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Resolved Desperately need paint help..

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Dusty Landrum

Supporting VIP
855
1,320
Jul 15, 2019
Denver, Colorado
Guys I am losing my mind with this car and the front end. Background… I am restoring the car and when I first took everything off the front end I had it down to the bare metal. So, I go to paint the front end and everything is going really smooth and laying down great. I am using spray cans (it’s paint put into the spray bottles you get from home depot) and I was putting down the final coat on top when I hit the frame with the can and it took off all the coats in a crease. Sooooo, since then I have been having major issues with getting the paint to lay right. I ended up sanding most everything back down again and now every time I try to shoot a layer it f***ing cracks again.. I am losing my mind here guys. This is holding me up from putting everything back together and dropping the car off the stand finally.. attached pictures of what’s going on and everything I have.



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So prep on this was, I sanded with 180, 300, 400, 800 then 1000 grit, wiped the surface with odorless mineral spirits, waited like 30ish mins and started the first light coat. This is what I got. It is driving my insane. I know some of you are paint gurus and are going to think I am dumb for something small, but what am I doing wrong?!!

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I also have this primer too as well as a self etching primer. Should I put the self etching down and then put the primer over it?

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I'm not a painter. Just know whatever you use can't leave any residue. I would google it or look at the material to see if it's appropriate. The paint cans may suggest a clean up solvent too. Acetone comes to mind also but like I said I'm not a painter. I just thought about my very recent experience with mineral spirits.
 
Agreed on the mineral spirits. Leaves an oily residue behind. Could try turpentine, but it too can leave an oily residue behind.

If you use the iso alcohol, know that it's partly water, so wipe that off soon after you spray it on bare metal.

How much are you thinning the paint? Too thin and it'll crack. I made that mistake once.

Edit: nm, I see you're using spray can. In that case, maybe you're laying it on too thick. Multiple light coats is preferable over one or two heavy coats
 
There is a product called "grease and wax remover". Use this to clean surfaces before coating them. It leaves behind no residue once it evaporates. Another good thing to do is wipe over the surface with a tack rag. Static and small dust particles will prevent adhesion as well.
 
So yeah for the primer I am using rattle can. I have tried two different types now, both of which crack almost instantly when sprayed, regardless of the coat amounts. Light or little heavyset, both crack. So you would think it has to be something left behind making it do it right?? I wiped the entire area off with the brush cleaner and got all the new paint off. Then douched the area really well with the iso alcohol and letting it dry. Going to try again tomorrow morning and see what happens… I am just so aggravated and at my wits end with this paint.

Oh and for the top coat and I have actual paint code automotive paint by a shop in southern Cali. I just pour it into the atomizer bottles. But I can’t get to that part right now because of the primer cracking.
 
I feel you on frustration. I have a buddy who helped paint my car in his garage. He has a big compressor, mixer, paint gun, and all that stuff. I still didn't enjoy it. I'd rather wrench on the car or rebuild a motor than paint.

I'd just keep at it and possibly try a different paint brand if the next round cracks again.
 
That’s aligatoring. Your laying it down to thick and it isn’t drying evenly, so it pulls apart at the wet spots as it dries. There is nothing you can really to alto fix that aside from sanding it down. Make lighter passes and try to control the temp and moisture where you are painting.
It doesn’t say it on the can but that stuff works like high build primer, your don’t want a sealer primer, just a base primer will do better and multiple light passes and take your time. Remember this isn’t what deals the metal, it’s the foundation that your actual paint sticks to.
 
That’s aligatoring. Your laying it down to thick and it isn’t drying evenly, so it pulls apart at the wet spots as it dries. There is nothing you can really to alto fix that aside from sanding it down. Make lighter passes and try to control the temp and moisture where you are painting.
It doesn’t say it on the can but that stuff works like high build primer, your don’t want a sealer primer, just a base primer will do better and multiple light passes and take your time. Remember this isn’t what deals the metal, it’s the foundation that your actual paint sticks to.
The pictures attached are actually a very light coat. I asked a buddy about it before I started and he said the same thing about light coat. It did this literally as I sprayed it and moved on a little which made me think it’s something under it causing it. I did wipe it with the mineral stuff but it says should leave no residue or film.. think it still did? I will try another primer too just to make sure. Will be my third attempt at a primer though so we will see.
 
