How to Paint With Waterborne Three-Stage Paint

Three-stage paint systems are notoriously difficult to use and even professional vehicle refinishers encounter a myriad of problems with color matches and application techniques. A basic three-stage paint job consists of a ground coat to prevent transparency problems, a waterborne pearl paint color and a clear coat. Consistency is the key to a professional finish and spray-out cards help to produce a perfect color match.

Instructions

1

Tape six spray-out cards to a piece of board and wipe them thoroughly with a tack cloth. Apply a coat of self-etching primer to each spray-out card and leave to cure for 5 minutes before applying two full applications of ground coat. Leave the ground coat to cure for 10 minutes before adding two full coats of waterborne pearl paint color.

2

Remove one spray-out card from the board, write the number "2" on the back with a permanent marker to signify that two coats of paint have been applied and put it to one side. Add another coat of waterborne pearl paint color to the remaining five spray-out cards, remove another single card and write the number "3" on the back to signify that three coats of color have been applied. Continue re-coating and removing one spray-out card at a time until the sixth one is finished. Remember to add sequential numbers on the back of each spray-out card after each coat.

3

Apply two full applications of clear coat to all six spray-out cards and leave to dry. Mask, degrease and tack the vehicle before offering the spray-out cards up to the panel to see which one provides the best color match. Reference the number on the back of the spray-out card to see how many coats of waterborne pearl paint color have to be applied.

4

Apply two full applications of ground coat to the vehicle and leave to cure for ten minutes. Add the waterborne pearl paint color to the spray gun and begin applying an equal number of coats to match the figure on the back of the spray-out cards. Leave a few minutes between each coat for the paint to cure. Remember to move the arm at the same speed at which the cards were painted and maintain the same spraying distance to ensure consistency. Blend the color into adjacent panels on each coat to help achieve a better overall color match.

5

Leave the waterborne pearl paint color to dry for 10 minutes before adding two full applications of clear coat. Bake the vehicle for 30 minutes at 160 degrees Fahrenheit or leave to air dry overnight before removing the masking and buffing out any imperfections.