How to deal with drips in the paint?

[moro]

Hello,

My first attempt at painting an enclosure didn't go perfectly. I have a few drips in the paint--what's the best way to go about fixing this? Can I sand the problem areas down a bit and shoot a few more light coats?

I'm using Rustoleum Painter's Touch, if it makes a difference. Thanks.

[petemoore]

  Painting over...doesn't remove the texturing.
  but, oh yes, I once took the time to fit multi-piece leather coat on a box that still works great, but had become a paint mess. 
  Two tone finish show brights white 'COMP' letters in leather [relief], in black strip over brown, now it's a Fuzz box.
  These conventional paint removal methods would also require circuit strip for best results.
  Scraping is dangers in hard to hold the box.
  sanding doesn't work right, is lot of work, and takes up lots of sandpaper
  stripping is stinky and messy to say the least.
  Haven't tried a drill press and wire wheel or wire brush...with protective safety gear, seems like an aggressive yet even way to approach..

[Dragonfly]

best way to deal with it is to prevent it in the first place...avoid temptation of using heavy coats of paint.

use light coats, even if they dont cover the box thoroughly...just several repeated LIGHT coats every 2 - 5 minutes or so.

if you get a drip, sand and start over.

sorry.

[moro]

if you get a drip, sand and start over.

sorry.

I have to sand the whole thing down? That is a bummer.

[earthtonesaudio]

You could just sand down the spot  you care about, except "feather" the edges like the auto painters do.  Then repaint and it might look just fine.

[m-theory]

It's unlikely that you'll be able to sand that one area and recoat without lifting/wrinkling.  The solvent in the re-application will dissolve and attack the substrate, especially if it's feathered (assuming you could even feather Rustoleum).  Your best best is to remove the finish and start over.  Thinner works really well for this, although it is a bit messy. 

Definitely use very thin coats, rather than heavy coats.  In fact, with Rustoleum, you really don't even need heavy coats to get it to run, because it's such a gooey paint to begin with, and it takes forever to flash.  A lacquer or acrylic enamel can easily be re-coated in 3-5 minutes, but synthetics like Rustoleum take much longer to flash, so even multiple light to medium coats has the same effect as a heavy coat(s) if you hit it too soon.  That's by far my least favorite product to work with. 

[frank]

Glue 300 grit wet/dry sandpaper on a hard surface with contact cement (ex: aluminium extrusion with very flat bottom)
Put dish soap in warm water
Wet your sanding block
Put your box in a vise with pine jaws
Sand the face of your enclosure till the top of the drip wears off, but stop before going trough all of the paint/basecoat.
Be sure to be in a good physical position and concentrate on your hand/block. Have a good "perpendicular and controlled" feel.
Wash as often as possible your sanding block in the soapy water.
Rinse your enclosure and let dry
Put a FINE layer of paint and wait till it dries completely ( time depends on the type of paint)
Glue fine (400 grit) wet/dry sandpaper on an other sanding block
Sand the surface again lightly with the soapy water, rinse ....
Put an other light coat of paint.
...
Continue till the surface is smooth.
In the last layers try not to go trough your previous layer of paint
It can be long, but it works and takes practice.
Try the method on scrap piece of hard junk with different paints.
Rustoleum and std Tremclad are VERY difficult to work with if you want a perfect finish.
They contains ingredients that will prevent many other paint to stick to it.
STAY AWAY FROM ANTI-RUST PAINTS, you don't need that property on aluminium that will stay inside.
They are repelants to other stuff that you might use.

[drewl]

Step 1: Throw box across room.
step 2: Repeat as necessary until you realize you suck at painting.
step 3: repeat steps 1 and 2.
Final step: learn to do really cool textured finishes to hide the fact that you suck at painting.

That's what I have to do, but like the other guy said, wet sand the drip(s) and feather them smooth.

[moro]

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

I tried sanding a bit but the paint and primer were so thin that I hit metal in some places.

Also, maybe it's because I baked the enclosure, but the Rustoleum sands amazingly well. No wrinkles--just came off in a fine, dry powder.

[frank]

Step 1: Throw box across room.
step 2: Repeat as necessary until you realize you suck at painting.
step 3: repeat steps 1 and 2.

That is for the relic-abused-vintage finish.  I am testing this method and works really great too! And gives RELIEF for those nasty tensions and also on the box.

[BubbaKahuna]

... or you could do what the professionals do and just shave the run down.

There are 'nib files' and razor blade holders made specifically for auto body painting that will take down the high spots on a run so you can buff what's left to a shine and leave a smooth finish.

Like this ::
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1773&itemType=PRODUCT
- or -
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1770&itemType=PRODUCT
- or -
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=S35260t&Category_Code=T2

Make sure you let the paint dry hard before doing this, then let it dry again before buffing it out since you opened up thicker paint that might not be fully cured underneath.

Cheers,
- JJ

[m-theory]

I tried sanding a bit but the paint and primer were so thin that I hit metal in some places.

It's just not worth the effort, imo.  It's nearly impossible to create an invisible repair on a pedal, primarily because of the extremely thin mil thicknesses involved.  I've been there myself, several times, and every time, I've ended up stripping and re-finishing, because of any number of problems:  edge lifting/wrinkling/lifting, feather edge mapping, sand-throughs, etc.  For all of the effort that it requires to make an invisible repair and all of the problems that can ruin it, it's quicker and easier to just strip and start over.  

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with the paint you're using, except that it's very slow to dry.  All paints prevent rust.  There's nothing in rustoleum that earns the name, although they, and all paint companies do make primer coatings that specifically address corrosion.  Zinc rich primers, and in particular, "self etch primers" are excellent for this, and they stick as well on aluminum as they do steel.  

That said, there are solvents and resins that don't play particularly well with each other, so it's generally a good idea to stay within a product line, rather than using one brand of primer, another brand sealer, and another brand topcoat.  FWIW, one of the most durable, forgiving finishes I've come across is hammertone.  For whatever reason, there's something about that finish that just makes it adhere and resist chips incredible well.  Too bad the color choices are limited.  

[Paul Marossy]

best way to deal with it is to prevent it in the first place...avoid temptation of using heavy coats of paint.

+1