Old paint can cause it too, and paint that hasn’t been mixed well enough, but the best way to prevent alligatoring is lighter coats with longer dry time between sprays. If your doing it over and over again. Do it lighter and wait longer between coats. Or get a base primer that doesn’t build up so much
 
Sand it, clean it with what ever you think is best, then use a tac cloth to remove anything remaining on the surface. And by light coats I mean light af. Don’t cover the surface in 2 or even three passes. And let it get plenty of dry time between passes.
 
I've used Rustoleum spray can products one a large number of my projects over the years. Been a while since I used it on a car but I never once had adhesion issues as long as I scuffed and cleaned the surface properly. Occasionally the spray tips would get a little funky but that's more of a spray pattern issue.
 
So decided to throw both of the cans away and just start with brand new. Also decided to sand with a 800 grit at most so it has something more scuffed up to adhere to. Also, going to try just the iso alcohol and paint soon after. I will update on Monday what happens as this is my first day off from work. If it starts cracking again after these things then I have no idea what to do next..
 
Try letting your cans sit in a tub of some hot water before using them. It slightly thins the paint which helps it mix with the hardener better when you shake the can and also helps it cone out of the spray tip more consistently without clumping.
 
Wanted to give a quick update.. got everything wiped down with the alcohol and started with super light… super light coats of first black rust protector spray. Waited and didn’t look wet so moved on to light coats of self etching dark grey primer and applied two light coats. Everything looked really good, no cracking. Once everything looks like it was not wet, moved onto the light grey bonding primer. First really light coats and then a med coat I would say.

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Once it was dry I noticed one area that was starting to crack, so shot another coat of self etching primer over it. Didn’t help.. so decided to move on to the entire rest of frame.

Started shooting the too coat in really really light coats and moved onto a heavier third coat. That’s when I noticed the areas that were cracking really bad. So now I am at a spot where probably 75% of the front frame is fine and looks great, but three areas now have to be dried, sanded and re-shot again.. attaching pics of what I have now.

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I messed with this area and made it worse, then shot paint and now it looks awful so have to do this spot again too.

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I’ve always used the etching primer before anything else. What are you using that second? The etching primer digs into the material, then the sealing primer foes over that, then sand and prime and sand and prime till it’s ready for the top coat and clear.
 
I am a full time painter and PPG certified painter for there products. The cracking is due to the coat before not being dry and trapping the solvent before it can breath off. Start with bare metal, I then clean it with a water born cleaner like H20 so clean then wipe it with wax and greease remover, then a anti stat cleaner. You would be fine with just wax and grease remover, Then use a metal etch primer this is key as unless your primer is a epoxy primer very good chance it is not direct to metal. Then do your coats. First coat go semi light and wait untill it is dry to the touch before moving on to the next coat. What is the air temp where you are painting it? When you see it Wrinkle is the term you can only remove it and start over, trying to coat over it again will just make it worse.
 
Alright guys, thank everyone soooooo much for all the help abs tips!! I tried everything that everyone mentioned here including letting the cans sit in hot water. In the end I am pinpointing the culprit as my application. I think I went too heavy with coats and not enough time between them. When I took my time and was patient everything was perfect. Also can’t rule out the mineral spirits either as I cleaned everything with the iso alcohol and waited about 5mins for it to dry before starting.

Here is how everything set up and turned out.

Here are the areas that cracked and sanded back down.

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The weather is a steady 63-69 F here most all of the time so I didn’t think it was weather related. So started with really light coats of the self etching primer. Waited 3mins apart on coats and then waited 10mins before applying the light grey primer sealer.

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Ok so here is where I was worried. Applying the top coatI was really worried about applying too heavy and too fast. So I made myself be really patient and set alarms between coats so I would not be guessing on time between coats. This helped sooooooo much! Super light first coat and then progressively more each time for a total of 3

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Saved the front sticker.

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Waited 45mins and the clear coated. Same technique, one super light and then three coats going heavier each next coat. Came out soooo good and so happy with it. Thank you to everyone that helped. I freaking love this community.

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