I've found that a lot of clear coats are definitely not designed for the harsh outdoors, even metalshield (for painting colorbond) say to use a clear coat but don't actually make one in metalshield, go figure.
I suspect you may have also run foul of vold weather in your efforts. I've got some spraying to do of old faded gelcoat, not even going to try it with the low temperatures we're getting here in qld, guaranteed orange peel.
Its about 17 to 19 C when spraying, are you saying low temperature causes it also ?Originally Posted by Dignity
I don't have a garage, I'm using my patio.
The missus is at work tomorrow, I'm tempted to move the operation onto the dining table.
I'm concerned about paint spores floating around and landing in random places, windows, curtains etc.
You can test those cans on a bit of scrap plastic, news paper, cardboard etc.. u really need to sand all that orange peel back to smooth material or it will show through the next layer
Your primer is a basic spray job
Your base coat just needs to be a even coat no runs no blotchyness just flat black paint no gloss no semi gloss and no hammer paint you just want flat black
You definetly need 2k-2 pack clear coat even if u screw up the clear coat with runs or orange peel u lay down 3 coats so u have some thickness to wet sand off
The 3 stage paint is best over a single or two stage paint the problem with these is your colour and clear are in the one can its called semi gloss/ gloss top coat your sanding the colour away when u wet sand
I dont really like this guys job but my phones battery is low, he shows the 3 stage paint job
My god, this is hard to take, has this poor bloke seen some of your finished projects?
I'm using 2 pack paint, it needs a solid 8 hours of good temperature after drying which is about an hour or so, drops in temp as night approaches with moisture in the air will cause the orange peel. Your single packs stuff shouldn't but with only 17 or so degrees temps you need to extend the drying time between coats significantly, double it at least, and do not spray indoors, that stuff goes everywhere.
You could try this,
Practice on something smooth and roundish like a beer bottle or a vase, spray a mist coat, when it tacks off spray a mid coat, when that tacks hit it with a full coat, when it doesn’t smell fumey take it into a warm room for the night.
If that works for you do the same on the cowl that has been prepped and sanded with a single pack sandable u/c , try spaying from bottom to top horizontally.
I'll be honest - this is the closest to breaking me that any DIY job has ever come, and I have taken on some challenges !
If I do one more trip to Bunnings or Supercheap Auto or Repco, I will f**king explode !
I went off on a wrong direction, now I'm correcting, and its become a pit of labour and fu*king dust.
Attachment 125729
Over the last 3 or 4 days I have sanded relentlessly, but I was gunking up chewing gum with the detail sander, churning through paper. So I used the flap disc, which worked well, but caused occasional gouges, and I sanded the gauges with a detail sander, with limited success.
Attachment 125730
Attachment 125731
That's it !!
I'M F**KING DONE !!!
Solutions ?
it's a patience game - your photos didn't show for me. To sand use wet n dry paper, start with 80 grit or thereabouts, wrap it around a thick piece of scouring pad as in the video above (Bunnings have 150mm x 200mm pack of 10 for about $12), this gives you flexibility to go around curves, hold the hose in one hand with a fine spray from it and rub. As the big gouges disappear go finer till you get to around 800 grit, this should give you a good surface for you to work with, as I said a real patience game. The water will make the paper work better without clogging and the paper will last quite a long time.
Sand paper is cloging up because the paint hasnt cured its touch dry but still not cured either stick the pieces out in direct sun or put them inside with a heater on and let the paint cure hard
To stop clogging the sand paper u use the black, wet and dry sand paper
But no point if the paint isnt cured or gone hard
Stay away from super cheap, bunnings etc for paint
You can always use paint stripper to clear all the paint off but that is another process
If u chose this option get one thats safe on plastic
Gloss paint with also clog dry paper, better to wet sand.
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Well the reason for my misery the other night wasn't just my DIY disaster, or my excessive alcohol consumption....
Attachment 125754
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So now I got 7 days at home to fix this,
This is where I'm at....
So basically my cowling "refurbishment" has become a "restoration", partially thanks to poor quality spray paint, but mostly thanks to spraying in poor conditions.
Basically an inexperienced unknowledgeable painter who screwed it up.
Sanding back was a pain because the paint was powdery soft gunk, I don't think time would fix that, it had already been 2 or 3 days.
The paint was f**ked, I'm guessing it was the moisture in the air more than anything else.
I had to use the flap disc, it was the only thing that worked. But I accepted the compromise that it would cause damage gouges, which would have to be filled and sanded.
Sanded back to gel coat(?)
Attachment 125756
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After first primer/filler...
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Attachment 125755
So I sanded this back, which was pretty easy this time. And it started to look good. the primer/filler was doing its filling job. This gave me confidence to repeat the process a bit further.
Attachment 125758
I put lots and lots of this on
Attachment 125759
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Then sanded back, but this time sanding was very different.
I was sanding by hand only, based on sight and feel, using 120 grit on big rough bits using my thumb or finger only, then 240 grit, then 400 grit, then 400 wet, then 600 wet. Finishing off with a 1500 wet
This was a lot less painful than the other day, as progress was easy to see and my patience was rewarded, and the final finish felt really nice to touch, something like marble
20220622_135233.jpg
Attachment 125760
Now I just got to wait for a break in the weather, and nervously spray.
UPDATE: I edited the pictures. I sprayed surface primer again, and there was still bumps, so I used proper filler this time that I had bought previously, but was hoping to return. That spray filler is too soft, when you sand it on a curved section, it will sand quicker than the surrounding material, causing a shallow but noticeable hole. The proper filler is harder than the base material, so sands to a more even finish.
I'm out of isolation tomorrow so I'm buying 2 cans of Septone Primer/filler. That's equal to 4 light/medium build coats. My plan is to spray and smooth as I go, you really can see the imperfections until it has a coat of paint.
Smidsy, might be me but your photo's arent showing up for me.
Great to hear your getting somewhere though.
If u have a shed or patio where u can run a heater it will let each stage of painting cure hard, sand beteeen stages so u know each layer has gone hard
So long as the layers go hard and u use the 3 stage painting process u really can't #### it up
Because each stage u sand back the imperfections and on the last clear coat its very forgiving as your only wet sanding clear coat
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