Not doing well with the rattle can...

[cybertron]

And here's the evidence (I know there's a lot of orange peel, but that's not what bothers me - actually it's the parts that aren't orange peeled that bug me more because they stick out like a sore thumb):

http://www.nemebean.com/mods/BadPaint0002.jpeg

Why is it all streaky like that? Is it because I used metallic paint? This is the stuff I'm using:

http://www.nemebean.com/mods/BadPaint0003.jpeg

Some areas of it look really good, but it's very uneven and the finish is kinda grainy and dull in some areas. I'm not necessarily looking for a perfect mirror finish, but something relatively consistent would be nice. Am I spraying too close, too far away, too fast, too slow, etc? TIA.

Oh yeah, and I know this is the inside of my case panel.:) I'm just doing it for practice before I do the outside of the panel. Apparently it's a good thing I did.

[progbuddy]

try a couple more coats.

Lol, I'm trying to get a pro painter for my air compressor.

[Cevinzol]

It looks like you have vertical banding in the picture.
- it looks like you put too much on in 1 layer and a little too close.
How many coats got you to this point?
Did you sand between coats? What grit sandpaper did you use?
How long did you wait between coats?

Its not terrible, let it dry real good, sand it a little and in a few coats you should have it evened out.

[CanaBalistic]

To me it seems asthough you either under sprayed or over sprayed. I would do what Cevinzol said.

You dont have to use rust paint but whatever.

Remember:
Hold the can 10-12 inches from the surface.
Hold the can at the same angle realitive to the case throughout each painting stroke.

[cybertron]

That was about 4 or 5 coats of the color and a couple light coats of the clear just to see if it would even things out for me. I'm pretty sure that the primer is completely covered at this point and I'm just moving the banding around when I put on more coats. It seems like the light areas are coming up on the edge of wherever I spray and the texture of those areas sucks.

The banding is actually horizontal to where I'm standing when I spray, it just ended up oriented that way in the picture. It's parallel to the direction that I'm painting though.

I've been waiting for 2 days between coats and wetsanding with 600 grit sandpaper. Not quite as high as what I've seen in the guides, but it was the best I could find. And like I said I'm not too concerned with getting it mirror-smooth, just consistent.

I'm just using the rust paint because that was what the metallic stuff was and the primer and clear were recommended on the can.

It's very possible that I oversprayed it because I tried moving a little closer to get rid of the problem. It seemed to get worse the further I moved the can away. I guess I'll have to try lighter coats and hope for the best.

[CanaBalistic]

If your going to re-try, make sure you have a good layer of primer.

Lay the panel or piece on a flat surface and paint down at it. The metal flake tends to sink in the paint and if you have the piece verticle it will want to move to the bottom. Which might explain the effect in the photo. (which is missing so im going off my stoner memory)

[cybertron]

I did have at least a couple of coats of primer under there, although I forgot to say that in my last post. I'm also painting it on the ground so it's already on a flat surface (which can be a royal PITA when a bug decides to wander on to it:)).

[gobygoby]

Hey just an FYI. I used the EXACT same paint....expcept I used the black metallic. the clear coat SUCKS!!!!! You will get a higher shine without it. I did 2 coats of primer, 4 coats of paint, and 3 coats of clear. I had to do the 4th coat of paint because the 3rd coat of clear screwed it all up. On my last coat of clear I switched to Krylon Clear coat....but that was still about the same looking as the reustoleum. anyway, it will be shinyier (is that a word? :) ) without the clear.

The rustoleum clear is difficult to work with. you are either too close or to far and it goes on kind of gloppy. The Krylon goes on very smooth and easy to use. Plus I hated using the handle. you just have that good of control over the can. IMO

PS. it gets expensive with the stupid metallic paint doesnt it? It goes on so light you have to do multiple coats and lots of cans!!!

anyway, let me know if you got more questions.

Kyle

Also for a super shiny clear coat, go to autozone and get teh dupli color stuff. Or maybe try a thin coat of polyurathane.

hth

[Cannibal23]

[QUOTE=cybertron] It seems like the light areas are coming up on the edge of wherever I spray and the texture of those areas sucks.
[QUOTE]

here is most likely what is going on with that. it sounds to me like when you are spraying that there is an undirected mist cloud of paint that is settleing on the outside areas of where you spray. when these regions dry you get a rough speckled area. it does not match the luster of the other areas when you turn your workpeice near a light. its rough to the touch. feels kind of bumpy. i used to have the same issue. the solution to mine was all in how i was painting. instead of haveing the can at a 90 degree angle to the work, i now put it at about a 45 degree angle. this way i can constantly control where that cloud is. i work from one end of the peice to another kind of pushing it allong. this will help prevent any of this settleing as wherever the paint tries to do that you will end up painting over it as you go allong anyways. as for your banding, i would say that it looks like you put too much on there in one pass and probably a little too close. remember to keep your first few coats kind of sparse. the only other thing i can think of that might be an issue is the acctual spray nozzle.

[cybertron]

gobygoby: So did you run into this sort of thing at all? I'll keep that in mind about the clear coat. It's hard to tell how much of the bad texture on it right now is from that and how much is because the paint underneath is no good.

