Spray paint question

[ezmobee]

I do not have a very good track record with spray paint. I absolutely hate the stuff. I painted my whole boat with it last year and it was a nightmare. Anyway, I'm currently redoing the cowl on my Johnson 85. I removed the plastic trim piece that went the whole way around it and patched all the holes left behind with Bondoglass which worked very well. Sanded the whole thing and prepared to prime it.

The weather here is driving me nuts because much of the work I currently have to do on my boat involves paint or other chemicals and it's been too cold. So yesterday it got up to around 55 degrees so I thought I'd be OK to put a coat of primer on. I'm using Rustoleum primer and will top coat it with Rustoleum gloss white. So I sprayed a coat of primer on it last night and then brought the cowl inside to dry. I had it in my basement which is probably 60 degrees. My problem is this morning I went down to check it and the paint seems soft. I took my fingernail to it in an area that will be covered with the cowl seal and was able to pick it off easily. So is this just not completely cured after 10 hours? Did I spray it on when it was too cold? Is it ruined? If so what can I do to get it off and start again? I know I should have waited till it got warmer but I was inpatient which is my constant problem with spray paint.

 

[anthony115merc]

Re: Spray paint question

maybe u should be spraying lighter coats of paint if u apply a thin layer it should be dry to touch in about 30 seconds apply a few really light coats to it untill it is fully done maybe u should be using a heat lamp aswell heat it up a little bit befor painting and it will help

 

[Bondo]

Re: Spray paint question

Put it in 70* or Better Temps, for another 10 to 24 hours,+ It'll be Dry.......

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Spray paint question

Since you really do not like spray paint........

I would suggest that you also lightly sand your primer and apply it twice.

Your finished project will reflect the prep done. It's all in the prep work.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spray paint question

You need a plastic primer m8..( if you sanded to the plastic )

It might..and I say might hold for a bit if you bake it..

you can try to Acetone a small spot to see if your rustolium comes off clean..

YD.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Spray paint question

I brought in the house the other day and it seems to dry fine. So everything is OK for now. I'm going to wait till it gets warmer before I topcoat it.

 

[jmoorepghpa]

Re: Spray paint question

I too hate cans of spray paint. If you have a compressor that is at least 2hp get a cheap ($50) hvlp (high volume low pressure) gravity feed spray gun from a discount house or your local auto-body supply house. Buy your rustoleum in the quart or gallon cans. Get some acetone. Reduce the rustoleum by about 1/4 -1/3 with the acetone. Only mix what you will use........ a pint mixed goes a looooong way. You will have to play with your gun to get the flow/air pressure and other settings they way you like them. Should take about 1/2 hour of practice and messing around to get pretty good with it.

The reason for all this is you can spray lighter coats of a thinner paint and the solvent (acetone ) flashes off very quickly. No smoking and wear a mask.
You can apply several successive thin coats about 10 min apart. Spray it lightly and no more runs and sags etc because it dries fast. When you are done rinse the paint cup with a little acetone and dump it out. Rinse again and spray that out the gun for about 10 sec and dump the rest. Last step is to put some clean acetone in the gun, spray that out for about 10 sec and put the gun away -- its clean. It takes 2 min. to clean the gun. Try it. I bet you won't buy much spray paint afterwards.
Works with primer too and if you need a custom color the rustoleum comes in all the primary colors so mix your own just write down the recipe if you ever have to reproduce it. If you have a compressor the money for the gun is well worth it. If you don't have a compressor save your pennies up because they are handy dandy.

( a bit long winded huh?)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Spray paint question

Thanks for the post jmoorepghpa. I don't have a compressor unfortunately. I don't see my wife letting me spend the money on one either. I guess I could do what a guy I know did who bought a really huge one and told her it was a water heater However, when I have to paint my boat again I will DEFINITELY be taking your suggestion. One of the problems I had with the cans was the paint coming out in chunks and I think being able to thin it out would have resulted in a much nicer result.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Spray paint question

If you must spray out of a can .. then try warming up your can with some hot water ( soak it in a bucket with hot water..or run hot water over the can for 5 min. )

I only use 2 part epoxy primers so .. and I know thats not economical for most DIYs..but the money is well worth it ( of course compressor is a must with these products ..downside not pro.. )

YD.

 

[KRS]

Re: Spray paint question

Prep work is as important as the spray technique.

The surface needs to be gloss-less (roughed up) and completely clean,... which means it was wiped with acetone and lint-free rags prior to the application of paint.

If the surface is smooth and glossy or has wax on it, or it's dirty... paint no sticky!

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Spray paint question

Read the can closely, I just painted a few items here with Rustoleum paint, it takes a good 24 hours to be truely dry, and at least a week to be dry enough to put on a second coat. Spray can paint has no catalytic hardener in it and can take a while to dry, especially if it's cool or damp. The worst part about spray can paint is having the patience to do it right. You can get good results and Rustoleum is one of the best for that. They do make several grades, I believe the can I was using said extra high gloss or something to that effect.
I used a sandable primer, sanded and smoothed the area several times to fill any pits or low areas, then reprimed with the standard Rustoleum primer, resanded lightly and wiped with a product called Finalwash, (I believe it's a Sherwin Williams or MAB product for paint prep), let it dry at least a week after the Rustoleum primer, then I sprayed the first color coat, just dusting enough to color the whole piece, let it dry a few hours, then I went back and sprayed a good solid wet coat. I then let that dry for nearly 2 weeks before handling it. the results are very professional looking and needed no polish or final sanding. If I had found that another coat was in order I would have wet sanded it lightly, just enough to break the gloss, then resprayed a final second coat, but with Rustoleum and many spray can enamels you take a chance of the first coat wrinkling or lifting if it hasn't cured completely when you do your second of final coat. I believe the can reads "recoat within x hours" or something like that, I believe it's 4 hours, but I'd check the can you are using to see.

 

[thunderroad]

Re: Spray paint question

Rustoleum is wonderful stuff, very worthy of it's fine reputation, but for projects like you described, give me something like DupliColor anytime. Paint it, wet sand it, buff it and wax it all within 24 hours... under good conditions. Start to finish in a weekend. It's tough too. A good quality acrylic enamel....plus...their spray nozzles give a more spray-gun-like, fan pattern.

 

[thunderroad]

Re: Spray paint question

sorry...duplicate post...it's been a while

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Spray paint question

DupliColor is an automotive type paint correct? Something I would pick up at a place like PepBoys?