COLOUR / TOPCOAT · THE COLOUR
ACRYLIC BINDER
GPFEXC100
A single component acrylic based lacquer that has been specially formulated to provide outstanding yellowing resistance properties and excellent gloss retention. Has a high abrasion and…
SCAN FOR THE FULL RANGE,
APPLICATION GUIDES & VIDEOS
germatech.com.au
TDS v2.3 · ISSUE 02.09.2026
SUPERSEDES 01.2024
REVIEW DUE 07.2028
1:1 — 50% Germa-Tech basecoat : 50% Acrylic Binder (standard). Hard-to-cover…
see the detail below
BY VOLUME
16-18 s (Ford Cup DIN 4, 20 °C)
GRAVITY 1.2-1.4 mm · SUCTION 1.3-1.5 mm (Siphon Feed)
HVLP 2.0 bar · RP 2.0-2.5 bar · CONV 3-4 bar
2.5 coats (1 light tack coat + 2 solid coats)
At 20 °C, 2-3 minutes between coats*
*ADJUST FOR THE DAY'S TEMPERATURE
15-20 minutes if baking*
SKIP THIS AND YOU GET SOLVENT POP
DISCONTINUED — SHEET AND SDS RETAINED FOR PRODUCT STILL IN THE FIELD
01SUITABLE SUBSTRATES
- Mixed with Germatech 1k basecoat colour
02MIXING
| Ratio by volume | 1:1 — 50% Germa-Tech basecoat : 50% Acrylic Binder (standard). Hard-to-cover colours: 60% colour : 40% binder. Reduce 0-30% as required. |
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| Spray viscosity | 16-18 s (Ford Cup DIN 4, 20 °C) |
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| Notes | Single component - no hardener. |
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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.
03APPLICATION
| Gun — gravity feed | 1.2-1.4 mm |
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| Gun — suction feed | 1.3-1.5 mm (Siphon Feed) |
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| Pressure — HVLP | 2.0 bar |
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| Pressure — RP | 2.0-2.5 bar |
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| Pressure — conventional | 3-4 bar |
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| Coats | 2.5 coats (1 light tack coat + 2 solid coats) |
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| Flash-off between coats | At 20 °C, 2-3 minutes between coats |
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| Flash-off before bake | 15-20 minutes if baking |
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| Dry film build | 40 µm total |
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04DRYING & CURING
| TEMPERATURE | DUST FREE | TAPE FREE |
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| 25 °C | 30-60 minutes | 1-2 hours (Tack Free) |
BAKE TEMPERATURE IS METAL TEMPERATUREBake time starts when the panel reaches temperature, not when the door shuts. A cold panel in a 60 °C booth takes roughly ten minutes to get there — add that to the schedule or the film is under-cured.
05COATING THICKNESS — WHERE THIS SITS IN THE STACK
THIS PRODUCT · GPFEXC100 ▶
40 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
195-285 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.
06RECOAT & 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.
07PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
| Coverage | 8 +/- 2 m2 per Litre |
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| Density | approx. 1.03 (relative density, water = 1) — estimated from the Safety Data Sheet; not separately measured |
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| Gloss | Available in different gloss level finishes |
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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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08STORAGE, 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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09PRODUCT CODES
| CODE | WHAT IT IS | PACK SIZE |
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| GPFEXC100 | Product · gloss | 3.75LT |
| GPFEXC30 | Product · satin | 3.75LT |
| GPFEXC10 | Product · matt | 3.75LT |
| GP5107 | Reducer | 20LT |
| GP5108 | Reducer | 5LT |
10WHERE 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.
11STANDARD NOTES — THE SAME ON EVERY SHEET IN THIS SET
- Below 15 °C, air drying at ambient temperature is not recommended — allow a full bake at 60 °C metal temperature. SN1 · ALL BAKEABLE SPRAYED PRODUCTS
- 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
- Do not dry in direct sunlight — panel temperatures in direct sun can exceed 70 °C. Allow 24 hours or a full bake. SN9 · ALL BAKEABLE SPRAYED PRODUCTS
- 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
- *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
- 2.5 COATS means: start with a LIGHT TACK COAT, let it flash, then apply 2 solid coats — and STOP. Less is best. The tack coat sets adhesion and control; the two solid coats do the work. Extra coats add solvent load and film build, not quality. The tack coat and the 24-hour from-sanding rule are GT HOUSE RULES — taught and enforced here, deliberately tighter than published industry practice. The teaching behind this — Application Standard, section 03. SN14 · ALL 2.5-COAT PRODUCTS
- FINISH FOR COLOUR — THE STANDARD GRADE. The last sanding pass before colour is P500-P600 dry (or P800 wet). METALLIC AND PEARL COLOURS REQUIRE P800, dry or wet — coarser scratches telegraph through the flake and show in the finish. Any coarser grits on this sheet are shaping or stripping stages, not the finish. SN16 · FINISH FOR COLOUR
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.
WARNINGS CARRIED FORWARD FROM THE PREVIOUS SHEETA flash of is required between each coat, flash off time should be adjusted +/- depending on air temperature. Fast and Slow hardeners and reducers can be used in extreme cold or extreme heat.
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.
12GOOD TO KNOW — WHAT WE GET CALLED ABOUT
- Mix 1:1 — 50% basecoat : 50% binder (60:40 for hard-to-cover colours), reduce 0-30% as required. It is a system, not a top-up.
- 2.5 coats (tack + 2 solid), 40 µm total. It is a lacquer binder, not a build coat.
- 2-3 minutes flash between coats at 20 °C.
- Do not dry it in direct sunlight - allow 24 hours.
13TROUBLESHOOTING
| DEFECT | WHAT YOU SEE | WHY IT HAPPENED | FIX |
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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 |
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 |
Poor hiding | the undercoat, repair or featheredge is still visible through the colour after the stated number of coats | an inherently transparent colour, a primer colour too far from the topcoat, chasing coverage with extra thin coats instead of correct film, or basecoat over-reduced | on high-brilliance and poor-hiding waterborne colours add 5% WB3075 then WB3041PLUS; otherwise let it flash, correct the ground colour and rebuild - do not just keep stacking coats past the film limit |
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 |
Sanding-mark showthrough | the sanding scratch pattern from the stage underneath telegraphs through the finished film, often as fine parallel lines or DA swirls | grit too coarse for the coat going over it, the undercoat not fully cured before it was sanded, or the finish grit skipped so a coarse scratch was never removed | sand the area back flat at the correct finishing grit, re-prime, and refinish |
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, air drying is not recommended: bake. In coastal and high-UV areas do not shortcut the epoxy step on bare metal.
14HEALTH & SAFETY
HEALTH & SAFETYFlammable solvent product. Use in a well-ventilated area away from ignition sources, with respiratory, eye, skin and hand protection selected in accordance with AS/NZS 1715 and AS/NZS 1716.
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. |
15CARE 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.
16WARRANTY & 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.
