Paint Diagnosis

[ListerStormGT]

I'm going to agree with Rob on this one. I think its the paint that's not right in the can, it may have just been a bad batch. It just looks like it was the paint itself that caused the texture you are getting and not anything you did the way you sprayed it. I personally use Dupli-Color and Tamiya but mostly I use Krylon sprays unless I cant find the color I need. Tamiya is my second choice and then Dupli-Color. I personally don't heat up paint either in cold weather (I mean it is Florida) but yes it does get cold here at least one day a year, usually when I need to paint something. I have tried heating it but for me it didn't make any difference how it went on. For a few bucks I would pick up another can and try it.

[bkrownd]

Except the paint and primer did pretty much the same thing. I'm fairly certain it was user error. ;)

[dreinecke]

Well then, I think you were too far away from the part if that is the case. I'd move in a little more. After a few light coat passes, you should be able to move up a hair and start laying down progressively wetter coats, and should notice the pebble-finish going away. I'd still hit it with a heavier coat. No loss at this point, and as a proxy car, I wouldn't worry too much.

[DAVE]

Looks to me like the paint was somewhat coagulated. This is not a problem when the paint
is used on a full size car where it will be rubbed out after the paint cures out. There is
something that model railroaders know that most car modellers don't. That is that the
pigment for model paints are more finely ground so as not to fill in small details. This
adds manufacturing costs that are not " value added " for automotive paints, so most
auto paint manufacturers don't do it. But the larger grains of pigment are more likely to
stick together in small blobs and create that orange peel effect that is objectionable on
a small item, but would be overlooked on a large surface. I try to stay away from auto
paint when I can, and choose to mix the color I want. This means shooting through an
airbrush, which is messy. So I only do it when the color is not available in a rattle can.
I have been using Testors laquer in spray cans for a while now and have had very good
results. But they don't have every color I need. So in some cases buying bottles and mixing
is the only solution.

[bkrownd]

I tried holding the can closer and spraying it thicker yesterday, but the result was much worst - uneven finish: (this is after drying overnight)



Given my time deadline I had to start spraying the car body, and the result was much the same. Some areas shine, and others have a dull "oxidized" look. Putting more coats on today.

[bkrownd]

The car's going in the mail in a week so no time to do any backtracking. Got a bit of fuzz in one of today's coats. :( :violin:

[Ember]

I had exactly the same results pictured in the last photo the one time I tried to paint a car with a metallic flake automotive paint. Areas of true colour and then strange greyish bloom in other areas. The paint I was using was an in-store formulation because it was a colour match for an old code paint (Holden Lakeside Green) and so the aerosol was not delivering as fine a spray as a factory filled can would. But I never discovered what was the cause of the issue. And I'll admit, I gave up and stripped the shell and set it aside to be tackled again at a later date (2 years later it is still waiting).

Only suggestion I have would be a light wet sand between coats. And finish the final coat with T-cut or similar cut and polish compound when hardened just as you would for a 1:1 job.

The flake in auto-paint is much coarser than that in a model paint. However, I know Zagato (Graham) paints many of his Aston Martin shells with auto-paint. He decants the paint into an airbrush. Then I'm sure he uses magic of some sort to spray his shells and produce the fine flake finish that he achieves.

Good luck

[bkrownd]

I wonder if some sort of buffing would help remove the patina-look from the dull areas?

Time to see how the clear makes it look...

On a happier note, the surface is really smooth, and the gloss black on the interior tray had none of these issues.

[Ember]

I'd be wet sanding before I clear coated. Take that bloom off it first.

[bkrownd]

Oh...maybe this isn't such a big deal. The first light shot of clear coat looks like it got rid of the surface difference on the test part.

Left side has first coat of clear coat...right side has no clear coat. An hour into the clear coat drying I can't see the difference between the formerly gloss and patina areas where the clear covers it. :banana-rock:



I'm heading out to see if I can find some Future in this town.

[bkrownd]

[bkrownd]

Next I need to do some masking and black out the front and rear grille/light recesses. I guess I should put a coat of clear on first to protect the color coat a bit?

We don't have fancy model masking tapes and fluids here, so I'm going to have to improvise. Post-it notes were my first idea, since they don't leave gunk behind. However, they're kinda stiff and may be too difficult to work with. The blue "painters" tape has more damage and gunk potential, and costs a fortune here. This morning I started thinking of trying to do it with teflon tape, if I can get it to cling enough that I can build up a mask with several strips and then tape the teflon tape mask together with simple desk tape so that nothing sticky touches the model. (finally, a bag around the rest of the model to prevent overspray damage.)

[bkrownd]

Neither the "frogtape" or blue tape will lift the clear? It isn't usually hugely sticky on most surfaces, but I'm still worried about using it on relatively recent thin spray paint layers. I guess I can try it out on my test surface. I need to have the paint finished by Friday at the very latest so I have some time to seal the paint and decals and try the foil.

[bkrownd]

1.5 coats of clear - looks pretty good

[bkrownd]

Color is metallic garnet. Decals will be limited to simple number roundels, and maybe "Plymouth" banners if I can fit them. The rear quarters are kinda small for the banners.