Water based replacement to 2k PU clear?

Hi! I'm sick of wondering if I'm killing me softly with 2k PU clear based on well known harmful solvents and that kind of stuff.
Has anybody tried any water based products? I believe I heard of Glasurit releasing water based clear on their automotive line, but haven't found much about it. I still intend to sand down to polish with Menzerna products so wet application gloss doesn't need to be top notch (I've never succeeded in it anyway).
By the way, I do my clear painting in a DIY little booth, in a small toilet at one end of my apartment, close the door, open the window and wear a mask (nose and mouth covered with mandatory filter) and use the mask from the moment I open the cans to prepare the mix up to when I leave that toilet with everything cleared and cleaned. I still feel a bit dizzy and have strange feelings when I breath during the next 24hs. So yeah, I'm starting to hate this product. And I only use it about 6 times a year, tops, as I don't have much time for modeling.

Any input about my procedures or about something "less" harmful?

Thx!

It's just my personal opinion but I don't think 2k is really necessary in most cases. Especially if you don't have a legitimate set up for your own safety. I think you can accomplish what you want with either TS lacquer clear, Testors wetlook clear or future floor polish. A proper respirator will protect you from.lacquer and enamel 100%. Sometimes you can even just spray outside or with good ventilation. But 2k will seriously damage your lungs on the first go if you are not carefully prepared. You are using a respirator right? Not a "mask".

I agree that 2k is not good for health if sprayed without the correct safety equipment and I've pretty much stopped using it now. But you just can't get the same level of finish with TS clear, or any other clear without plenty of work, elbow grease etc. Also without care, sometimes with care, TS ruins decals whereas 2k never has for me..

I like the Testors water-based clears. They're not extremely shiny, but I only build race cars, which should never be shiny anyway, so they work well for me. They dry fast and they're pretty tough as well...

ianc

I have to recommend the well known Mr. Hobby Top Coat 501 Gloss Spray Can Clear. It´s pretty much foolproof.
My preference is to decant and apply it with airbrush slightly thinned with Mr. Hobby blue label thinners.

It won´t attack decals, is very resistant to running and if you have prepared your surface correctly you will have a very nice gloss after about 5-7 coats with 5 min flash between coats. Ready to be polished after curing in the dehydrator for about 24 hrs. Or air dried in room temp for about 14 days.

The thing that I find as the biggest downside of 2K clear (besides toxicity) is that once fully cured it´s pretty much impossible to completely polish out defects by hand.
Top Coat cures to a moderate hardness which makes it perfect for hand polishing.

The NSX below is painted with Tamiya X-18 and then coated with 7 coats of TC-501. Then polished with Micro gloss and Tamiya compounds. The SL has a
basecoat of TS-17 and the same procedure for the clearcoat. Sorry about the crappy pics.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/35977831311_cca51673de_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4291/35942459112_1d396a6d04_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/35978701671_5a63774c7e_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/35273294874_d0629f824a_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4297/35944353442_f407e814b8_c.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4315/35305176873_db0d1a8d1b_c.jpg

Great work and pics, das_auto!

But a question for you (or anyone else with experience) about your statement of "after about 5-7 coats with 5 min flash between coats". Do you flush/clean your airbrush between each coat? I have always wondered whether that is necessary or advised when spraying multiple lacquer coats like that, as seems very tedious. How about if longer (10 to 15 minutes) between coats? Just wondering what other people do on this?

Cameron

Great work and pics, das_auto!

But a question for you (or anyone else with experience) about your statement of "after about 5-7 coats with 5 min flash between coats". Do you flush/clean your airbrush between each coat? I have always wondered whether that is necessary or advised when spraying multiple lacquer coats like that, as seems very tedious. How about if longer (10 to 15 minutes) between coats? Just wondering what other people do on this?

Thanks for the kind words Cameron!

Well, I rarely clean the airbrush out between coats. Usually, the clear has not begun to dry. If it has, a simple "squirt" onto some kitchen towel with the airbrush will remove any semi-dried clear left in the nozzle.

If you choose to wait for a longer period of time i´d advise you to dump the residual clear into a sealed container and run some thinners through the brush to clean it out and keep you out of trouble. :)

Regards!

Emil

Hi! Revival time, as I'm about to buy one of two options of water based clear. I'm sick of poisoning myself with 2k PU automotive clear, specially considering how much it annoys me that people smoke. I cannot advice them to quit if I'm poisoning myself with clear. (Yes, I wear VOC mask since i open the can until I leave the tools all cleaned up, and have ventilation).

So, I found 2 options.

1- PPG waterborne 2k clear, I think it's acrylic, and I'm pretty sure the code is "something" 8186. Thins with deionized water (the one for your car, or for ironing). It costs about the same as 2 or 3 TS13 spray cans (which I cannot get anyway).

2- 1k polyurethane clear water based, thins with deionized water, made by Rust-Oleum, not sure if it is from the Varathane family of products. The guy recommended it right after suggesting Zinsser 1-2-3 primer (also water based). Costs maybe less than 1 can of TS13 and you get 1 liter (which would have to be thinned out pretty much).

Any of the two options would cover way more cars than what I would have time to build in the next 5 years. It will probably go bad before I can use half of it. But the PPG is a kinda expensive product to buy and find out it doesn't work at all.

I plan on sanding and polishing any product.
I use Iwata Revolution CR with 0.5mm needle.

Did anybody try something like any of these?

I just buy a 1k uv protective clear coat from a local body shop supplier. 1l for about £10. Acrifan or the brand that make the zero paints or some such. Muuuuch cheaper than going to a hobby supplier.

I just buy a 1k uv protective clear coat from a local body shop supplier. 1l for about £10. Acrifan or the brand that make the zero paints or some such. Muuuuch cheaper than going to a hobby supplier.

That looks almost like what I'm looking for, except I prefer to use water thinned, not lacquer thinner. Have you tried any water based 1k?

Aldo, I have already discarded the 2k PPG thing as I found that the gardener also contains isocyanate which seems to be worst than lacquer thinner.

That looks almost like what I'm looking for, except I prefer to use water thinned, not lacquer thinner. Have you tried any water based 1k?

Aldo, I have already discarded the 2k PPG thing as I found that the gardener also contains isocyanate which seems to be worst than lacquer thinner.

No I haven't. I have however sensitised myself to lacquer paints a little. Not good!