Createx Autoborne Sealer clear vs. UVLS gloss?

BijouPyramidette

BijouPyramidette

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Hey guys!

What's are the differences between Createx Autoborne Sealer clear and UVLS gloss? When should you pick one over the other? Is it worth having both around?

Createx isn't the most forward company ever when it comes to explaining their products so it can get a little confusing.
 
Sealer is your first coat, to seal the paint surface, a primer if you wish, but as its clear it wont change the colour of what you spraying it on, unlike sealer white or black or whatever colours they do in the sealers which will change the base colour. uvls gloss is the final gloss coat like the clearcoat in urethanes, so yes both are worth having. you can also mix the uvls with wicked or illustration to make it tougher. Steve Leahy is on facebook tonight at 6pm ohio time, 11 pm for us in England. he uses it a lot.
 
Thanks, jord! I wasn't clear (ha!) on whether I could also use the UVLS as a primer or the Autoborne as a topcoat. I mean, I have, and the world didn't end, it just left kind of a meh finish.

Can I mix a bit of Wicked into the Autoborne to tint it a bit? Or would it be better to just spray a coat or two on top?
 
Although it says uvls gloss it doesn't come out like a high gloss finish, it's more like a satin.
 
BijouPyramidette said:
Can clear Autoborne also look nice? As a topcoat it left me kind of an unremarkable finish (there's a picture in my gallery showing how it did), but it's probably I did it wrong.
Click to expand...

A sealer coat can look nice, but it will never leave a glossy finish like UVLS Gloss. In the end, a big part of how good your finished result appears comes down to how good the panel looks before your final top coat is applied. In most cases a couple coats of clear need to be applied, allowed to dry fully and then lightly dry sanded (I prefer 800 grit for this) in order to flatten out any minor imperfections. Then you can shoot a few more final coats of your chosen top coat. That extra step will do a lot to improve your final finish.

Sealer isn't designed to be a top coat, even for artwork. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with using a clear Autoborne sealer as a top coat for your artwork, just realize the finish won't be as durable compared to UVLS. A clear sealer is good for covering sand scratches on a repair area or as an intercoat clear to protect artwork between airbrush sessions. UVLS also works for both of those purposes and UVLS can be applied over bare steel if needed (sand through areas in the automotive industry). UVLS can also be cut and buffed to an even better finish if you like. At the end of the day, UVLS will do everything a clear sealer can do and more. Autoborne Sealers shouldn't be applied to bare steel. I do use Autoborne sealers as a ground coat on bare aluminum with great results though.
 
Wow, thank you for that great piece of info! Once I get my UVLS, I'm going to re-clear my project following your method. I'm very excited!
 
BijouPyramidette said:
Wow, thank you for that great piece of info! Once I get my UVLS, I'm going to re-clear my project following your method. I'm very excited!
Click to expand...

I'm glad to help when I can!

The absolute best results with UVLS happen in a booth, you can still get very good results without one though. You need air flow circulating. A cheap box fan or two will work depending on the size of the room you're painting in. I don't recommend placing filters on the fans because it severely reduces the actual air circulation. So, make sure the environment you're spraying in is as clean as possible. You don't want dust flying around in the air if you can prevent it.

A lot of times when we're spraying water-based paint we will spray air only through our airbrush or spray gun in order to quickly dry paint that was just applied. DO NOT do that when spraying UVLS Gloss, especially if you want a nice glossy finish! Also, don't aim your box fan(s) directly at what you're spraying. You want air circulation, you don't necessarily want a lot of air flowing directly at the paint causing it to dry too quickly. Heavy air flow directed at the product will cause the product to dry too fast which leads to the satin finish as opposed to the gloss finish.

Apply a generous first coat. Don't overdo it. UVLS will run if you get it too heavy. You'll likely see some bluish colored hazing in the clear when it's been applied sufficiently. Don't worry, it will dry clear. Let that coat dry thoroughly before you apply another coat. The paint will dry faster in warmer temperatures and slower in colder temperatures. Be patient and let it dry. UVLS doesn't like to be sprayed wet on wet like a traditional 2k clear. Doing so will also lead to a satin finish instead of a glossy finish. Apply as many coats as you like, but let it dry completely in between each application.
 
I have one of those foldy $100 booths. Normally I don't run the fan on it at all, in fact I never have. I spray in my little NYC apartment living room, though I'm thinking maybe for the clears I could just set up shop in the bathroom and UVLS there.

