How to Paint With Two-stage Urethane

Painting a car requires several steps.

Two-stage urethane paint consists of a base coat, which is the color, and a clear coat, which goes on top of the base coat for protection and shine. Two-stage urethane is not a difficult paint to work with, but it does take some skill and experience to make the finished paint job look professional. Painting with two-stage urethane requires preparing the car's surface, mixing the paint and then applying both stages of the paint to the car.

Things You'll Need

• 320-grit sandpaper
• Masking paper and tape
• Primer
• 600-grit sandpaper
• Paint
• Clear coat paint
• Reducer
• Hardener
• Mixing cup
• Stir stick
• Paint gun

Instructions

1. Sand the entire car with 320-grit sandpaper. Sand evenly so that the entire car is dull and smooth. This smooths the surface and removes any small scratches or imperfections that could harm the finished paint job. The new primer and paint won't adhere to the original clear coat, so the 320-grit sandpaper takes that coat off.

2. Place masking tape and paper over all parts of the car that won't be painted. This includes the tires, rims, trim, window glass, grill, lights, key holes and door handles.

3. Spray a thick coat of primer over the sanded surface of the car. Spray left and right, not up and down. Hold the sprayer 12 to 16 inches from the surface when spraying. Let the primer coat dry for 30 minutes.

4. Sand the dried primer using 600-grit sandpaper to smooth the primer coat. This levels the coat of primer and smooths the rough texture for the paint.

5. Mix the urethane paint and clear coat with the proper amounts of hardener and reducer. Pour the base urethane paint into a mixing cup. Add reducer to the paint to get a ratio of 2:1 of paint and reducer. Add 1 oz. of hardener to the mixture. Mix together with a stir stick. It can be poured into the spray gun cup. Mix the clear coat paint with a ratio of 4:1, which is four parts clear coat paint and one part clear coat reducer. Mix well and keep in a closed container until needed.

6. Spray the base color coat onto the car using the same spraying techniques as with the primer. Use three to six thin coats of paint to reduce the chances of runs. Let each coat dry for five minutes before applying the next coat. Let the final coat dry for six hours.

7. Add the clear coat paint to the dried base color coat. Use the same spraying techniques as with the paint. Use three to five coats. Let each coat dry for five minutes and then let the final coat dry for a full 24 hours before handling the surface.