CLEARCOAT · THE FINISH
FAST DRYING CLEAR COAT (AIR DRY CLEAR) 4:1
GP4301
German-Tech Fast Drying Clear Coat is a two-pack extra fast drying clear coat, high gloss and hardness, easy application suitable for fast spot repairs, low consumption and high efficiency.
SCAN FOR THE FULL RANGE,
APPLICATION GUIDES & VIDEOS
germatech.com.au
TDS v2.3 · ISSUE 02.09.2026
SUPERSEDES 07.2022
REVIEW DUE 07.2028
4:1 (DO NOT THIN)
BY VOLUME
HVLP 1.3 mm, 1.8-2.0 bar · RP 1.3 mm, 2.0-2.5 bar
40-60 µm total
MAXIMUM 60 µm
Continuous wet-spray without flash off time between coats is better for…
see the detail below
*ADJUST FOR THE DAY'S TEMPERATURE
20 minutes / 60 minutes
23 °C
DO NOT BAKE
THIS PRODUCT AIR DRIES ONLY
01SUITABLE SUBSTRATES
02SURFACE PREPARATION
Clean the surface with a Tack Cloth to remove dust and particles from the surface.
03MIXING — MATCH THE SPEED TO THE WEATHER
COLD · BELOW 15 °CAllow longer, do not bake — this product air dries only. Cold slows the cure; heat will not rescue it and will cost you the finish. Fast hardener, fast reducer.
HOT · ABOVE 30 °CSlow hardener and slow reducer. Flash-off shortens — dry spray, poor flow and mottling in metallics are what a standard system gives you through a hot afternoon.
HUMID · ABOVE 80% RHBlushing risk. Add Retarder Solvent or move to the slow reducer, and do not shorten the flash. Moisture pulled into the film as it chills is what turns it milky.
| TEMPERATURE | HARDENER | REDUCER |
|---|
| < 18 °C | GP4302 | DO NOT THIN |
| 18 - 30 °C | — | DO NOT THIN |
| > 30 °C | — | DO NOT THIN |
| Ratio by volume | 4:1 (DO NOT THIN) |
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| Pot life | 30 Minutes at 25 °C |
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| Notes | DO NOT REDUCE |
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BEFORE YOU START — THE SYSTEM IS THE PROCESSGerma-Tech abrasives and ancillary products are graded and tested for compatibility with this product and the process on this sheet — that control is what makes any problem on the job assessable and fixable. Once a non-Germa-Tech product has been used at any step, what actually touched the panel can no longer be verified, and issues that arise cannot be fairly assessed — by us or by anyone. Use the system through the whole process, and if something on this sheet does not fit the job,
talk to us before you spray. Refer to the
GERMA-TECH APPLICATION STANDARD.
04APPLICATION
| Pressure — HVLP | 1.3 mm, 1.8-2.0 bar |
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| Pressure — RP | 1.3 mm, 2.0-2.5 bar |
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| Coats | 2 full coats |
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| Flash-off between coats | Continuous wet-spray without flash off time between coats is better for paint leveling |
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| Dry film build | 40-60 µm total |
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| Maximum film build | 60 µm of this product |
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| Maximum total system build | 300 µm total film on the panel, all layers |
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05DRYING & CURING
RULED 02.09.2026DO NOT BAKE. This clear is formulated to air dry. Putting it through the oven will not speed it up and will cost you the finish. Air dry 1 hour at 23 °C.
| TEMPERATURE | DUST FREE | POLISH / FULL |
|---|
| 23 °C | 20 minutes | 60 minutes |
06COATING THICKNESS — WHERE THIS SITS IN THE STACK
THIS PRODUCT · GP4301 ▶
40-60 µm total
Sealer / wet-on-wet
25-35 µm
2K primer surfacer
50-80 µm
Body filler
shaped back — not film
SUBSTRATE
bare steel / prepared panel
FULL BUILD
170-260 µm of 300
Read it like the panel: substrate at the bottom, clear on top. Faded rows are the rest of the system at its normal build. See the Coating Thickness Guide.