If I understand correctly, the goal here is enough air movement to encourage the UVLS to set, but not so much that the surface is disturbed in any way. Because we are going for gloss, the surface needs to be as absolutely smooth as possible, and that means no roughing it up with turbulent air flow.

How does UVLS do with humidity? NYC summers are spectacularly humid, and humidity rates in the 80% range are not uncommon.

Once again, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! I've watched some of your videos and they have been highly educational! I'll be experimenting with Createx Candy2o line fairly soon, and I'm going to watch your series on how to use those paints. It's gonna be great!
 
BijouPyramidette said:
I have one of those foldy $100 booths.
Click to expand...

I was talking about a full blown cross draft or down draft automotive spray booth. Those hobby booths aren't worth the cheap materials they're made from in my opinion (at least not for what I do).

Air movement isn't to encourage UVLS to set, air movement is actually required to allow the product to cure correctly. Turbulent air flow shouldn't affect the finish as far as smoothness is concerned unless you have a very high air source (high enough to move wet paint) pointed directly at it. Again, aiming a lot of air directly at the surface can cause UVLS to flash and dry faster than intended based on my experience. That causes a satin finish rather than a glossy finish. A lot of this will depend on the environmental conditions you are spraying in. It might require some experimentation to figure out what works best where you're at.

Yes, you need a super smooth finish before you begin clearing your project for the absolute best results. You can also use UVLS as an intercoat clear to create a super smooth finish if needed. Once the product has cured you can sand it flat before spraying your final clear coats. You can also sand any dust nibs, runs, etc. between UVLS sessions, just be sure the product is completely dry before doing so (24 to 48 hours is normally pretty safe).

I live and work in a very humid environment as well. High humidity will normally require longer cure times for water-based paint systems. It's the nature of the beast. Air circulation helps A LOT to counter that though.

Water-based requires more patience. It took me a long time to figure that out for a variety of reasons. Don't rush the process or take short cuts and you'll more than likely be rewarded for doing so.

I appreciate the kind words!
 
If I politely may say so, I am not sure I agree with the original poster's statement that CREATEX isn't the most forward about explaining their products. I think they are better than the average. Their Technical Data Sheets (TDS) are plenty and offer clear advice and the Createx YouTube channel hosted by Chris Arpin is pretty good too.
I would suggest reading both to fully understand the roles played by AutoBorne Sealers/Primers and UVLS Clears within the Createx painting system. My interpretation of the information in both TDS documents is that fundamentally the difference lies in the main role each product was designed for. Whilst AutoBorne is at heart a Primer/Sealer (thus a basecoat, foundational in properties and performance), UVLS Clears are essentially and foremost a Top Coat, which is to say - with some creative license in so saying - a varnish.

However, whilst UVLS Clears are chiefly top coats, one of them (Ref. 4050 - Gloss UVLS) can also be used as a Primer, thus taking on a basecoat role in specific circumstances, namely to:
  1. Prime metals, including polished metals and alloys such as brass and bronze, where the UVLS performs also as a corrosion inhibitor;
  2. Prime plastics, including styrene (model kits for example), polycarbonates and even 3D printing plastics and resinous plastics;
  3. Prime wood, where it performs as a typical solvent-based building sealer, filling the grain without raising it.
UVLS Ref. 4050 - Gloss has powerful adhesion characteristics, which is why it can be used as a Primer/Sealer. In this particular sense, it is similar in my view, to the characteristics of AutoBorne Sealer/Primer Ref. 6000 - Transparent, which is the one with the most powerful adhesive properties of any sealer.

I think this shared characteristic (extremely powerful adhesion) is probably the reason why they can also be carriers:
  • In the case of AutoBorne Sealer Code 6000 (transparent), it can be used as a carrier for Pearl and Metallic dry flakes (80% sealer to 20% dry flake);
  • In the case of UVLS Clear Code 4050 (gloss), it can be used as a carrier for Createx Candy2O paint colours (aka jewel colours).
How all the above translates into real world situations is going to depend on a number of factors, but that is no different from what I used to say to Fine Art Oil Painting students 20 years ago. For example:

