I'm frustrated. I've been trying to paint the top plate of my Crack for the past few weeks. The paint I'm using is Krylon gloss red. I think it's epoxy-based. Really nasty toxic stuff. The project started out good. I sanded the plate with 220 grit and wiped the surface clean with rubbing alcohol. It looked perfect. I set up a 2'x'2' box to paint inside. I figured it would keep the dust out and contain the spray. I had a fan blowing out the window about 6 feet from the box. Another window was open on the other side of the room for ventilation.
I propped the plate on 1x4s to keep it from sitting on the floor. I shook the can for 2 minutes and sprayed with gentle even sweeps. I let it dry for 15 minutes. The coat was thin, but looked even. I turned the plate around and gave it another sweep. 15 minutes later, it looked great and was fully covered, but I was determined to give it a thick coat, so I gave it another sweep. This time dust settled in a few places near the front. It was very noticeable. I debated living with it because everything else looked so good. Two days later I used some fine steel wool to rub out the imperfections. I went over the whole top to make sure it was smooth. I'm a hopeless perfectionist!! I wiped it clean with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. I made sure the spray box was dust-free by wiping it down with a wet towel. Everything looked good. Ready for launch. I shook the can and gave the plate some gentle sweeps, but I think I put on a little too much. I came back 30 minutes later and found some of the paint crinkled in a funky way -- like ridges. The temperature was a bit colder this day... maybe 45-50 degrees. A few days later I tried sanding them down, but they weren't going away easily. I gave it another spray and the ridges came back more prominently. I couldn't think of any way to salvage it at this point, so I let it sit for a few weeks.
When the motivation hit, I used a belt sander to remove the paint... down to bare aluminum.
For my second attempt, I did my best to keep the paint area clean. I wiped down the box. I wiped down the plate. The temperature was perfect at 65 degrees. I sprayed with gentle sweeps and made sure not to put too much on. I waited 20 minutes between coats. The can says 10 minute drying time. After the third coat, a weird moire pattern appeared in a few places. I buffed them out with steel wool, cleaned the surface, and gave it another light coat. The moire came back! What am I doing wrong?! This is so frustrating! A few years ago, I painted my Seduction without any of these problems -- same paint, same method. I don't know what's going wrong this time.
I suppose this is a rant more than anything. I'm giving up. I can't stand the fumes or the frustration of not moving forward. I'm going to look for an auto body shop to see if they'll paint it. I can't imagine it costing that much. If you have recommendations for places to have this done, please let me know.
Thanks for listening!
Mark
I propped the plate on 1x4s to keep it from sitting on the floor. I shook the can for 2 minutes and sprayed with gentle even sweeps. I let it dry for 15 minutes. The coat was thin, but looked even. I turned the plate around and gave it another sweep. 15 minutes later, it looked great and was fully covered, but I was determined to give it a thick coat, so I gave it another sweep. This time dust settled in a few places near the front. It was very noticeable. I debated living with it because everything else looked so good. Two days later I used some fine steel wool to rub out the imperfections. I went over the whole top to make sure it was smooth. I'm a hopeless perfectionist!! I wiped it clean with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. I made sure the spray box was dust-free by wiping it down with a wet towel. Everything looked good. Ready for launch. I shook the can and gave the plate some gentle sweeps, but I think I put on a little too much. I came back 30 minutes later and found some of the paint crinkled in a funky way -- like ridges. The temperature was a bit colder this day... maybe 45-50 degrees. A few days later I tried sanding them down, but they weren't going away easily. I gave it another spray and the ridges came back more prominently. I couldn't think of any way to salvage it at this point, so I let it sit for a few weeks.
When the motivation hit, I used a belt sander to remove the paint... down to bare aluminum.
For my second attempt, I did my best to keep the paint area clean. I wiped down the box. I wiped down the plate. The temperature was perfect at 65 degrees. I sprayed with gentle sweeps and made sure not to put too much on. I waited 20 minutes between coats. The can says 10 minute drying time. After the third coat, a weird moire pattern appeared in a few places. I buffed them out with steel wool, cleaned the surface, and gave it another light coat. The moire came back! What am I doing wrong?! This is so frustrating! A few years ago, I painted my Seduction without any of these problems -- same paint, same method. I don't know what's going wrong this time.
I suppose this is a rant more than anything. I'm giving up. I can't stand the fumes or the frustration of not moving forward. I'm going to look for an auto body shop to see if they'll paint it. I can't imagine it costing that much. If you have recommendations for places to have this done, please let me know.
Thanks for listening!
Mark
