I never finish any projects because finishing finishes me

[pinkjimiphoton]

hahah i've seen a few pedals that LOOKED like they'd been buried

[Steben]

I used to do some scale modeling. I followed evening courses car body works as well. Painting was an important element.
But only after hours of sanding. And degreasing.
Nowadays I allways paint stuff at home if it needs painting. Small, big. I love spray painting. And it is actually rewarding.
You need to follow some rules. And practice. Some rules are allready mentioned, like interaction of chemicals.

1. Do you want to paint? natural metal can be what you want. It might need a clear coat.
2. Do you want to paint in multilayer or just 1 type of coat? Industrial paint spray cans are actually fantastic if you need a simple finish.
3. Have you checked the chemicals? If you want multilayer (coat + varnish), go with the good old automotive systems.
4. Do you want high gloss or satin? The more gloss, the more sweat.
5. Did you make the coats THIN enough? Heavy paint = bad paint. Yes, it means spending a lot of time in rest between short spray jobs. If you use fast drying paint (acrylics fe) this will make life more fun. End with satin varnish if you don't really need high gloss.
6. Did you ever spray paint as if you were playing an instrument? It needs practice and when it is becoming fun, you have good coats. Again, try fast drying flat base coats before varnish. It will enhance the fun.

A tutor once said: "sand, clean, thin coat and varnish in once. You're not an American, they do it the other way around". 
Still, it is quite common to see oldies restored "the other way around" with hours and days of wet sanding and wet sanding after paint.

[Ben N]

This whole thread is a reminder to me to order the powder coated enclosures whenever possible.

[Steben]

This whole thread is a reminder to me to order the powder coated enclosures whenever possible.

Unless you really like painting stuff. LIke I do.

[Ice-9]

Nice one Eric, Glad you got to the bottom of it. Finishing problems are always so frustrating and one thing that I dislike about building.

[pinkjimiphoton]

haha eric,
i was putting clear coat over a mosrite jr guitar i'm building. i've gone thru the dang thing 3 rattle cans of primer touching up and re-wetsanding.  the body looked fantastic finally. psyched.

beautiful day here in connecticut to paint. psyched. wash the whole body down to get any grease and crap off with a bit of dish soap then rinsed it. hung it to dry in the sun for an hour on each side. sure SEEMED dry.

began clear coating it. all good. the place it had messed up last time came thru like a champ. <i'm spraying in the shade outside my house, never paint in direct sunlight.. with enamels, you can do it, but not with laquers> i'm like YE-ES-ESS-ESSSSSS

put down the paint, walk away to grab a ....umm... cigarette
go back

and now the mother@#$%in %^&*suckin son of a bitch looks like its growing @#$%ing fractals all along the upper bout face, all along the edge. hopes dashed.  exactly the frosted pattern in your first post. arrrrrrrgh.

so i got to wet sanding to try and chill it down, gotta go out and do some more, bummed. not sure if it was moisture, or cuz i was using the south end of a can of clear from the last attempt. thinking moisture i didn't see or realize was there. my own fault for rushing.

so NOW i gotta wait til it cures enough to tackle... the rest of the guitar was already dry to the touch. i didn't BURY it in clear or anything... light passes, 3-4 passes, wait for it to set up, 3-4 passes... never got to the second set. @#$% my life.

i was being careful for once in my life even.


arrrrrrgh.

sometime shit just freekin happens!!

[EBK]

Sorry to hear that you are also having finishing problems, Jimi. 

I'm thinking about trying some Envirotex to see if I can get that to help me make progress. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to try giving money to someone.

[amptramp]

Be aware of the toxicity of any of the finishes you use.  I have this nice green filing cabinet behind me and it's green because I used two cans of acrylic spray lacquer on it.  After breathing that stuff for the time it took to do two coats, I had a sore throat for a month.  Nice gloss green finish though, I'd do it again but with a respirator this time.  I do like the short drying time of acrylic.

If you expect to sing along with your guitar playing, your voice may be altered for a month and your throat will be sore.  Not worth it.

[pinkjimiphoton]

..... all that, agreed, BUT if ya want your voice to go from jon anderson angelic to john lee hooker rasp, its the quickest way to get there lololol

the shit is even more toxic than described

[Ben N]

the shit is even more toxic than described

Even, or perhaps especially, when accompanied by a ....umm... cigarette. 

[pinkjimiphoton]

hahah hey ben,

i think it largely depends on if its a left or right handed ciggie,
i tend to prefer herbal jazz cigarettes over tobacco ones

[Ice-9]

Herbal Jazz all the way man  ' Herbal Jazz' Now that is a good name for a pedal Jimi

[pinkjimiphoton]

haha yeah, one of these days... so many circuits, so little time