Krylon Acrylic Clear Coat Spray turns to Crackle

[Triffid]

Ah man, I just got done priming, spray painting (enamel), baking, and paint on some text and it look pretty cool.   I spray on a really light spray of Krylon Acrylic Clear Coat and so far so good.  I come back 15 minutes to spray one more coat and when I do that It turns to Crackle!!  

I got pissed and haven't touched it about an hour.   The crackle only appeared on the top of the of the box, not the sides or the cover plate.  Anyone have any ideas why this happened?  

Thanks in advance

*edit* after looking at it again, I have to say my belief is that I just sprayed way too much on the top the second time.  Every other part looks great... man that blew

[bobbletrox]

I don't think Acrylic and Enamel mix.  Don't take my word for it though!  I remember hearing something like that once.

[Triffid]

Should I have used an Enamel clear coat maybe?

[Fret Wire]

This stuff is sweet: durable as hell:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1117&title=ALUMA-HYDE+II

[toneman]

i just was looking at this today.

Krylon makes "clear coat"  and "matt spray"
for sale at ArronBros Art Mart---$7.95(ouch)

Asking the salesperson, she didn't have a clue as to if it was
enamel or laquer.  I'm pretty sure it was enamel-based.

From my automotiv body&fender dayz,
Enamel over (dry)laquer--OK
Laquer over enamel--NO--turns to cottage cheese
*unless* enamel is really old and dry.

Acrylic enamel is practically all they make now.
U can buy acrylic laquer in spray cans, but it's not
nitrocelouse laquer, the old stuff.  Although
i've seen guitar shops sell this for guitar bodies.
Laquer dries REAL fast.
Enamel dries on the surface, but takes, usually, several weeks
to even months to completely cure.
For painting model cars, some recommend waiting 2weeks to clearcoat.
Except for real epoxy enamel.  The cans labeled this are bogus!!
Real epoxy enamel comes in 2 parts, just like epoxy.
Usually, after mixining, U have about 1 hr to paint and clean out your
airbrush or paint gun.   After that, it hardens, like epoxy.

Good rule of thumb---test it first.
I got some dark t-shirt paper for inkjet along with some other
"window decal"  transfer paper today.  I'm going to test it with
Krylon and other clear coatings including laquer clear ASA it
warms up.. U need outside temp 2 B arround 70degF.
BTW, there's urathane and acrylic enamels.
Laquer in cans is the fastest. B sure to use a compatable primer.
I think SmallBear sells the correct primer & clear for dark t-shirt xfers.

AFN
tone

[Xlrator]

Always use enamel clear with enamel base. Use laquer clear with laquer base. Same with primers.

That's the rule of thumb I was taught by pro spayers.

[Triffid]

Thanks for the info...  My acrylic clear coat says "Dry in 12 minutes", so it might be laquer.   My coat is also not very protective... it is very easy to scrape the paint off.   Maybe I should sand and try again with enamel clear coat.

Thanks again

[toneman]

XLrator,

if it doesn't specifically *say* laquer, it's probably enamel.

Krylon, AWA lots of other cos, advertise "kuik dry", but it's only
*surface dry*.  It's still wet Below.

The can must actually say laquer.
Otherwise, assume it's enamel.
Lots!! of primers are enamel/acrylic enamel.
Lot's say dry fast.
Enamels use "reducers".
Laquers use laquer thinner(LT).
U can use LT to clean up after laq or enamel.
But, 2 thin the pain, use correct 1 4 each.
Always take the time 2 do a test strip.
Use same metal/plastic, same primer, same solvent, same paint.
All painting best done between 70 and 90degF.
T

[Triffid]

Hmmm... I did mine in the garage last night where it was probably about 30 - 40 degrees (F), I wonder if that could have been my problem.  I hate winter.  I still have the problem that I can easily scratch the paint off with my finger nails... could that be related too?  It is way to fragile.

