ANCILLARY · THE SUPPORT
RETARDER SOLVENT
GP5105
Germa-Tech Retarder Solvent is used to prolong the volatilisation of solvent. Improves quality in high temperatures, humidity or large area repairs.
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
Add 10-30% Retarder Solvent into the recommended thinner when ambient…
see the detail below
BY VOLUME
01SUITABLE SUBSTRATES
- 1K Basecoat
- 2K Solid Colours
- Clear Coats
02MIXING
| Ratio by volume | Add 10-30% Retarder Solvent into the recommended thinner when ambient temperature is over 30 °C, OR in high humidity at any temperature (blushing risk). |
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| Notes | Application Method: Refer to the technical data sheet (TDS) of the matching products for proper application. |
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03DRYING & CURING
No drying schedule is printed on the source sheet.
04RECOAT & REWORK
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.
05PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
| Density | approx. 0.87 (relative density, water = 1) — estimated from the Safety Data Sheet; not separately measured |
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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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06STORAGE, 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: 90 days once the seal is broken, resealed tight — then discard. |
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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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07PRODUCT CODES
| CODE | WHAT IT IS | PACK SIZE |
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| GP5105 | Product | 1LT |
08WHERE IT SITS IN THE SYSTEM
BARESUBSTRATE
›
EPOXYPRIMER
›
FILLER
›
2K PRIMERSURFACER
›
SEALERWET-ON-WET
›
COLOUR
›
CLEAR
This is an ancillary — it supports the steps above rather than forming a layer of its own.
09STANDARD NOTES — THE SAME ON EVERY SHEET IN THIS SET
- 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
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.
10GOOD TO KNOW — WHAT WE GET CALLED ABOUT
- Retarder is for high temperature, high humidity and large-area repairs - that is what it is for.
- The Premium 2K Thinner sheet allows 10-30% retarder when temperature and humidity are too high.
11TROUBLESHOOTING
| DEFECT | WHAT YOU SEE | WHY IT HAPPENED | FIX |
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Blushing | a milky, hazy or white cast through the film, worst in hot or humid weather and on fast-drying work | solvent flashing off so fast it chills the film and pulls moisture out of the air into it - hot shop, high humidity, or a reducer or hardener that is too fast for the day | while wet, a coat with retarder in it will often pull it back; once cured, sand the affected film back and refinish with the correct reducer speed |
Mottling | light and dark patches or streaks through a metallic or pearl, often following the direction the gun travelled | the metallic flake has not settled evenly - basecoat laid on too heavy, film over 25 µm, flash between coats skipped, gun pattern or pressure wrong, or the reducer too fast for a hot day | if the clear is not on yet, re-flash and lay a controlled final coat to even the flake; once cleared, sand back and respray the basecoat |
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 |
Solvent pop | small open craters or burst blisters through the film, usually only obvious after the bake 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 into the bake 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 |
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 |
AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONSSolvent products flash faster as the temperature climbs. Above 30 °C expect a degreaser or blending solvent to evaporate before it has done its job — work smaller areas and wipe off before it dries. Keep containers closed and out of direct sun.
12HEALTH & SAFETY
TAKES ON THE HAZARD OF THE SYSTEM IT GOES INTOOn its own this is a solvent product. Once added to a two-pack system, the precautions for that system apply in full — including
air-supplied respiratory protection where the system is isocyanate cured. Work to the TDS and SDS of the product you are adding it to as well as this one.
Read the Safety Data Sheet before use. REVISION HISTORY
| VERSION | DATE | CHANGE |
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| 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. Bake schedules are now stated as metal temperature. |
13WARRANTY & 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.