MAXIMUM 60 µm of this product — THE RED LINE ON THIS PRODUCT'S ROWPast that the film cannot get its solvent out: solvent pop, die-back, a soft film that never fully hardens, and cracking later. Modern polyurethane is a low-build system: less is better. Three thin coats do not fix what two correct coats did — they add microns and take the film past the limit. The red line on the FULL BUILD row is the 300 µm whole-panel ceiling — every layer added together.
07RECOAT & REWORK
| Recoat — this product over itself | NO RECOAT WINDOW — zero. This clear is formulated to air dry fast and the film closes as it dries. Recoat during the same application session only; once it has dried, abrade first — see below. |
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| Over the previous coat | Basecoat → clear: allow 10-15 minutes air-dry, then spray clear at once — within 1 HOUR at 20 °C of applying the basecoat, all colours alike. Past 1 hour, scuff and re-apply basecoat before clearing. Cure-limited — heat shortens the window. Waterborne basecoat → clear: apply clear after the film turns matt; must force dry the basecoat before clearing (60 °C, 5-10 min). Timing is humidity-driven, not temperature-driven — a maximum window is still to be ruled. 2K colour → clear: sand first, ALWAYS — lightly sand the colour before applying clear regardless of elapsed time, and do not sand and recoat finished surfaces without baking. |
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| Polishing / de-nibbing | Sand imperfections with P1500 working to P3000 then polish. |
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HOW EACH COAT BONDS — WHY EVERY WINDOW ON THIS SHEET CLOSESThe whole repair is designed as
one system applied within one overall time frame: the primer is dried and sanded, but from colour onward it is a concurrent, same-day process — and every window on this sheet exists to keep you inside it. Within its window the next coat fuses chemically with the film beneath; past it, the film has cured and adhesion must be made mechanically — abrade, degrease, recoat. Heat closes windows sooner: cure runs on temperature, not the clock. Straying from the timed system — jobs interrupted, held over, stretched — is where the problems start. Full explanation in the
GERMA-TECH APPLICATION STANDARD.
If in doubt, abrade. IF YOU MISS THE RECOAT WINDOWOnce the film has cured past its recoat window, do not put another coat straight over it — the new coat sits on the surface and lets go at the interface. Abrade the whole area first (P800 wet or a grey abrasive pad), degrease, tack off, then recoat.
SANDING A CLEAR THAT IS STILL CURINGA 2K polyurethane clear is polishable in a day but takes up to 12 weeks to reach full cure — under the skin the film stays soft for weeks. When de-nibbing or flatting, work with care: a soft film cuts faster than a cured one, and it is easy to break through the clear into the basecoat, which turns a nib into a repaint. After any sanding, allow this clear extended air-dry time before recoating or polishing — it must NOT be baked. Coating straight over a freshly sanded, part-cured film is the classic recipe for a fry-up: solvent attack lifting the soft layer beneath.
