bigmike said:
I've been using jasco first followed by rust-oleum gray primer. I've only used the laquer thinner prior to priming.
Mike-
At first it would look like you have some paint compatibility issues here but since you are going water based over enamel that seems fine. If the primer is lacquer then there are some problems when using an enamel over lacquer. Lacquer primer was used as a primer for lacquer. Lacquer paint would bite into the primer thereby affording adhesion. The synthetic enamels and acrylic enamels had milder solvents that would not soften and thus bite into the primer. Paint would fly off in sheets, especially in concave areas.You should make sure they are the same type of paint or at least compatible in that respect.
For cleaning and degreasing use a water based prep solvent. The area to paint should be clear of major grease and mud so if not completely removing paint (and this is not a Street Rod finish) I would just use a Scotchbrite pad and a good kitchen cleanser to prep the paint. Make sure that all the cleanser film is completely removed as paint will not stick to that white powdery film. For fairly clean areas I use the Scotchbrite pad and Windex full strength(I actually use Smart and Final window cleaner because it is stronger and cheaper) . You won't have to worry about any residue from the window cleaner in this case.
bigmike said:
Regarding how dry it was. That day it was pretty dry and kinda warm especially later in the day. I can't help but think the heat had something to do with it. I'm can't help but focus on the heat issue because I have used the same process on all the parts and only the ones I shot last in the day turned out poorly.
Ok, now it looks as if it is a heat issue. What is happening is that the surface of the paint is drying too quickly and not letting the paint dry completely. The paint surface flash dries and causes it to become a convection oven. Have you ever cooked a turkey in one of them plastic cooking bags in the oven? What happens?.............the steam from the heated food causes the bag to expand. It's the same thing with your paint. You've created a sealed environment where the heated solvents couldn't escape and that created a hemisphere - aka blister.
If it lifts the primer and paint both it is because the primer wasn't dry or the paint softened the primer and took it with it. If it is just the paint then the primer was dry, the paint didin't bite into it or adhere to it in the short time that it took to cook off. This is the reaction I am leaning towards.
Get the parts out of the direct sun, away from the back of that heat exchanger tarp, or shoot early morning/very late afternoon. If shooting outdoors in the Spring (like you are now) I would start at first light since the bugs are not swarming as bad yet and the afternoon breeze has not picked up. Make sure the parts have been inside out of the fog/moisture and then paint away. This will give it a chance to dry slower.
Maybe you could move the "booth" to where those trees I see in the background will block direct sunlight. I personally would forego the tarp and just paint away in the California Spray Booth.
The smaller "pimples" of paint are just more solvent popping where you probably didn't put as many mils of paint on at one time, a smaller surface area, it had a chance to flash more completely between coats, and/or where it just wasn't as hot.
bigmike said:
I'm still up for all thoughts so that i don't go thru this again. If it is strongly recommeded I will go out and buy more mineral spirits and dump the laquer thinner.
Use the glass cleaner as explained above. It is a hell of a lot cheaper than automotive paint prep solvent.
RDixiemiller is a paint rep and could probably weigh on this as well.
Hope that helps. Paint away Mike and Get 'er Done! It's gonna make us all jealous.
Got enough paint left to do the 105?
