Painting Troble

newfan123

newfan123

newfan123

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Joined
31 May 2006
Posts
6
Location
U.K
Hi, I’m in the middle of a mod... this will be the first mod i have done, and also the first time painting.

I’ve looked at a few guides and followed them the best i can.

The problem is that I primed the case and all went well, very well for that matter.

Anyways on with the painting i followed the instructions on the back and spray lightly every 10-15 minutes layers of paint.

I used some satin black (210) hycoat stuff (both primer and spray).

Anyways, it's come out rather blotchy on the case metal, although the plastic front of the case has come out ok, will prolly clear coat that tomorrow.

All the pics are taken while the paint is still semi wet (please note though, it was fully dry yesterday... and still blotchy and that was left for 15 hours to harden. although it say 24 hours on the can).

See the lighter parts of the paint? That’s the bit I’m on about...







Will i have to re-prime it? or sand it and start over again?

i really want that kind of bumpy effect still left on there though. i don’t think I’ll be able to get that sweet mirror effect with rubbing compound.

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers,

Liam
 
Looks like over-spray, don't think it has reacted, take a streight on pic of the case side, be better to be able to judge what the paint looks like. From what I can see though looks like the paint has gone on heavy in one place and lighter in others thats what makes it look patchy over-spray from the heavy part dulls out the other parts. Oh and you could get a glass finish, go through the grades of compound right down to G10, thats better than car production finish.
 
Looking at the paint finish I would say your getting too little paint on in each coat... It should appear glossy even before polishing!

It is recoverable. Flatten off using wet and dry then follow my instructions below, ignoring the metal primer step. probably worth practicing on something else first...

*********************

Here's the start of a shuttle I painted for a friend. Thats just 1 coat of paint (of the 10 colour coats I did!)
2006-04-19_Shuttle_case_3_1stBlack.jpg


Started by flattening the case off with 1000 grit wet and dry in a sanding block (WET, water with a drop of fairy liquid), then degressed and dried using compressed air.

Wipe down with a tac cloth, then sprayed a coat of metal primer. Let that dry for 48 hours, flatten off with 1000 grit (as above, always do it wet!), tac cloth again then sprayed 3 medium coats of hi build primer, about 10 mins apart. Leave for 24 hours then flatten off with 1000 grit (wet).

I was leaving it in my conservatory between coats, so dust free and quite hot... Helps to cook the paint.

In total it had around 10 coats of colour, being flattened off between coats (so one coat every 24 hours!), initial few coats were 1000 grit, then I moved to 1500 (wet), final two coats were flattened off using 2000 grit (wet).

I let it cook off for 2 days in the conservatory, opening the windows onto the vent notch around 3pm, and shutting them before sunset (to keep the room fairly warm, but keep the fumes down!)

2 coats of lacquer, around 15 mins apart. 24 hours later got the polishing mop and farcelia G3 compound on the go... After about an hour of polishing it was looking good... Switched to the other mop and the farcelia g10 compound and finished it off (another hour of polishing!)...

Cleaned it off and remenants of the compound under a cold tap (outside), and let it sit in the sun till sunset, back in the conservatory for a week (still drying, paint is hard but still breathing fumes!)... End result was a black mirror finish, and one very happy friend... He paid for it though, but at a very cheap hourly rate.

Unfortunatly he was in such a rush to get it that I didnt get a chance to snap the finished paint job... Shame as its really like a mirror!

**********************************

That was a rattle can job, as Dad has the compressor and paint guns at the mo and lives 3 hours drive away :rolleyes:

Dont worry about the compounding steps if you dont have access to the equipment or the experience, its easy to cut through the paint into primer if your not careful. You may get slight orange peel finish on the paint, but if youve done well it wont be an issue!

You need to get enough paint on that it joins together nicely and doesnt look like dust, but not so much that it runs. You need to get the light right (sunlight is best) and you can see when enough paint is down. The difference from nice finish to runs is very little extra paint so be careful. Painting with the panel laid flat makes life a lot easier in that runs dont occur.


One last thing... When shaking the can prior to spraying MAKE SURE you shake for at least 2 minutes.... Most people shake for all of 20 seconds and think thats enough.... IT ISNT!
Use a clock and make sure you shake it for 2 minutes prior to EVERY use!


Good luck.
Sam C
 
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I think that you are not putting enough paint, the dark areas which are also probably glossy is the way it should look like. The lighter grey areas which probably look mat and feel rougher did not have enough spray. It is a thin line between putting enough paint to get the right gloss and not putting too much so that you will get it running.

Spray these parts when they are lying flat to prevent streaks and apply more paint.
 
Great job there Sam, thanks very much for the help, i'll buy some more paint tomorrow and hope it all works out well. and yea, i was shaking the can for about 30 seconds or so. :rolleyes:
 
newfan123 said:
Great job there Sam, thanks very much for the help, i'll buy some more paint tomorrow and hope it all works out well. and yea, i was shaking the can for about 30 seconds or so. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

No problem...

Have had about 3 email asking for more detail/assistance, so heres what I sent:

I have painted a few cars in my time, hence the knowledge of what to do... Nothing more than your usual amatuer back garden paint jobs, but you still learn an awful lot doing it (and reading about it).