08DENIB & POLISH GUIDE — STEPS, GRITS & ABRASIVES
| Step | Grit | What you are doing | Germa-Tech abrasives — examples by part number |
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| 1 · Cure first | — | Polishable in a day, fully cured in up to 12 weeks — the film under the skin is still soft. Allow extended air-dry before de-nibbing — this product must NOT be baked. The film is polishable in a day but stays soft under the skin for weeks. | — |
| 2 · Denib | P1500 spot | Isolate the nib and work the nib only — not the panel around it. | TUNGSTEN DENIB BLOCK (PB041) · ORBIT 75 mm P1500 spot disc (GN751500) |
| 3 · Refine | P1500 → P2000 | Take the denib scratch out and flat any texture. Wet by hand or dry on fine film discs. Never jump a stage. | GTEC wet & dry 1500 (A208-10) · 2000 (A209-10) · ORBIT film 150 mm P1500 (MF6-P1500-100N) · P2000 (MF6-P2000-100N) |
| 4 · Finish sand | 3000 → 5000 | Napping discs take the P2000 scratch to polish-ready — this stage halves compounding time and is what kills swirl on dark colours. | NAPPING 75 mm 3000 (A408DM1-3000) · 5000 (A408DM1-5000) · 150 mm 3000 (A408DM2-3000) · 5000 (A408DM2-5000) |
| 5 · Compound | cutting compound | Cutting compound on a cutting pad. Low speed, light pressure, keep the head moving — heat is the enemy of a young film. | Cutting pads: 6" (A903-2) · 3" (A904-2) · 75 mm yellow (A905-1) |
| 6 · Polish | finishing polish | Finishing polish on a soft foam pad, then a clean microfibre. Edges and swages by hand. | Foam pads: 6" (A903) · green soft (A905-3) · black final (A905-4 / A906-4) |
WHY 3000 AND 5000 EXISTCompound is an abrasive too — it just has no number on the box. Going from P2000 straight to compound forces the compound to do sanding work: more heat, more time on the panel, and the fine scratch that comes back as swirl once the film hardens. The 3000/5000 napping stage finishes the sanding with GRADED abrasive, so the compound only has to gloss. On blacks and dark colours it is the difference between polished and hologrammed.
DO NOT BREAK THROUGHA soft film cuts faster than a cured one. De-nib with the smallest tool that does the job, check your progress constantly, and stay off edges and swage lines — breaking through the clear into the basecoat turns a nib into a repaint.
THESE STEPS ARE A WARRANTY CONDITIONFollowing the steps and grits above — with
Germa-Tech abrasives — is a condition of product warranty, not a suggestion. P-grades are only comparable within a controlled range: a recent claim traced to an ungraded brand’s “P320” that cut like a true P240, leaving scratch in the primer that showed through the finished clear. The part numbers above are graded and tested for compatibility with this product and this process — which is what makes a fault assessable: once non-Germa-Tech product has been used, what touched the panel can no longer be verified, and issues arising cannot be fairly assessed. Refer to the
GERMA-TECH APPLICATION STANDARD.
09PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
| Coverage | about 3.9-4.6 m²/L in practice (7.0 m²/L theoretical at 50 µm) Estimate, not a measurement. Indicative coverage at 50 µm dry film thickness, assuming 100% transfer efficiency. Real-world coverage is lower — spray guns lose material as overspray. Allow 55-65% of the theoretical figure. |
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| Solids content | Solid content: 41% as mixed · 38% retained after application (manufacturer comparison, 10.2022) |
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| VOC content | 373 g/l (clear component as supplied, Canada/USA weight-per-volume method — manufacturer's figure) |
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| Density | approx. 0.965 (relative density, water = 1) — estimated from the Safety Data Sheet; not separately measured |
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| Gloss | Gloss 96.1 · DOI 85 — distinctness of image: higher means sharper reflections in the finish; lower DOI reads as orange peel. Highest gloss on a fast-dry MS clear; suits 2-panel speed-dry work. |
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| Equipment cleaning | Clean guns and equipment immediately after use with gun wash or a solvent cleaner. Never let mixed 2K product start to cure in the gun — once it kicks, no solvent will save it. |
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10STORAGE, SHELF LIFE & PACKS
| Storage life (unopened) | Up to 36 months unopened — SUBJECT TO correct storage: a cool, dry place below 20 °C, out of direct sun. Heat is the biggest killer of paint in the tin: stock stored or transported in hot vehicles, tin sheds, shipping containers or direct sunlight loses life fast whatever the date on the tin, and that is where most premature failures start. Storage life is an optimal guide, not a promise that survives a hot shed. |
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| Once the seal is broken | Once the seal is broken the clock starts, and how you store it sets the pace. This product: 14 DAYS once the seal is broken, then discard.
