel before you changed things up. Also, did you notice any difference in how fast your clear hardened or how much it ran after you cut the hardener back?

lisa_grant27d ago

Are you saying you never had a batch kick off too fast or leave a rough texture? I've cut hardener back before and ended up with clear that wouldn't cure right in cooler weather, soft enough to dent with a fingernail.