does the car paint hardener ,go in colour,or in the lacquer ?
It goes in the urethane clear coat to complete a chemical reaction which hardens it in a relatively short time.
It can go in either one if compatible. All it does is speed the normal hardening process. It does not make the paint better or harder, but it allows for buffing and additional coats without having to wait as long.
Old lacquer paint Dries by evaporation. Mix paint and thinner together and spray it on. The thinner evaporates and leaves the paint behind. The problem is, once you hit that paint with a solvent again like thinner or gasoline, it reactivates to a liquid and bye-bye paint! Hardener, (Or activator as it is known in the business) drys the paint by chemically cross-linking the paint into the hardener, making a urethane mix that is much more impervious to chemical attack. Paint will never cure fully if it is not activated. The clear is where this is the most critical. Basecoat can be sprayed without activating it. Clear cannot, unless it is old lacquer clear, which is illegal to even spray in a lot of areas.
