I am looking for a clear finish that will give the surface a “wet look”. I am taking a project I am doing in MDF and using automotive sealer/resurfacers and fillers to get a glass smooth surface that I paint with a black lacquer. The surface is perfect, but does not have the “wet look” I am looking for. I think I can get that with an automotive DAU75 clear urethane, but that stuff is about $45/qt with another $35 for catalyst. Is there a cheaper solution that anyone has in mind?
I have tried the epoxy that Home Depot sells for things like bar tops. That does the trick, but it is hard to control and tends to run down vertical sides without a lot of attention.
Replies
I'd use black lacquer, high gloss. As you know prep work is key because this color, and sheen, will show all defects.
Spraying epoxy is tricky because by nature it heats up as it cures, so it can't set too fast or it'll dry before it lay on the surface. If it's slow-setting, you'll probably get runs.
But NAPA sells some excellent acrylic automotive paint, and the German brands are also excellent. But be prepared to spend 70-100$ for these products per gallon.
Expert since 10 am.
I have been encouraged by several people to use automotive urathane or acrylics with a catalyst. I have used those on bicycles and car fenders and I was truely impressed. Maybe I should try the black that I used to fix my son's fendor so he could turn it in on a lease without getting burned. It was impressive how easily you could work with it. For some reason, the automotive finishes are quite expensive.
Automotive (and marine) finishes are expensive because they don't take short cuts that cheapen consumer grade finishes. They are expected to last for over a decade in very a harsh outside environment that would have consumer grade varnish peeling away in half a year.
It's an example of the fundamental economic truth that there is no free lunch.
In automotive paint terms the "wet look" is achieved with super high gloss. They're often referred to as "glamour gloss" and if you look at the PDS you'll notice that their refractive rating is higher than the regular automotive "gloss" is rated at. Anything above 85 is generally considered to be a full gloss. Glamour gloss clears are rated closer to 98. You can't really perceive the difference unless you've got them side by side, though. But then it's really obvious which one is glossier.
So what you're looking for is as high of a gloss as you can get. I personally would bite the bullet and go for the highest gloss automotive you can find. My automotive paint catalogues are at work and I am at home so I can't do a quick check. I do have DAU 75 at work but I hardly ever use it (mostly because I prefer DuPont over PPG) and can't off the top of my head remember if it's a glamour gloss or not. I don't think so, but I could easily be wrong. Like I say, I hardly ever use it.
I'm kinda skeptical that gloss black lacquer would be your "wettest" option. I think that clears are the only products capable of acheiving the very highest gloss ratings.
Kevin,
the old nitro celluiose lacquer black when properly applied and sanded had the deepest look to it. It did not have a clear coat over it (and in fact if a vintage car is done in a base coat, clear coat points are deducted for it)
Frenchy,
I don't doubt that it looks fantastic. The old hand-rubbed, bajillion coat paint jobs were famous before chemists came up with more durable materials and the EPA forced manufactorers to reformulate to lower VOCs. I'm not sure that depth of color is the same thing as the perceived wetness of the surface.
My expertise on this subject is second-hand in that I'm just passing on what I've been told. A friend of mine who sells me automotive paint materials also used to paint (and own) show winning cars - 69 Camero Z-28s were and still are his passion. He still paints on the side. But his prices are out of reach for all but the wealthy, which is the way he likes it. That way he only works on the really cool cars. Plus that leaves him more spare time to pursue his other great passion - salmon fishing. LOL kids and the wife rate lower.
Anyway, he's the one who pointed out to me the difference between the usual automotive "gloss" clears and the ultra-glossy clears. I don't know the chemistry nearly well enough to venture an opinion on why there is a difference, althoug I suspect that the presence of pigments play a role. All I know is that there is a wide range of sheens which are considered to be full gloss and that only a very few clears are considered to yield the very highest sheens.
To put it back into wood finishes terms... Sherwin Williams own PDS show that they consider "gloss" to start at 78 - 83% reflectivity. Obviously a paint or finish which has a reflectivity of 90% or better is going to look wetter than one which has a reflectivity of 80%. Although you'd probably not perceive the difference very easily unless you had a side-by-side comparison.
DuPont Chroma Premier makes an excellent clear but is $$$$. You may want to look into it if you want a wet look finish. I have never tried it on wood however.
RGJ
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