Theres tons of good info on the net, google is your friend!

If your spraying onto bare metal use a metal primer, if onto plastic use a plastic primer (they are named sensibly, makes things nice and easy).

High build primer builds up quite a layer and is usually fairly soft, so allows easy filling in of slight scratches/surfaces that are not smooth. Use AFTER the above primers.

Dont underestimate the prep work... Actually spraying generally takes about 10-20% of the time in getting a good finish. The rest is spent prepping before paint, flattening (sanding) between coats and cleaning up. Good tip when cleaning, If you can still tell what colour you were spraying by looking at your tools/work area you havent finished cleaning! Dont want to contaminate your next coat with dry paint dust and other bits...

Go to Halfords if you must (they sell everything you need - or rather my local one does!), or even better a proper paint shop.

Invest in the following:

800 (or 1000), 1500 and 2000 grit wet and dry paper (higher number = finer sanding). Use this with a bucket of warm water with some fairy liquid added... This helps to stop the paper clogging up, and gives a smoother finish. keep an eye on the paper as your using it, if its starting to look a little dog eared remove and big. Dont want a scratch because your paper was damaged!

A sanding block - its a rubber block with one side flat and a flap at either end with some spikes that holds the paper in place. The wet and dry paper gets cut into 4 strips and you use one strip at a time with the block. The block makes it very easy to flat sand correctly. Doing it with just the paper in your hand you will never get it properly flat, applying too much pressure in some places and not enough in others.

A bunch of tac cloths (sealed in packets, as they dry out) ALWAYS wipe down the item your painting JUST before you paint. These will lift any tiny particles that are clinging and should lift any slight oils or other contaminents.

Primer (metal/plastic and some regular primer or high build if you feel you need it),
The paint you want
Lacquer if your feeling flash.

Masking take is useful and comes in various widths.

Get some suitable thinners too, really helps when cleaning up!

A proper paint shop should be able to put any colour you want (they will mix it to order) into aerosols, halfords will sell you most car colours. Metallics REQUIRE a clearcoat (lacquer), normal paint its just a nice extra... Metallics take a lot more effort and skill to do well... Start with a simple flat colour.

If you have to spray outside do it on a very still day (little or no wind) away from trees/plants (pollen/bits that come off can ruin a paint finish) and do it early in the morning (moisure from the night will cause all the dust particles to stay down and there's generally a lot less insects about early in the morning... For some reason insects seem attracted to fresh paint, they land in it, then crawl around dying, ruining the finish!)

Once your finished spraying flip the can you were using upside down (nozzle on the bottom) and hold the button for 5 or so seconds, clears the pipes out and prevents you getting a bunged up nozzle. Wipe with a cloth (to remove paint around the nozzle) and store somewhere cool. NEVER continue spraying with a can until its empty, when they are near enough empty they may start to spit, and you can get blobs of paint doing this and it takes extra sanding to tidy it up.

Ideally spray with the side your painting flat... Helps prevents runs. Not always possible though as with the shuttles U shaped case.

If you get a run DONT PANIC, its not the end of the world. You can either flat it out or spray a few extra layers before the paint flashes (starts going off properly), usually within 10-15 mins.
When spraying always spray at the same time onto an item you dont care about fingerprint etc on... To test is the paint has flashed yet simply touch the item you dont care about after 10-15 mins. Paint should feel soapy, but NOT string to your fingers.


There's some very good books/websites (its where I learnt most of what I know about painting), but the best bet is to jump in and give it a go... Worst case scenario you make a bit of a mess and have to flatten it off and try again!

Good luck.
Sam C
 
Excellent guide there samcat, nice work. I think samcat is right , there isn't enough paint on the case. Ive painted a few cases and other things myself and its amazing how good a finish you can achieve with spray paints. I have used a proper spray gun at college to spray furniture with cellulose and the same finish can be achieved with a spray can!. Ive found the spray paint Halfords sell to be really good stuff, drys very fast and gets a good finish, plus they usually have a buy 2 get one free deal so you can get a big tin of primer, color and lacquer, or 2 tins of color and primer etc.

Mark
 
Would you mind if I chopped up your posts and formatted them into the sticky with due credit?

Very useful and would compliment what is already in it very nicely. :)

(Save it being pruned too!)
 
Yewen said:
Would you mind if I chopped up your posts and formatted them into the sticky with due credit?

Very useful and would compliment what is already in it very nicely. :)

(Save it being pruned too!)
Click to expand...


Yeah, go for it.
WOOHOO, My first sticky!

Its not a full guide by any means, but should be enough info to help people get started... They can work the rest out for themselves.


Oh, one last addition.

When spraying hold the can completly perpendicular to the surface your spraying, start spraying OFF THE PART (to one side) and move at a constant speed across the part until your OFF THE OTHER SIDE... Stopping and changing direction on the part your spraying will lead to areas with a lot more paint than others, and may (probably will) cause runs.


Cheers,
Sam C
 
Thanks to Baddass the guide you wrote is now top of post 5 in the sticky, will come in handy quoting it in the future, thanks for letting it be put up. :)
 
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