All hardeners: 14 days once opened — then discard. Hardener is sealed without air; the moment air enters it starts to deteriorate. A part-used tin resealed tight lasts the 14 days; a loose lid does not. |
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| Storage | Store indoors in a cool, dry place below 20 °C, out of direct sunlight, with the lid sealed tight after every use. Never store or transport in heat — not in a tin shed, a shipping container, a hot van or a sunlit rack. |
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| Pack sizes | 1U4L · 4L*6 cans per box |
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11PRODUCT CODES
| CODE | WHAT IT IS | PACK SIZE |
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| GP4301 | Product | 4LT |
| GP4302 | Hardener · < 18 °C | 1LT |
| GP4407 | Kit · standard kit | 5LT |
COMPLETE KIT4 LT FAST DRY CLEAR · 1 LT HARDENER
12WHERE IT SITS IN THE SYSTEM
BARESUBSTRATE
›
EPOXYPRIMER
›
FILLER
›
2K PRIMERSURFACER
›
SEALERWET-ON-WET
›
COLOUR
›
CLEAR
The highlighted step is where this product sits in the repair. Ancillaries support every step.
13STANDARD NOTES — THE SAME ON EVERY SHEET IN THIS SET
- Mix to the stated ratio and use the mix within its pot life. Only use Germa-Tech hardener and reducer — never interchange with another brand. SN2 · ALL MIXED 2K
- At low humidity, a flash-off of 2-3 minutes between coats helps achieve a smooth film. SN3 · ALL SOLVENT-SPRAYED
- Above 30 °C ambient, add Retarder Solvent or move to the slow reducer to avoid blushing — refer to the Retarder Solvent TDS. SN4 · ALL SOLVENT-SPRAYED
- In the overspray area between new and existing finish, apply Thinner SRA directly to achieve an invisible transition. SN5 · CLEARS & COLOUR
- Fisheyes during application: add 0.5-1% Anti Silicon to the remaining paint and respray the affected area. SN6 · ALL SOLVENT-SPRAYED
- Total coating thickness on the panel — every layer together — must not exceed 300 µm. Refer to the Germa-Tech Coating Thickness Guide. SN7 · ALL FILM-BUILDING
- Germa-Tech polyurethane takes up to 12 weeks to fully cure. When reworking or sanding imperfections, take care not to break through the clear into the exposed basecoat — reapplication directly onto sublayers can cause product reactions. Sand imperfections with P1500 working to P3000, then polish. SN8 · ALL POLYURETHANE (ISOCYANATE)
- Germa-Tech products are designed to work as a system — fillers, primers, basecoat, clears, hardeners, reducers, abrasives and ancillaries — each graded and tested for compatibility with the products and processes on this sheet. Performance is only assured within the system, and a fault is only assessable within it: once non-Germa-Tech product has been used in the process, what touched the panel can no longer be verified. SN10 · ALL PRODUCTS
- Cracking over blacks and dark colours is almost always thermal movement in an over-applied basecoat underneath — not a clear coat fault. Confirm the basecoat film build stayed inside the Coating Thickness Guide before blaming the clear. SN12 · CLEARCOATS
- *Flash-off times are measured at the stated temperature and MUST be adjusted for the day: colder than stated = LONGER flash, warmer = shorter. In winter, shops painting below 23 °C routinely under-flash — solvent is still in the film when the next coat lands. Below 15 °C, extended flash and air dry are not enough: bake the job. SN13 · ALL PRODUCTS WITH A FLASH-OFF
Standard inclusions are controlled: each note applies to every product in its named set, enforced at build. They cannot drift onto some sheets and off others.
14PRODUCT-SPECIFIC NOTES
- Mix the clear coat according to the proportion indicated by the manufacturer. Use the mixture within the POT LIFE stated on this sheet. Only use Germatech reducer.
- DO NOT REDUCE
- Maximum coating thickness after application of clear coat, cannot exceed 300um (micron), application of product in excess of 300um can result in adverse outcomes and may require sanding back of product, refer Germatech Coating Thickness Guide.
WARNINGS CARRIED FORWARD FROM THE PREVIOUS SHEETDO NOT REDUCE
Maximum coating thickness after application of clear coat, cannot exceed 300um (micron).
