Enclosure painting Question

[kungpow79]

So I screwed up painting an enclosure (yellow!), had to sand off about 1/3 of the paint (it bubbled up,wasn't dry enough for a 2nd coat).  So now the enclosure is a mix of 1) painted surface 2) exposed underlying primer and 3) raw enclosure.

Do I just primer over the whole thing, then paint?  Cover the painted areas, and just try to get the primer in the raw areas?  Peel it all off and start all over?!  I suck at painting enclosures...

[Ice-9]

As long as the surface is sanded smooth and flat you can give the whole enclosure a coat of primer. But if you have any lumps or raised edges they will show up.

[Skruffyhound]

Maybe it looks cool as it is, kind of distressed, give it some clear coat and off you go.
If you really don't like it though, sandpaper it off, but use the sandpaper "face up" on a flat surface so you keep things even.
Happens to everyone once in a while.

[kungpow79]

It does have a distressed look, like part of it got hit by a blow torch, but I prefer the clean look with nice decals    Almost has a Fender "Road Worn" kinda look.  Its tempting...

Thanks!

[kungpow79]

WTF!?

I just tried to re-primer it, and as soon as I sprayed my self etching primer on it, it started coming up looking like reptile skin!?!  Same thing happened to me last nite when I tried to clear coat a different beautifully painted delay pedal. 

What the hell is going on here?  HAs anyone else seen this?  I've used these same cans before without this happening.  Looks like croc skin

[punkin]

sounds like classic mis-matched products or surface prep issues. What type of primer and paint are you using?

[kungpow79]

self etching primer, Krylon indoor/outdoor paint, Duplicolor Clear coat

[solderman]

Hi
I Agree. Seems like the products you are using do not go well together. I usually

1. sand to smooth surfice.
2. clean with alcohol
3. prime ones (normal auto paint primer)
4 paint ones (car repair spray paint)
5 waterslide decal
6 3x clear coat (same brand as no3)

I have painted wet in wet with yellow, that cowers bad on one coat, with no bubling problems.


But if I where you I would stain it with black and paint "Ruff Boy" on it andclear coat it
Always turn a defet to a success 

 

[Ice-9]

The self etching primer is reacting with the top coat and causing wrinkles, im afraid the best way to fix this now is to remove all the paint back down to bare metal and start again.

[tech9_79]

Epoxy or powder coat as a primer, doesnt matter too much what type of color you use( i like rustoleum) then a pourable epoxy clear.  A polyfloor clear would be my second choice but still not as durable as the epoxy.

[kungpow79]

I have never had this much trouble painting an enclosure.  Have done it over 3x now, at first was angry, now curious and am trying to turn this into a learning experience 

This most recent try, I had to re sand the sides, re primer, and re paint.  My theory now is that the top wrinkled (2nd pic) cuz the paint is not fully dried (did it about 18-20 hrs ago).  However, the top was painted a week ago, why would that peel now from the clear enamel?   

I though my problem was using the automotive clear acrylic lacquer (short can), because that prev had caused the wrinkles.  I read you shouldn't put lacquer over enamel.  Thus, I bought the clear enamel, but you can see the result.

Your input would be helpful and much appreciated. 

[rustypinto]

Ah the lost WEEKs i've spent yelling at acrylic, enamel, etc!

Get the Chicago brand, $80 powder coating system if you can. I know an air compressor can be hard to come by, but its the best, strongest base coat you will ever get!

If not, don't use the white can Rustoleum clear coat. It dissociates ink jet ink, toner, other enamels, and acrylic (basically everything i've tried it with). Enamel makes a good base coat, but even after baking, you can still get bubbling and even darkening (white turns yellow, etc.). I've had much better results with an Enamel base coat, letting it dry according to the label, and then using Rustoleum Painter's Touch clear coat (the blue can, right next door to the white can you have now). Painter's touch is WAY better at retaining enamels and toners. Make sure you do 2-3 thin coats.

But yea if you're into the wrinkles, keep using what you have 

[solderman]

Seems that the one on the right is to tough and dissolves every thing but whats protected by your decal/inc jet all together. Ditch that and find a better more friendly clear coat.  

[kungpow79]

Thanks pinto and solderman!

I looked at the wrinkly enclosure again.  The sides are spared.  I did go extra heavy on the top with the clear enamel.  Is that the cause, too heavy?  So, is this whole process simply trial and error?

Solderman:  re: your prev post, what amount of time do you wait in btwn each step?  Are you baking yours at all at any step? 

Pinto: you talkin bout this stuff?

[frank_p]

I would go with all the products of the same brand.  Now, I am on Duplicolor from primer to clear.  I am really tired of delamination, cracks, blisters, bubbles, etc., etc..  too.

[Quackzed]

paint compatibility aside, laying spray paint on too thickly can also cause cracking and wrinkling, basically the outermost layer of paint will dry and as the inner 'still wet' layer will dry much slower due to it not being allowed to gass out, or release its solvents in open air, these solvents will need a path to escape and crack or bubble the top dry layer...
...i used to lay on spray paint as thick as i could to save time, but learned that a very thin layer of spraypaint will dry very fast and in the end, it takes less time to spray a thin coat ,let dry, and repeat 5 or 6 times, than it does to put on one thick layer at once and have to wait for it to be fully dry, and thats not counting time for starting over due to cracking and wrinkling etc...
   just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

[Paul Marossy]

These days I would rather just buy a powder coated enclosure from www.pedalpartsplus.com and not even mess with painting.

Not many of my enclosures really had a satisfying paint job. The only ones I liked were the ones I used Testors spray enamel on. It takes a LONG time for it to cure, but it has been the most durable finish of anything I have used.

[rustypinto]

Pinto: you talkin bout this stuff?

Yes!

Spray thickness is very important, as mentioned. Doing many thin coats avoids bringing up anything that's sensitive to clear coat, as well as avoiding runs. Note the white can rustoleum would bring up most paint i used with it (with the exception of baking on certain enamel base coats), no matter what thickness of a coat i applied. The "painter's touch" has always retained other paints, some inks, and most toners i've used with it. They don't explicitly say whats in it, but it can't be all enamel because it's so much more forgiving.

[kungpow79]

Wow!  Awesome responses from everyone, much appreciated.  At least I'm not alone in this debacle. 
I've decided this.  I'm going to strip it bare, start all over, but this time use same brand paints (All Duplicolor products, primer, paint, and clear coat from Kragen).  I have done this previously and it worked.  I'm going to focus on multiple very thin coats, maybe wait like 5-10 mins btwn each coat.  I should have it done in a week!     I'll post my findings, and the end result!

[mtripoli]

Three steps in prepping the surface:

Cleaning: Alcohol (being hygroscopic) removes moisture.
              Acetone removes oil and grease. Lots of people don't wipe with acetone; you should.

Lastly, total moisture removel: Bake it in your oven at 120 degrees or so for an hour. You need to bake the moisture out. Total cool before painting.

Keep an eye on the humidity in the area you're painting in. If it's rained, or going to rain, better wait... you want very low humidity.

You've already "found out" the other problems... make sure all materials are compatible...

We all learn as we go...

Mike Tripoli