Spray Painting - Open Invitation

[NinjaNanna]

Yep, the lint and roughness can be sanded out with 1200 or 2000 grit wet-n-dry used wet....with a little detergent. then either respray the clearcoat or just polish.

NEVER EVER use anything such as a syringe to measure paint. The rubber on the plunger dissolves into the solvent and that is what gives you the fish-eyes. Never let any rubber get in contact with raw paint materials....and keep silicone spray away as well!!!

Use a glass or metal measure.

Thanks for the heads up on the syringes - what other tricks do you have for pouring the paint and thinners. The tins that I have don't pour well at all (particularly the thinner) and I end up losing too much down the side of the can?

I've just come back from work ended up using the 800 grit to rub it back (the fish eyes were worse than I thought), I think after a respray it should come up ok.

I'm in 2 minds at the moment on where to spray.

Option 1 is to do it outside as suggested.

Option 2 is to move slightly outside my booth and use fans to blow the overspray back into the booth.

I'll also go via SuperCheap to see if I can get a water trap as well as draining the compressors reservoir.

Hopefully tonight I can post up some more pics of the rubbed back clear coat and also post up some warm fuzzies plus pics of the final coat of clear.

[Colapop]

Go over it with 1200 and 2000 just to give it a good finish. Don't wanna f*ck it by a lack of patience!

[The Lone Rider]

Still looks pretty good. But yeah, I can see the lint specs and stuff. Not quite there for show room stuff but it's better then I could do even if I tried REALLY hard.

[NinjaNanna]

Damn still having problems with Fish Eyes!!! I know I still had some in there from the initial coats but I think I'm getting more!

What would be causing that? Spraying too Thin, spraying too Thick.

Not enough thinner, too much thinner (2:1 +10% clear:hardener +thinner)

Too humid???

I bled the compressor and haven't had the water build up that I had last time. I'm still painting indoors as its too windy outside (but no sign of lint or dust this time!!!)

Oh well not to mind, I think I will just put it back on nice and thick then use the Cutting Compound that I saw at Super Cheap which claims to remove fish eyes and overspray. Can't hurt to try I think.

Pics later, but in my eagerness I forgot to take photos of the rubbed back fairings.

[NinjaNanna]

Google search "spray painting + fish eyes" returned the answer

Fish Eyes look like little craters on the moon where the paint pulls away from the center. (Looks well, like a fish eye and hence the name). Fish eyes occur immediately upon spraying. Fish eyes are caused by contamination of the surface you are spraying. Water, oil and silicone are the three major culprits. Also, if you leave the wax and grease remover on too long before wiping it off, it can cause fisheyes. When you wetsand out imperfections in the basecoat, sometimes there will be traces of water left causing the problem. http://www.paintscratch.com/problems.htm#fish

So there you have it, I'd put money on it that my problem was the wax and grease remover that I used and probably didn't clean of quite well enough.

Arrrgg the joys of diy.

Oh well I'm thinking now that my front fender will be beautiful when I do it, all these lessons that I have learned. Plus there's still the tank to do.

Will I redo the clear again - lets wait and see how the cutting compound works out?

I hope all you prospective painters are taking notes too and haven't been totally turned off yet!

Cheers

Shane

[Wannabiker]

yep...watch sticking your greasy mitts on the bits you want to paint as well! Depending on the type of paint spraying too thick can cause problems as the thinner has to evaporate off to allow the paint and catalyst to react. If the paint is to thick the curing will be affected. This can cause the thinner to boil through to the surface.

On your way through supercheap, also pick up a "tack cloth" This is a cloth that has a tacky substance impregnated to it. Wipe the parts to be sprayed with this and it will remove all the lint and dust and crap off the surface before you spray.

When tipping paint from a can, hold a (steel or alloy) (steel ruler??) rod on an angle to the tin and touching the tin where the paint will pour from. The paint will flow down the rod in a controlled stream.

Pour thinners from the can with the spout at the top, not the bottom. Not so easy when the tin is full, but easier when a bit emptier. Be sure to wipe around the lid so that you dont tip dust into the mix!!

[NinjaNanna]

In the interests of Science/Education at the expense of my pride, here's photos of the new clear coat complete with fish eyes.

I'll be trying the rubbing compound tomorrow after the paint has dried and will report back.

Worst case will be another sand back and a really thorough clean this time.

[imdying]

Yep, sand the crap out. You'll be wasting your time with 1200-2000 grit though, they're practically only a polishing grit... better off with 800 for something like that.

Fish eyes are likely to be dirt, although, are you using a water trap and a filter? If not, you could potentially be spraying fresh crap onto your work. Airborne particles are also going to cause it too (more dirt).

Good on you for having a go though, can be an expensive way to learn, but I still love DIY.

[NinjaNanna]

Hi Imdying

No, still haven't had a chance to use a water trap.

I stopped by Super Cheap looking for one but they didn't have them. Hirepool had them but didn't have the right size air fittings so lucked out there too.