Cannibal23: That's exactly what it looks like to me. I'll give the 45 degree angle thing a shot next time I paint. It seems like that should help a lot, and then I won't feel like I need to be as close to keep the cloud to a minimum so the banding might go away too. I need to go reread the painting guides I've been using and see if they mention that anywhere. If not, I think I'll flame the authors...j/k of course.;)

[gobygoby]

Cybertron,
Yes I ran into the rough texture as well. It might be from what cannibal has said. I had similar results.

Check out my build log for further info.
http://www.overclock.net/case-mod-work-logs/107858-project-gobys-tt-armor-lcs-build.html

Even if its the extra paint floating in the air, its pretty much unavoidable. I did the painting out in my garage, doors open and a few fans blowing out. Still got the rough surface. I also painted outside, and still got the rough surface. It seemed to be based on the day....funny....but really depending on the humidity, and the day, my paint job would turn out differently, with each coat. Check out my build log, that might help...

[cybertron]

Okay, at least I'm not the only one. It's kind of scary how much stuff I can relate to in your worklog already. And I'm just getting started.:)

I did find a painting guide with a video (http://www.boxgods.com/dept/modding/index.php?Action=Article&ID=198&Page=5), and he shoots his at an angle too. I'm a little disgusted because after one coat that paint job looks better than mine.:rolleyes: That definitely seems to be the way to go though.

I have a sneaking suspicion that I might run out of paint soon, but I need to go back to either Menard's or Home Depot and get myself a mask anyway. I guess I didn't get one in the first place because I was painting outside, but after still being able to smell the clearcoat last night when I was far away from it, I think I had better. Here's hoping I haven't already given myself lung cancer.:eek:

[CanaBalistic]

Well the good news is you wont get cancer. You might get high though. The solvents they use in spray bombs are STRONG!!! One strong sniff of Toluene (the main solvent used in just about every brand) and your buzzing for at least an hour.

If you want to remove what you allready sprayed, get some Acetone. It loves to disolve half dried paint and primer.

[cybertron]

Well, upon further review: Wind SUCKS!:(

I think if I can ever get a nice calm day to paint, the 45 degree angle thing will help it look good. The problem is that when the wind keeps gusting through and blowing the paint all over the place it's really hard to get a consistent coat. I really need to find a way to paint on my balcony, but I haven't managed to find a box big enough to contain the overspray and keep it from going all over the siding. Although I like the metallic blue color, I don't think the apartment people will be amused.:)

On the plus side, during a brief lull in the wind I managed to paint about half of this piece pretty evenly, so I think I'm at least capable now of doing a nice job on the outside of the case. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions.

[Cannibal23]

try to find a cardboard box in the back of some local shop. that should be able to make a tiny wind shelter for you and will contain all the over spray. if you know someone that is moveing they will likely have a big enough box or the ability to grab you one when they get their moveing boxes.

[cybertron]

Yeah, I picked up a couple of cheap painting tarps that are probably big enough to completely cover my porch. I actually cut them in half and leave them folded once because I don't need anything that big. I used one a couple of times now and it seems to be working well but I'm still just layering so I don't know exactly what it's going to look like in the end. Regardless, I'm getting a much more consistent texture this way which is really what I was looking for. Will post pics when I'm done.

[Cannibal23]

excelent. glad to hear your getting somewhere

[cybertron]

Gah! This is clearly intended as a test of my patience. First the weather was crappy for painting for about a week so I got nothing done, then it turns out this new can is just junk. I've put on a couple more coats but the last one after the can started cooling off (I set it in a bowl of warm water beforehand to help the propellant) it started spitting something terrible. The finish is actually fairly consistent, but on half of it I have nice evenly spaced blotches of darker blue because of the can. Oh well, I think one more coat with a new can should do it for the color and then I'll have to decide what to do about the clear.

On the plus side, at least now if nothing else I could probably just leave it as is and most people would never know the difference.:rolleyes:

[Cannibal23]

true you could leave it... but you would know and it would bother you. other wise you probably wouldent bother posting it right?? give it a sanding and another coat so you can put your mind at ease dude. when your finished painting are you cleaning out the nozzle like it says to on the can? turn it up side down and press the nozzle 2 times short burst to blow out any paint thats sitting in there and will clog it up next time you use it.

[cybertron]

Yeah, I'm planning to finish it properly. I still have the panel on the other side that I want to do too so I'll use the extra paint. I always clear the nozzle when I'm done, but I'm pretty sure it's a propellant thing with this can. Unfortunately I didn't realize it was a pretty old can until I got it home. There was even dust on top of it and the cap was an older style than my first can. Should have known to take the longer trip to the first store with the good paint section instead of being lazy and going to the closer store.:rolleyes:

[gobygoby]

I just painted some more stuff the other day as well. It had rained all day, but stopped before I started painting and was aslo a bit chilly, about 60 out.

suprisingly, the finish was very nice and smooth. I did put a bit thicker coat on and stopped just before it was about to run.

it turned out pretty nice. even more shiny then with a clear coat.