Bob C.
I have done my share of car painting over the years and you are totally way off base. There is actually no such thing as Lacquer Reducer...it is actually Lacquer Thinner...There are Urethane Reducers, and Enamal Reducers which are used to thin those paints to spraying viscosity but Lacquer only uses Thinner. Many people use the term Lacquer Reducer but reducers and thinners are different products, however Lacquer Reducer and Lacquer Thinner are exactly the same thing, and is classified as a Thinner.
As to where I came up with Lacquer "Reducer" damaging paint...its from years of experience, and here is a more up to date source:
Answer:
Lacquer thinner (any containing strong solvents like ketones , xylene, toluene, etc) will damage any paint, including clearcoat. A single pack acrylic clearcoat is most vunerable(thinners will destroy it.) , and 2-pack urathane is more resistant, but will soften on the surface and lose its gloss if wiped with lacquer thinners. Thinners for alkyd enamels is fine. It is a mild hydrocarbon solvent found in wax and grease remover, and won't damage the paint.
Having said that, Lacquer thinner can often be used to quickly remove various types of grease, tar and paint splatters from your vehicles paint, but you must use it very sparingly and wipe it on and wipe it off quickly...if it sits very long.. (in as little as 10 seconds or less), or you rub too long in one spot it can permanently damage the paint. :cry:
Yes, some body shops will use Lacquer Thinner to clean some stubborn spots from your paint, but then they are professionals and know what it can do if they let it linger too long or rub too much in one area....or Goodbye paint! :cry:
I would never recommend that anyone use Lacquer thinner or harsh chemicals on their vehicle when they don't know necessarily how to use it or the damage it can do.
Bob, you implied that it was perfectly safe to use Lacquer Thinner (Reducer) without even knowing or warning FlexMy04 about the damage it can do to his paint. You just assumed because you saw a body shop guy use it, or that you may used it without any harm to your paint it was harmless...that means you just got lucky and have no clue how dangerous it can be.
Different paints react very differently to different solvents and Lacquer Thinner is one of the more agressive solvents, and it will attack almost all automotive paint finishes....just faster on some finishes than others....and if you don't know what kind of paint you have on your vehicle or how fast Lacquer Thinner will take to damage your paint, it's best not to even try it.
...Rich