  1. Modellers working on plastic/styrene kits, which mean a fairly fragile substrate, should always wash the plastics with a powerful degreaser, such as automotive Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, then proceed with AutoBorne Primer/Sealer, leaving UVLS 4050 aside entirely as a basecoat;
  2. Artists working on stretched canvas might consider applying an acrylic professional artist grade gesso thinned to single-cream viscosity or even thinner than that (Lascaux, Golden and Liquitex probably the best three), flatten the gesso when bone dry to cut raised fibres and get a softer surface, then proceed with their painting without using CREATEX AutoBorne Primer which is designed for hard surfaces, so clearly it is not stable enough for flexible substrates such as stretched canvas;
  3. Artists working on canvas fixed onto a rigid panel (eg MDF or plywood), should first do the marouflage as it is often called in Artists Oil Painting, consisting in gluing the canvas to the rigid panel with an artist-grade glue, for example Lascaux Acrylic Adhesive 303 HV or Lascaux Acrylic Adhesive 498 HV, both archival/museum grade glues. Then proceed with a single-cream-like gesso (Lascaux, Golden or Liquitex), sand it lightly to flatten raised fibres, vacuum, then apply CREATEX AutoBorne Sealer, and proceed with painting the piece.
UVLS Clear top coats from CREATEX are Permanent, which means they are not removable without causing disturbance to the painting underneath. This means UVLS Clears are fine for modellers, miniature painters and kit makers, but for artists whose intent is to preserve their artwork, UVLS Clears are not suitable. An artists-grade top coat varnish is a better option, because artists-grade varnishes are designed to be removeable without causing damage to the paint film underneath, should it be necessary to carry out a repair or restoration work on a piece.
 
Last edited:
GVW LEWIS said:
If I politely may say so, I am not sure I agree with the original poster's statement that CREATEX isn't the most forward about explaining their products. I think they are better than the average. Their Technical Data Sheets (TDS) are plenty and offer clear advice and the Createx YouTube channel hosted by Chris Arpin is pretty good too.
I would suggest reading both to fully understand the roles played by AutoBorne Sealers/Primers and UVLS Clears within the Createx painting system. My interpretation of the information in both TDS documents is that fundamentally the difference lies in the main role each product was designed for. Whilst AutoBorne is at heart a Primer/Sealer (thus a basecoat, foundational in properties and performance), UVLS Clears are essentially and foremost a Top Coat, which is to say - with some creative license in so saying - a varnish.

However, whilst UVLS Clears are chiefly top coats, one of them (Ref. 4050 - Gloss UVLS) can also be used as a Primer, thus taking on a basecoat role in specific circumstances, namely to:
  1. Prime metals, including polished metals and alloys such as brass and bronze, where the UVLS performs also as a corrosion inhibitor;
  2. Prime plastics, including styrene (model kits for example), polycarbonates and even 3D printing plastics and resinous plastics;
  3. Prime wood, where it performs as a typical solvent-based building sealer, filling the grain without raising it.
UVLS Ref. 4050 - Gloss has powerful adhesion characteristics, which is why it can be used as a Primer/Sealer. In this particular sense, it is similar in my view, to the characteristics of AutoBorne Sealer/Primer Ref. 6000 - Transparent, which is the one with the most powerful adhesive properties of any sealer.

I think this shared characteristic (extremely powerful adhesion) is probably the reason why they can also be carriers:
  • In the case of AutoBorne Sealer Code 6000 (transparent), it can be used as a carrier for Pearl and Metallic dry flakes (80% sealer to 20% dry flake);
  • In the case of UVLS Clear Code 4050 (gloss), it can be used as a carrier for Createx Candy2O paint colours (aka jewel colours).
How all the above translates into real world situations is going to depend on a number of factors, but that is no different from what I used to say to Fine Art Oil Painting students 20 years ago. For example:

  1. Modellers working on plastic/styrene kits, which mean a fairly fragile substrate, should always wash the plastics with a powerful degreaser, such as automotive Bilt Hamber Surfex HD, then proceed with AutoBorne Primer/Sealer, leaving UVLS 4050 aside entirely as a basecoat;
  2. Artists working on stretched canvas might consider applying an acrylic professional artist grade gesso thinned to single-cream viscosity or even thinner than that (Lascaux, Golden and Liquitex probably the best three), flatten the gesso when bone dry to cut raised fibres and get a softer surface, then proceed with their painting without using CREATEX AutoBorne Primer which is designed for hard surfaces, so clearly it is not stable enough for flexible substrates such as stretched canvas;
  3. Artists working on canvas fixed onto a rigid panel (eg MDF or plywood), should first do the marouflage as it is often called in Artists Oil Painting, consisting in gluing the canvas to the rigid panel with an artist-grade glue, for example Lascaux Acrylic Adhesive 303 HV or Lascaux Acrylic Adhesive 498 HV, both archival/museum grade glues. Then proceed with a single-cream-like gesso (Lascaux, Golden or Liquitex), sand it lightly to flatten raised fibres, vacuum, then apply CREATEX AutoBorne Sealer, and proceed with painting the piece.
UVLS Clear top coats from CREATEX are Permanent, which means they are not removable without causing disturbance to the painting underneath. This means UVLS Clears are fine for modellers, miniature painters and kit makers, but for artists whose intent is to preserve their artwork, UVLS Clears are not suitable. An artists-grade top coat varnish is a better option, because artists-grade varnishes are designed to be removeable without causing damage to the paint film underneath, should it be necessary to carry out a repair or restoration work on a piece.
Click to expand...

