Has anyone painted 2K clear over acrylic solid base?

I am interested in how compatible the 2K is with the acrylic, and what the results were like.

It may look ok for 12 months, then there will/could be a miriad of "Issues" that can arise.

"Crows Feet", Delamination, Sink-Back are all very real possibilities.

What are you thinking of doing? If it was the outside of a car I wouldn't advise it but if it was a Subframe or something else less obvious/Exposed then you might get away with it if the surface was keyed correctly.

For the outside of a car it will be a roll of the dice, It may hold up for years without any problems but more often than not a disappointing finish will be the end result.

I was always told 2K over acrylic was like mixing water and petrol.

I have never used clear coats over sold base colours either.

Today I was at a paint supplier and they reckon it is very common for a customer to shoot 2K clear over acylic.

I like the toughness of 2K, and shooting clear over colour is appealing on a Mini because all the seams and tight places that you can't buff / polish.

I guess if the facts point against 2K over acrylic, I can always use acrylic clear.

I used acrylic clear on my Fiat when we painted it in Dulon Medium Blue metallic, years ago.
It looked about a foot deep for a few years, then the sun just crazed it to hell. It looked like an old Holden EH premier metallic.....
Remember acrylic is really just another name for perspex....

If you want clear coats to last, I'd do the whole thing in 2 pack. Hire a spray booth somewhere if you need to.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

i wish i read this before i sprayed my arylic BRG base coat and clear coat mines great so far deep colour but only one year since we sprayed it fingers crossed

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Enjoy Chris

Your right GT, mini's painted in Acrylic Laquer are very time consuming to buff out correctly with all the tight spots to get into, There are a few more tools on the market nowdays that help (small 2in polishers etc) but you've still got to be able to afford them.



I don't imagine they will honour a warranty on the applied 2K if they know its been applied over an Acrylic Base. It's also got to be remembered a lot of people use paint to hide sins or make a quick buck and not have to guarantee anything.



A lot of painters like to mix 2K Clear with 2K Solid colours to try and add some depth and extra gloss into the finished result, this can also be done with Acrylic Clear into Acrylic Solid Colours too. Personally I like it and do it.

Acrylic Paint finishes will last for a long time if pampered, Todays Acrylic's arent the same paints they used to be unfortunately so they need to be cared for more nowdays but regular waxing and minimising UV exposure will help maintain an acrylic finish. And Acrylic when done nicely has a beautiful soft lustre that is very appealling.

That said if you can access a nice 2K finish then your much better off in many ways as everyone loves a shiny car!!!

painted my rims silver acrylic, then top coated in 2k clear, had no problems at all and they come up a treat when clean

dont do it.


I will not last at all, acrylics very soft 2pacs hard. The acrylic underneath will shrink and the 2k will crack if it sticks at all. small items MAY be ok, but even so it will not be for long. Ask ur local paint guy if he tells you its ok, go to another coz its not.

acrylic over 2 pac is totally fine. I know a few street machine guys who use 2pac primer-filler underneath acrylic top coat because 2pac is bloody hard and it hardly shrinks or cracks.

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Also remember that the 2pak clear coats have the real bad iso's in them

You may want to have a search or ask a question on this forum, they're all pretty helpful http://www.autobody101.com/

Hope the car's coming along nicely Anton, any progress pics?

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Lots of progress pics..... in the September TME

This is a tough decision for me. The paint on JAM was very shinny, but it took a HUGE amount of effort to achieve that with no clear over base. I'd really like to clear coat my next couple of paint jobs, but I don't want to ruin everything I have done in the process. I also want it to last for the long run, not just to look good in a magazine.

I will go back to the original paint shop that I supplied all my paint, and ask them about it. They have been spot on with their advice in the past.

From what I have been told here and elsewhere, Acrylic on acrylic might be the go.

Let me know what they say as they've been on the money for everything else!!

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Don't do it, my car went to the panel shop to have the roof resprayed today for this very reason

did last ten years mind you

scrap it back to bare metal

Kiwiiinwgtn

You could always sell your Acrylic paint to someone else and buy some 2K instead. But that said unless your very confident painting 2K then in the end your still going to have to rub out runs and imperfections/inclusions and buff the car anyway, particularly if your not painting in a proper downdraft oven booth.

Even though 2K saves a lot of time over the Acrylic Lacquers, with a restoration done at home your sometimes better off going the more forgiving paint type with more effort that your definately confident with than to venture out into something new like a 2K system and end up disappointed with the final result and only end up redoing the process again to rectify it.

Unless of course your prepared to put in the hours and practice getting 2K down pat.[/quote]

OK. Just spoke to my original paint supplier (who I mentioned in TME).

He said acrylic clear over solid base is acceptable, but will still require buffing for a deep shine. Over time it will give better paint protection, especially for someone who likes to polish.

In his experience 2K clear over acrylic base was not a common thing to do, and he has not heard of many (if any) customers doing that. He did understand the theory behind putting it on acrylic base though (more gloss - less effort).

2K clear over 2K colour would give maximum gloss.

So the guy in the local Auto One who told me "heaps of people put 2K clear over acrylic" is either full of it, or all those customers are not too worried about doing things right.

There's the proof as to why he is working at Auto-One and not painting cars for a living.

I still have the opinion if your keen on going with a 2K style gloss that you should go 2K the whole way and either sell your Acrylic to another restorer or paint a matching trailer for the restored car with it!!