I personally would also use prepsol over shellite to prep the surface too..
Yeah, I might give the Prepsol a run on my next attempt.
After three coats of clear I still had dimpling issues with the KBS. I tried sanding with 2000 wet n' dry but couldn't get a satisfactory finish, so I sanded the whole playfield back with 800 wet n' dry.
I spoke with a KBS rep today and told him about the issues I had with the clear not self-levelling very well. The rep thinks that it is probably being caused by the fact that air temperatures are quite high in Canberra at the moment, and suggested that rolling in temps over 20 degrees may not allow the clear enough time to level as it is going off too quick. He said that at any other time of the year there would probably be no issue. Having a look at the threads relating to KBS clear on AA, they were done in March and May so the cooler temps may have helped.
His suggestion was that I thin the clear out to 50% (even though the recommended maximum is 30%) to aid in the levelling - and roll the clear with the biggest roller I can get (good quality short nape roller or foam roller), at as low a temperature as I can get, say early morning / late night where temps are closer to 10 degrees. He believes that this should allow the coat to level before it goes off.
The only other advice he had was if thinning to 50%, he recommended that extra coats be applied to build up the level of solids, but said despite the advice on the can saying to do additional coats within 6-hrs, they can just as easily / effectively be done once a day. I asked if I should sand between coats, and he said 'no', as the clear being self-levelling should self-correct with successive coats.
The end untouched result from being rolled won't be as good as it would had it been sprayed on, but he said once I had a number of coats it could then be sanded to give the desired finish.
So armed with that advice I'm going to give it another go, I just now have to wait for a run of cooler overnight temperatures, and hope the humidity isn't too high.
