Should my substrate have a somewhat shiny surface to get the best outcome on the illusion blue, and what media do you recommend to achieve the best outcome?

It’s important to make sure your substrate is prepped properly before powder coating and with our Illusion series of powders we require they be applied over bare, sandblasted substrate. This is mainly due to the fact that Illusions contain dormant pigments and if any coating underneath is present it will pull pigment the opposite direction once the clear coat is applied. We recommend a 100 grit aluminum oxide/garnet sand for your blast media; this will give your coating the best chance at proper adhesion.

When applying an Illusion color like Illusion Orange PMS-4620 can any clear coat be used as the Illusion top-coat?

Any Clear Coat or Top-Coat can be used as an Illusion top-coat. Keep in mind that the end result will be different than the on-line S-panel representation or the sample swatches that are shipped out for reference. These images and swatches have Clear Vision PPS-2974 applied. You can find examples of other top-coats used including tinted transparent top-coats on our website gallery and "creations" section.

Can an Illusion powder be applied over another illusion powder that has been clear coated and get the expected results?

Illusion series powders are designed to be applied directly over a metal substrate and then clear coated in order to achieve results shown on our website or swatch sample. Illusion series powders applied over a primer base or another color including an illusion coating with a clear coat can have have abnormal or unexpected results.

When applying an Illusion Series Powder, which of your clear coats can be applied to an Illusion Base?

The beauty of our Illusion series powder line-up is that you can be extra creative with any of our clear-coat finishes including Clear Vision PPS-2974 and Casper Clear PPS-4005, transparent top-coat finishes including Transparent Copper PPS-5162, Lollypop Red UPS-1506, Metallic Transparent top-coats like Metallic Clear PPB-6325 and even our clear coat metallics including the Frosted series, Rockstar series and ...Lights series including City Lights PMB-2689. It is very important that whichever top-coat you choose from our long list of available top-coats that you also download and follow the application guide that goes along with that coating. REMEMBER, cure timer should not start until the part metal reaches cure temperature.

What is the proper way to cure Illusion colors before applying Clear Vision PPS-2974? I've read a few contradicting things. Want to make sure i get the best results possible.

Illusion series should only be applied directly over substrate. There should be NO base coat under an illusion series powder. Apply powders cold. No need to hot flock. Apply your first coat and then bring to flow-out + 2 minutes (aka Gel-out). In other words, in about 3-5 minutes approx. the base coat will turn from a powder into a liquid looking coating, once this happens, add 2 minutes to your timer. After that flow-out + 2, pull and allow to cool. Apply your top coat. In this case, applying clear vision you will again apply cold (room temp) cover the base coat in a white powder. Place into the oven and follow the cure schedule for the Clear Vision. Which happens to be 375 degree F for 18 minutes. That 18 minute timer should not start until the THICKEST portion of your substrate reaches 375 degrees F. The curing of the clear coat will pull the underlying pigments to the surface giving you a brilliant color that you are looking for. Each coating should be around 3 mil thick. That is .003" thousandths of an inch not millimeter. There is a great video on our website for applying Illusion Malbec. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=NCRt5weNbew&feature=emb_logo