Well said and I do appreciate your knowledge and experience with the fine arts. As you have pointed out, there are a few similarities between oil painting and airbrushing.....but there are a lot of things that are different. The Createx line is designed for all applications with great results. To state that The uvls is not suitable as a top coat is not true. I have used the uvls as a top coat on canvas and it works really well. Yes, it is permanent once dry but it can be sanded and paint reapplied for repairs if needed. I have used the uvls since it has come into the market, and as this video states, it can be used as a primer, a mid coat and a top coat. I am not saying that it is suited for everything, but as every product on the market, there are limitations. Use the product that best suits the application and use it properly. If I am oil painting, I would not use a product made for airbrushing and the same is true the other way around. As you will discover, as you start the airbrush journey, that there are a lot of different techniques that are in a world of their own. It is great you have an artistic back ground, now it is time to expand your knowledge on a whole different art form. And a lot of that will come with experience and time as you find out what works or not. I too have an oil and acrylic background, mind you not to the extent as you, and I have realized that I needed to leave some of that behind when I started airbrushing. It is a whole different ballgame....
Cheers and keep on painting....
 
Hi Tony (@twood),

Thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree that as I embark on airbrush, I am going to discover stuff that I have never experienced before. I am actually looking forward to it. I entered the airbrushing world via an odd door, as it were :laugh:. It was because I am a modeller - as a hobby, it helps me relax - and airbrushing provides a flawless finish, the kind of which is harder to achieve with brushwork.

It was only when accidentally I came across the Createx crowd and watched Chris Arpin's excellent videos involving pearlescent, flake and iridescent paints, that it dawned on me something akin to an epiphany of sorts. Createx - through airbrushing techniques and their paint system - could achieve much better results in terms of colour depth and luminosity by comparison with traditional oil painting.

Now, this is going to sound like heresy to well-seasoned oil painting hardliners, but the fact is the Old Masters of the Flemish and Dutch schools of painting could only achieve pigment suspension through multiple vitreous glazes. Pigment once ground down, would be mixed with a sun-thickened (ie partially oxidised) oil, often walnut, plus a little turpentine, plus a self-levelling factor, for example Venice Turpentine, which despite the name "turpentine" (it's only because it's jampacked with terpenes) is actually a viscous resin. Venice Turpentine was used because it helped the oxidation of the oils, halving the drying time and it levelled the paint film perfectly, to the extreme of giving the appearance of glass. Pigments would stay suspended because of high viscosity. It follows that through application of a multiple-glazing process, the Old Masters could achieve an extraordinary depth of colour, luminosity and contrast, as we can still see today. Strasbourg Turpentine, a member of the same resin family Venice Turpentine belongs to, would achieve the same, but darkened less. Anyway, the point here is about depth of colour and luminosity.

So, why the heck am I going about this? - you might ask, because it sounds off topic! - well, in my very early 30's I distanced myself from representative and figurative painting, because I wanted to experience something that was contemporary and minimalist in essence, whilst remaining abstract (simply because it did not represent an identifiable form). But I was keen to retain the traditional techniques, just applied to modern painting. It is possible, as I discovered, but not without much pain and suffering, because it takes forever to build enough layers capable of offering massive depth of colour and through-light capable of withstanding the top layer which was a flat one with tiny openings, letting the light show through from the background glazes.

Come the 21st Century and acrylic UVLS Clears like Createx 4050, along with their paints system and to my surprise, the Createx fellas are capable of achieving at least the same and I daresay, even better depth of colour and through-light, by airbrushing it in much lighter, lean layers, just a few layers will achieve something that in oils, takes some 15 to 20 layers to achieve the same. I mean... I was speechless. lol
 
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