An old painter told me my clear was too thick and it stuck with me

He said it looked like I was trying to 'paint with honey' and that I'd never get a good flow. I started mixing it a bit thinner, about 10% more reducer, and my orange peel dropped by half. Anyone else get a piece of advice that fixed a basic technique for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

robin_foster11mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah, @willowroberts, I totally get that. I had a painter tell me my clear was too thick too, and it stuck with me for years. I used to lay it on heavy thinking it would fill in imperfections, but he said I was "painting with honey" just like in that post. When I finally thinned it out, about 10-15% more reducer, my orange peel almost vanished. It's funny how one small change like that can fix so many headaches. I still remember that guy's voice in my head whenever I mix a batch now.

terrymitchell3mo ago

Oh man, my first clear coat job looked like I was trying to frost a cake with a spackle knife.

willowroberts3mo ago

Wait, you used a spackle knife for clear coat? That's wild, @terrymitchell. Clear coat needs a sprayer or at least a super soft brush to lay down smooth. A spackle knife would leave crazy ridges and ruin the finish.