Playing with paint

demogo

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OK, so I've been messing around with my Dynamo CP.

When I got it, it was rusty in some parts and the paint was peeling in others. So I sanded down the rusty parts and parts that would be visible after the CPO, sprayed a rustoleum double thick primer on it and it came out really nice. Nice and smooth, looked good, ready to be spray painted.

Let it sit for a week, took a can of Rustoleum glossy black that I'd used a number of times before and sprayed it over the primer. On the second coat I noticed that the damn can was *spitting* the occasional drop of paint as well as spraying the mist.

Didn't turn out too well -- there were obvious paint drops not only on the CP but on the cardboard I'd put on the garage floor. I'd shaken it for about a minute before I'd sprayed and not had any issues with this can before.

I figure the problem was that paint must have been partially clogging the nozzle? Any thoughts on this?
 
remove the nozzle and soak it in thinner or another solvent.. clean with water and then test again. Should work fine. Also make sure to turn the can upside downa dn clear the nozzle after you are done spraying...

PF
 
Painting, part 2

OK, so a few days ago I took the CP and used some 250 grit sandpaper to smooth out the section of the CP that I wanted to repaint. (The one with the obvious drops on it).

So I sanded it down until it was somewhat smooth and then sanded it lightly with 400 grit to smooth it down more. I then wiped the dust off with a clean cloth, wiped the area down with denatured alcohol to clean it more, and let it dry. It seemed pretty smooth to the touch.

Then I re sprayed that area with a new can of the glossy black Rustoleum. It went on smoothly unlike the previous can so there was something clearly wrong with the old can. Unfortunately there were a couple of small areas where the paint looked like it didn't want to adhere smoothly. 99% of it was glossy smooth with just a couple of small trouble spots. I tried spraying on a second and then a 3rd light coat but the paint just wouldn't lay smoothly in those spots. Hard to describe what it looked like -- the effect was similar to what it might look like if I'd grabbed it there with a pair of pliers? Not smooth, paint just wouldn't lay there.

Any ideas as to what might cause spots like that?

I was just fooling around with this to see how it'd work out -- I was really thinking that I needed to re-sand that area back to bare metal and re-prime it first but thought I'd give it a shot. It's all a learning experience for me.
 
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remove the nozzle and soak it in thinner or another solvent.. clean with water and then test again. Should work fine. Also make sure to turn the can upside downa dn clear the nozzle after you are done spraying...

PF

Well, that can was disposed of. :)

I had turned it upside down and cleared the nozzle each time but that was probably the 7th time I'd used that can. I should have just bought a new one for the job as it would likely have turned out perfectly.
 
painting, part 3

So tonight I decided to sand the portion of the CP down to bare metal where I'd sprayed it last night.

It'd been about 20-21 hours -- not quite at the 24 hours they say it takes for the paint to fully dry.

I grabbed some 100 grit sandpaper and tried sanding and it took off some of the paint but it was still slightly tacky. Now it feels pretty ragged where I was sanding and I'm not seeing bare metal.

So I guess I jumped the gun. What now? Wait another day for it to finish drying and try again with more 100 grit sandpaper? I gotta get back down to bare metal and re-prime that area.
 
Just broke 4000 posts bump. :)
 
Geesh, am I the only one who's ever painted anything here? :)
 
I have a bunch of pin cabs to paint, so I invested in a gravity-feed sprayer. I haven't used it yet, but I hate spraying from a can...for exactly the reason you mentioned, spitting. Good luck with your project.

John
 
wet sand it with 600 grit, get lacquer high build primer (drys very quickly) after that's fully dry use a scuff pad and scuff it down, wipe it off with a clean rag and shoot it with nice even coats of the final color.
Also, if you put the spray can in a bucket of warm water before use, it raises the pressure in the can and will spray out more smoothly.
I recommend using auto engine enamel, it always sprays very nicely out of the can for me for some reason.

Also, if you would rather save time. Wet sand what you have already painted with 1500
then clear coat it. That will also do the job.
 
I don't have problems with spitting when I use a spray can. For me the most important thing is to make sure that the surface you are attempting to paint is completely striped of paint...down to bare metal. Then just make sure you do light coats, sometimes you might have to do 3-4, making sure they completely dry in-between.

I've repainting probably ten control panels this way and they all look great.
________________
I collect: Vintage and Modern Arcades, Bar Signs, and Gumball Machines
 
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if you are painting over bare metal, I recommend using self etching primer.. just a very light dusting before you paint. it will keep the paint from lifting in the future, if you ever decide to sell one.
Not always needed, just helpful.
 
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