Dull clearcoat...But Why?

[8MYCASH]

I just purchased duplicolor touchup paint in a spray can along with the T125 clearcoat. I test painted a small piece of ABS plastic to check color match, The color matches perfect BTW. I used flexible primer then the touch up paint then the clearcoat(3x). I let it sit for a few days now, But the clear is dull not shiny. What did I do wrong or is there something else that i still need to do? There must be something i am not doing right. Any suggestions would be appreciated, If I can get the clearcoat to look better I would have a perfect match.

Thanks in advance,
-Chris

[ISinOH]

Was the car garaged? Clearcoat usually takes 2-5 days to harden completely. If it was humid, rainy, or cold (below 50°), it can make a clearcoat dry hazy.

How long did you wait between coats? I think they typically say to recoat within 1 hour or wait XX days until thouroughly dry. If you wait longer than that, you could seal in the vapors from the first coat.

You should probably let the touchup coat dry completely before clearcoating it too.

[8MYCASH]

The basecoat was completely dry, Sat for almost 24 hours. I clearcoated and recoated about every 45 minutes.
this was done on a scrap piece of ABS plastic at work,Climate never changes(75-80F,Dry)
Will buffing make it shine? What would I use to buff it out?
-Chris

[OKCIS]

Wet sanding and buffing will probably make it shine

[8MYCASH]

Thank, Have another square!(a pretty blue one too, I want one of those)
Will have to try that out, what grit would you reccomend for wet sanding?

-Chris

[DHCrocks]

I would try using a polish like maguires scratch-X first since it's less destructive. If thje touch up is flush with the paint and is just a bit hazy this should do the trick. If you need to knock it down a bit try Lanka, it works great at taking away the bubble from touch up paints to make the surface flush. Last resort would be to use a wet sandpaper since you could endup doing more damage then good. as far as grit use 2000 or 4000 if you can find it (auto parts store), don't go under 1200, cause you'll endup seeing the scratches from the sandpaper.

[SophieSleeps]

Is the touch-up just a base or is it designed for a finished look?
In my experience, touch up paint is not supposed to be cleared. Most of the time it's a finished look.

If you clear it and it looks dull, it could be why.
If it's dull, you can try buffing it out, but I doubt that'll help.

[8MYCASH]

it is a basecat that is supposed to be cleared. When i ordered it from duplicolor they said it must be clearcoated if the part number is followed with a CC, and it is.
Will try some of the suggestions and see what happens.
-Chris

[SophieSleeps]

Well normally after a basecoat, you should clear it within 15 min or so.
If you wait a long time, the base gets dull.

[8MYCASH]

If the other suggestions don;t hwlp, I will flip the piece i have and try that. When i clear it the base will still be tacky/Wet when i am cearing it (15minutes) This will be ok? Thanks sophie!
Chris

[SophieSleeps]

Originally Posted by 8MYCASH

If the other suggestions don;t hwlp, I will flip the piece i have and try that. When i clear it the base will still be tacky/Wet when i am cearing it (15minutes) This will be ok? Thanks sophie!
Chris

Well we may be talking about different paint.

When you're spraying automotive paint, most of them will go on dry.

I sprayed tonight actually. Within minutes, you should be able to touch the base. It should be extremely dull at this point. When you're done with base, and you let it flash dry, you hit it with clear. This is when it starts to glow and shine.