Anyway... I can see that I have a lot of testing to do.

Thanks

[Muldoer]

You can apply enamel on top of acrylic, but you cannot apply acrylic on top of enamel.

[toneman]

Temperature AND humidity play a part in the painting process.

In very humid areas, paint quality can suffer.

That's why pros use paintbooths.
Not that much humidity control.
But, temperature and dust control.

Also, check your spray can tip.
lot's of them suck big time.
I've had tips that dribble out the paint.
Leaves big droplets on the work.
bummer!
I returned the can, still full, and got a refund.
Told them why i didn't like it.
to clean tips, usualy instructions say spray can upsidedown 4 a bit.
U can also soak in Laquer thinner & blow out real good w/compressed air.
I'm going 2 B checking out different clears soon.
ASA i get the dark t-shirt stuff ironed on.
Also, i'm trying the white-window decals for inkjet.
Also, there a product that lets U make slide off decals
with an inkjet printer.  Requires U to spray with, i think,
a urathane clear.  That would B enamel(another type).

Remember, always do test strips.
T

[troubledtom]

Hmmm... I did mine in the garage last night where it was probably about 30 - 40 degrees (F), I wonder if that could have been my problem.  I hate winter.  I still have the problem that I can easily scratch the paint off with my finger nails... could that be related too?  It is way to fragile.

Anyway... I can see that I have a lot of testing to do.

Thanks

yep,
    - tom

[R.G.]

Look at the crackle painted boxes at GEO. I got that by deliberately painting cleary acrylic lacquer over enamel.

The lacquer solvent attacks the enamel. The hard part I had was trying to get a nice even crackle.

[Fret Wire]

One of the ways I always clean aerosol nozzles is to pull the nozzle off right after I'm finished, and place it on a can of brake cleaner. Give it a couple of blasts and remove it. The solvents in brake cleaner remove just about anything, and then evaporate quickly.

[Triffid]

Take 2: Ok, I sanded my box down, re primed it, spray painted (enamel), baked, and clear coated (this time with regular enamel clear coat), then baked it again.  It looks very nice, but I still have the problem that the paint chips off really easy, I already have to chips and was able to easily scrape off more with my nails.  What am I doing wrong here?  Am I not letting it dry long enough?  What is the most protective, hard, long lasting clear coat out there?  

Thanks again

[Fret Wire]

For a durable clearcoat, check the link I posted earlier. Is the primer you're using specify it's for aluminum? Some primers won't properly adhere to aluminum alloys, and will not bond. The primer, clear, and base coats then chip and peel off easy, because they're only bonded to each other, not the metal.

[Triffid]

It does seem like the primer could be the problem, since the paint comes off perfectly from the aluminum.  I just bought the cheapy primer @ wally world, can anyone point me to some good stuff that will stick nicely to sanded aluminum?

Thanks

[Fret Wire]

Smallbear elec. carries primer specifically for aluminum. I believe Lowes does too. Also, don't forget the auto parts stores, a good source.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Ordering/Stocklist.htm

[Doug H]

Heh-heh... I guess I should have read this thread earlier... I just did the exact same thing yesterday. I had a beautiful turquoise color with labels on my axis fuzz, then it wrinkled up when I applied the clear-coat. I realize now it was lacquer clear coat applied over enamel paint. I was disappointed but decided to just go with it. I sanded it then painted it gloss black, which wrinkled too. Put a couple coats on to make the crackling more consistent- now it is gloss black "textured", with no labels. It is kind of depressing looking, deep, infinite darkness into which no light enters and no light escapes...   , but funny and kind of cool at the same time. I'm going to leave it be. I've been wanting to do a black box with no labels for a while anyway.

At least now I know why it did what it did, and how to avoid it in the future. Thanks to everyone in this thread.  What is *really* depressing is when you spend all the time and trouble to make it look nice, ruin it on the last step, and have no earthly clue why...

Will post a pic when I install the led...

Doug