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE — WHY EVERY TIME ON THIS SHEET MOVESEvery time on this sheet — flash-off, drying, pot life, the recoat window — is quoted at 20-23 °C, and every one of them moves with temperature, because the two things that set them, solvent evaporation and chemical cure, are both driven by heat. As a working rule cure rate roughly doubles for every 10 °C rise: at 30 °C the times run at about half; at 15 °C they stretch to nearly half speed. Judge by panel temperature, not air temperature — a panel in sun or fresh out of the booth is far hotter than the shed.
HOT WEATHER (above 30 °C): everything shortens. Flash-off comes down, pot life comes down, and the recoat window closes early. Move to the SLOW hardener and slow or extra-slow reducer so the film has time to flow and release solvent — spraying standard speeds in heat is the fast road to dry spray and solvent boil.
COLD WEATHER (below 20 °C): everything stretches. Flash-off gets LONGER — the most common winter mistake is coating over a film that looks flashed but has not released its solvent, which traps it under the next coat and comes back as fry-up, dieback or runs. Move to the FAST hardener, and extend every flash. Below 15 °C standard 2K cure effectively stalls — bake the job, or wait for heat. Cold does not extend the recoat window in proportion either: contamination, moisture and flash rust run on the clock regardless of temperature.
15GOOD TO KNOW — WHAT WE GET CALLED ABOUT
- DO NOT REDUCE. This clear sprays as mixed.
- The mixture has to be used within 2 hours.
- 300 µm total film still applies, even on fast air-dry spot work.
- Don't dry it in the sun.
- Fisheye mid-job: add 0.5-1% Anti Silicon to what is left and respray the area.
16TROUBLESHOOTING
| DEFECT | WHAT YOU SEE | WHY IT HAPPENED | FIX |
|---|
Thermal cracking over heavy basecoat | Cracking or crazing in the clear, typically appearing days or weeks after the job, almost always on blacks and dark colours, often after the vehicle has sat in the sun. | Too much total basecoat film — often from using basecoat as a ground coat under the colour. Any ground coat forms part of the 2-3 coat maximum and the film build limit; it does not get its own allowance. The overloaded basecoat dries late and keeps moving under the cured clear, and dark colours soak up heat — the heavy film expands and contracts at a different rate to the clear until the clear delaminates or cracks. It is a film-build failure underneath, not a clear coat fault. | There is no rescue coat — the affected panels must be sanded back past the failed film (usually to primer), refinished at correct film builds and properly flashed. |
Dry spray | a rough, dusty, low-gloss patch - usually on the far side of a long panel or around the edge of a blend | the atomised paint dries before it lands - gun too far off, air pressure too high, reducer too fast, or the shop running hot; on big panels the mist dries in flight | on 2K solids and clear, lay Thinner SRA over the overspray area straight after the coat to melt it in; once cured, sand the dry area back and refinish |
Orange peel | an even, bumpy, dimpled surface like the skin of an orange - the film has not levelled out | material too thick or under-reduced for the conditions, air pressure too low, fan too wide, gun held too far off, reducer or hardener too fast for the day, or shop temperature too high | while still wet, an extra full wet coat with a proper flash will flow it out; once cured, de-nib P1500 through P3000 and polish, or sand and respray if it is heavy |
Solvent pop | small open craters or burst blisters through the film, usually only obvious as it cures or once the panel has cooled | solvent trapped under a skinned-over film - flash time cut short, coats laid on too heavy, too many coats, or the panel put under heat before the final flash was done | let the film cure right out, then sand the popped area back to a sound film and refinish; if it has gone through to the undercoat, sand back to the undercoat, re-prime and refinish |
Die-back and gloss loss | the finish looks right coming out of the booth and then dulls off over the next hours or days | polished or handled before the film had cured, film built too heavy, flash between coats too short, wrong reducer or hardener for conditions, or poor booth air movement | let it cure, then compound and polish; if the gloss will not come up, sand and respray |
Dirt and dust inclusion | hard specks sitting in or under the cured film, felt with the back of the hand before they are seen | dust pulled in during application - panel not tacked off, static on plastic parts, dirty booth filters, contaminated air, overalls or gun, or crystallised additive poured straight from the tin | surface nibs come out after cure with P1500 working to P3000 then polish; anything embedded through the film has to be sanded and refinished |
Water spotting | dull rings or spots where water droplets have sat and dried on the finish, most often on a fresh job | water landing on a film that has not fully cured, washing in direct sun, or a car put out in the weather before the film has hardened | compound and polish; if the marks have etched in, sand P1500 to P3000 and polish, or sand and refinish |
AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONSAbove 30 °C ambient, move to the slow hardener and slow reducer and expect flash-off to shorten — dry spray and blushing are what a standard system gives you through a hot afternoon. Below 15 °C this product simply takes longer: allow more time, do not reach for heat. In coastal and high-UV areas do not shortcut the epoxy step on bare metal.
