To Clearcoat or Not To Clearcoat (1 Viewer)

[Brentbba]

Off road M101CDN I've rattle canned with Duplicolor Acrylic Enamel. I'm happy with the results so far. Trailer has been on a few outings and I just had the lid fabed and am priming/painting it right now.

I've searched and read a little on the debate of buffing out scratches etc., repainting or not and what opinions are wide and varied or non-existent on clearcoating.

Is it worth a few cans to clearcoat the trailer and lid? What benefits or drawbacks are there? May as well decide while the lid and all the hardware are off.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Touch ups will require alot more sanding/prepping compared to leaving dull. What kind of clear are you planning on using? If it's rattle can clear it's not going to adhere like a two part urethane will. This will be especially true if you spray it directly over the existing finish. Most urethane based paints require you to clear within 24 hours or it can cause poor adhesion. You said that the current paint on the trailer is acrylic enamel, right? If so it should have some sort of clear finish which would have to be sanded with 1000 grit paper before applying the clear.

Truthfully, I would stick with the current finish. Touchups are easy and the rattle can stuff is readily available and inexpensive. If you want to go the clear finish route look into a higher qualitysingle stage enamel. They can be purchased on the net in a wide variety of colors realitively cheap. I bought a gallon of candy apple red Omni which is PPG's lower end paint for $100 and had plenty left over after painting my 85 4Runner.