Will go and see Car Colours tomorrow where I bought the gun and paint, they're bound to have one. Also the filter you mention are you talking about an inline filter or the one on the air intake for the compressor?

Also, in your experience do you always use the rubbing compound on the clear coat or do you usually get the right finish straight out of the gun when you get everything right?

Cheers

Shane

[NinjaNanna]

Well I sanded back and then used the rubbing compound.

The finish has lost it's wet look but at least the results are now satisfactory, well at least satisfactory enough to put the fairings back on a 16yr old bike. My plan is to try doing the front fender next and see how that comes up. If that then the tank work out well then I will sand them right back and start afresh.

Sounds like a good plan right? Well I have a dilema. I visited a couple of body shops today and one of the shops reckon that if I do the prep work and supply the paint they'd spray and bake the lot (tank inc) for $100. Now that's a deal in anybodies language and will give me a professional finish.

But the question is what should I do! There is the constant concern that the hobbyist gear that am using will contiuously cause problems (water / oil in the compressor line, no fume extraction, the constant risk of dust)

So am I wussing out if I choose to get it done?
Will I regret not learning to spray paint?
How often am I likely to use the skill anyway?

All tough questions.

[imdying]

Lost that wet look... what should you do? Well, PM crazyfox first, he knows his shite and is very generous with his knowledge.

What would I do? I'd hit it with another clear coat... it's amazing what clear coat does... I was stunned the first time I saw a car go from this dull flat looking base coat to a finished product after clear coating.

You're not wussing out if you're getting it done somewhere else... I didn't paint my bike, but there's so many other things to do on it, I had to draw the line somewhere.

Will you regret not learning to spray? Well, learning a trade without tuition is a hard thing, and expensive.

If doing up bikes, customising them, is your passion, then yes, it's a worthwhile skill to learn. If not, then maybe it's not worth the time.

I like working on my bikes as much as riding them. I've a mate who I had a discussion with the othe night. He could not see my point of view, to him, bikes are all about riding... I made the observation that somebody like him could never understand why it is I do what I do, he thinks that vice versa is probably true. In the end, I want a hobby, not a bike. If that sounds like you, then take it from me, no skill you learn is a wasted effort

[NinjaNanna]

Here she is with her clothes back on.

Ok I'm convinced seeing the fairings back on the bike and knowing it looks 10times better than when I started (warts and all) I'll keep perservering. I'll try the front fender next and see how I go. The worst thing that can happen is I waste a little more paint but I'm pretty sure I've got enough to risk it.

If that doesn't work out I'll call it quits and take the body shop up on their offer.

[Brett]

A quick idea would be to wet the work area. get a spray bottle and spray the whole place. makes all the dust etc to heavy to float around and land in your nice work!

How ever water coming from your gun while working is a bad thing. you could start by cracking open the drain bung on the bottom of the compressor to get any moisture out of the tank might make a difference.

Good luck, and well done for doing this yourself!

What he said. Also, if your using a garage as a paint room for example, grab a hose and put it on the mist mode and dampen the gound, walls etc (only if possible, dont destroy your house!) as this will stop you from kicking up dust as you move around. Looks like you did a good job for a first timer!

[NinjaNanna]

Thanks for all your advice through this thread IMDYING!

Your right another clear coat would bring back the wet look - but I still have some of the original fish eyes in there. I'll have to live with the dulled finish (which incidently still fires in the sunlight) until I've praticed a little more on the next piece.

Next time I'll only spray in the early morning before it heats up and use the inline water trap that I bought. Hopefully with that, some more careful prep and the new knowledge that I've acquired, I'll get the finish I'm aiming for.

Thanks for your encouragement on the other stuff, learning by trial and error will always be expensive, but I think it will be worthwhile in the end.

I did buy this bike with the intention of fixing it up a bit, keeping it for 18mths so that my wife can get her licence then flicking it on (hopefully at a small profit in reward for my labour)

I would like to do more of this so I'll perservere, plus its always good to have an "Uncle" in the family that can do this sort of stuff.

Cheers

Shane

Lost that wet look... what should you do? Well, PM crazyfox first, he knows his shite and is very generous with his knowledge.

What would I do? I'd hit it with another clear coat... it's amazing what clear coat does... I was stunned the first time I saw a car go from this dull flat looking base coat to a finished product after clear coating.

You're not wussing out if you're getting it done somewhere else... I didn't paint my bike, but there's so many other things to do on it, I had to draw the line somewhere.

Will you regret not learning to spray? Well, learning a trade without tuition is a hard thing, and expensive.

If doing up bikes, customising them, is your passion, then yes, it's a worthwhile skill to learn. If not, then maybe it's not worth the time.

I like working on my bikes as much as riding them. I've a mate who I had a discussion with the othe night. He could not see my point of view, to him, bikes are all about riding... I made the observation that somebody like him could never understand why it is I do what I do, he thinks that vice versa is probably true. In the end, I want a hobby, not a bike. If that sounds like you, then take it from me, no skill you learn is a wasted effort

[imdying]

Mate, I always have time for those that are willing to step outside their comfort zone and 'give it a go'