17HEALTH & SAFETY
ISOCYANATE — AIR-SUPPLIED RESPIRATOR REQUIREDThe hardener for this product contains a hexamethylene diisocyanate homopolymer — SDS 7966-09. Spray only in a booth complying with AS/NZS 4114:2020, using
air-supplied respiratory protection — a cartridge respirator is not adequate protection against isocyanate mist. Workers exposed to isocyanates require health monitoring under the model WHS Regulations (Schedule 14) and equivalent state legislation. Refer to the Safe Work Australia
Model Code of Practice: Spray painting and powder coating.
Read the Safety Data Sheet before use. REVISION HISTORY
| VERSION | DATE | CHANGE |
|---|
| v2.3 | 02.09.2026 | Reissued on the current Germa-Tech technical data sheet format. New in this issue: a quick-reference card, the hardener and reducer selection gauge, the coating thickness stack, the recoat-window recovery procedure, and a product-specific troubleshooting table. |
18CARE OF THE COATING
CARE OF THE COATING — CONDITIONS OF THE WARRANTYFirst 12 weeks: hand wash only, pH-neutral automotive wash, soft mitt; no machine or brush washes, no wax, polish or cutting, no car covers; never leave fuel, brake fluid or water spotting to sit. No ceramic, glass/quartz coating or paint protection film for 12 months — sealing a maturing film traps solvent. Contaminants: bird and bat droppings, sap, insect residue, fuel and fallout etch the film — remove as soon as seen; etching left on is damage, not a defect. Cleaning: pH-neutral shampoo and fresh-water rinse; never dishwashing detergent, household cleaners, abrasive pads or strong solvents on the cured paint film; pressure washers fan tip, 30 cm minimum, never at edges or chips. Wash-down: passenger vehicles at least fortnightly (weekly in coastal, industrial or high-fallout exposure); fleet units weekly, more in heavy work, with a monthly walk-around and a wash-down register; any vehicle immediately after salt, fertiliser, chemicals, concrete dust, fuel or fallout; architectural and stationary work every 3 months (monthly coastal/industrial) with a maintenance register. Wax and polymer sealants may go on from 12 weeks, once cured. Breaches: inspect and touch up promptly — corrosion from any chip, scratch or breach, repaired or not, is never a coating defect.
19WARRANTY & FURTHER INFORMATION
TALK TO US — WE MEAN ITWe are always happy to talk to customers who contact us directly. If anything on this sheet does not fit the job in front of you — an unusual substrate, a tight timeline, a cold morning, a window you have missed — call before you spray, not after.
support@amproaustralia.com · germatech.com.au This sheet is read together with the GERMA-TECH APPLICATION STANDARD (terms, conditions of application and warranty) and the Coating Thickness Guide — both hosted with the data sheets and at germatech.com.au. Warranty is conditional on correct use of the product as described on this sheet, including the sanding steps and grits in its sanding guide, within the Germa-Tech system. The information in this data sheet is given in good faith and is based on laboratory and field testing. Ampro Australia has no control over the conditions under which this product is used, so the end user must satisfy themselves that the product is suitable for the intended application and conditions. All times are quoted at 20 °C and 50% relative humidity unless stated otherwise. This sheet supersedes all previous issues.
