Get your own Free Home PageTo avoid problems paints should be applied between 60 and 90 degrees F. Humidity should also be 50% or below. Always work in a well-ventilated area away from sources of ignition and observe label guidelines for personal safety.
For paints to stick well, and to assure long term durability proper surface preparation must be done. The ideal surface is bare clean metal free of any grease, oil, wax, silicon, paint, or rust. The first stage of proper cleaning involves thorough degreasing to remove grease, oil, or wax deposits. Light deposits are easily removed with PRE Painting Prep Aerosol (1679Z) by spraying the surface and wiping the still wet surface with a clean dry cloth. This reduces the likelihood of moving surface contaminants from one location to another during the following mechanical cleaning.
Mechanical cleaning involves using abrasives to blast, sand, or wire brush to remove loose paint and rust. This can be accomplished by abrasive blasting with one of our cabinets or a pressure blaster for larger parts. Sanding by hand or machine can also be effective, but slow. A faster way would be to use a wire brush, or better still our 5 or 7 inch cleaning disc (3722) or (3727). Often the most efficient way to remove paint is to use chemical paint stripper, especially where many coats of paint may be present. Once any residual grease or oil, paint, and loose rust have been removed you’re ready to proceed to Chemical cleaning.
Chemical cleaning removes microscopic rust. Eastwood Rust Remover (3350) will completely remove this rust in seconds to hours. The speed of rust removal depends on the degree of rust and the temperature. Like all acid based products Oxisolv works much faster at 70 degrees F than it would at 50 degrees F. For heavy rust removal place an Oxisolv-soaked cloth on the surface, making sure there are no air pockets, and cover with plastic to prevent evaporation. Check the part periodically. It’s important to remove the Oxisolv once the rust has been removed because it will eventually attack the base metal. Complete the cleaning process by once again wiping the still wet surface with PRE Painting Prep (1679Z). Now that the surface is clean, you are ready for paint.
The next step may be your top coat or you may prefer to prime. Primers are an intermediate coat that are especially designed to promote adhesion. In many OEM applications parts like engines, engine accessories, radiators, and suspension components, primers were not used. Your decision to prime will be based on the component application, type of topcoat, and durability desired.
Components like engines, exhaust manifolds, radiators, gas tanks, and some other components are usually not primed because of the part’s operating temperature, or the top coat is designed to be applied to bare clean metal. Check the individual product label for application recommendations. Priming enhances durability where it is not expressly forbidden by the product label.
For priming areas where some rust remains we recommend Corroless Rust Stabilizer Aerosol (1272ZP). This paint converts rust to a more stable form and encapsulates the surface with glass flakes. Corroless can be top coated with enamels and most urethanes. It is always a good idea to test the top coat for compatibility in an inconspicuous area. Our Self Etching Primer Aerosol (1365Z) is an excellent adhesion promoter on rust-free metal and is compatible with any top coat except for single stage epoxy-fortified paints like our Chassis Black Aerosol (1244Z) and Gloss Chassis Black Aerosol (1293Z).
Now that you are ready to apply the top coat the following suggestions will help you achieve the smoothest possible results. Some coatings like our Stainless Steel Gray (1256Z) and Satin Black (1215Z) manifold paints are usually brushed. Use either a quality trim brush or disposable foam brush. When you brush, work out from a central point so that you’re always brushing out from a wet edge. If noticeable brush strokes are present try dabbing over the just completed stroke to make any dry lines or unevenness disappear. The easiest way however to achieve the smoothest possible finish is to spray.
Spraying whether by aerosol or spray gun will produce the best results when applied in accordance with label instructions. Usually these instructions specify several light coats instead of one heavy one. Use good spraying technique keeping the aerosol nozzle or spray gun air cap at the proper distance and parallel to the surface to assure an even coat from the top to the bottom of the spray pattern or fan. When defects occur it’s usually due to surface contamination or poor application technique.
When the surface hasn’t been properly cleaned a condition called Fish Eyes can result. This condition is so called because the crater-like surface resembles a fish eye. Fish Eyes usually mean there is a silicon, wax, or oil deposit that was not completely removed from the surface, or the contaminant may have come from the air source. Air source contamination is usually caused by oil entering the air line from the air compressor. For best results use a moisture and oil trap mounted as close to the spray gun as possible. This way, as air travels through the line and cools, the moisture and oil that condense out can be readily filtered.To repair this condition strip the part down to bare metal using the Aircraft and Automotive Paint Remover (4690Z) and wipe the surface with PRE Painting Prep (1679Z). Make sure the air lines from the filter to the gun are clean and the filters working properly. Add a little Fish Eye Eliminator to your next batch of paint. Find the source of the problem and don’t rely on paint additives to solve the problem because Fish Eye Eliminator can adversely effect the life of the finish.
Lifting is another condition that can be caused by surface contamination. In this condition the paint readily peels away because there is no real bond to the surface. The cause and repair is the same as for Fish Eyes. Another lifting condition looks like a wrinkle finish or alligator skin. This lifting condition usually indicates the use of an incompatible top coat. This condition most commonly happens when a lacquer based finish is applied over an enamel. The lacquer thinner in lacquer based paints is aggressive enough to soften and penetrate through the underlying enamel causing the enamel to lose adhesion. The aerosol finishes sold today tend to be neither lacquer nor enamel but they do act more like one or the other. It’s always safest to recommend testing a small inconspicuous area before refinishing the entire part. If a lifting problem is going to occur it will usually be noticeable 1 or 2 minutes after application. To repair, use the Aircraft and Automotive Paint Remover (4690Z) to remove paint down to bare metal and wipe with PRE Painting Prep (1679Z) and finally repaint, making sure you test compatibility on a test panel.
Orange peel is the result of poor atomization due to an improperly adjusted spray gun, wrong thinner or reducer, excessive distance between sprayer and or low pressure. This condition is so called, because the painted surface has the texture of an orange peel. Some orange peel is actually desirable because as the paint dries or cures it shrinks slightly. The slight peaks and valleys provide extra surface flexibility to allow for shrinkage without cracking the paint film. Most non metallic finishes can be repaired by first allowing the paint to thoroughly cure. Gently wet sand using 1200 and 2000 grit color sanding paper, available from your local body shop supplier. Then compound by hand, or with a buffer, using a finish compound also from your local body shop supplier. Metallic finishes may need to be stripped back to bare metal because color sanding may ruin the appearance.
Dry spray is caused by to much distance between the sprayer and the surface being sprayed, or using thinners or reducers that evaporate too fast for the temperature of your work area. When you mix paint for your spray gun, use the correct thinner or reducer. For example on a 70 degree day don’t use a thinner with a 55 to 65 degree range, use the 65 to 75 degree thinner. If you can’t change the thinner or reducer used, decrease the distance between the sprayer and the surface being sprayed. Sometimes this condition can be repaired by moving the sprayer slower and closer to the surface to apply a wetter coat. Otherwise the paint should either be color sanded with 1200 and 2000 grit and compounded or stripped down to bare metal using Aircraft and Automotive Paint Remover (4690Z) wiped with PRE Painting Prep (1679Z) and resprayed using the correct thinner or reducer for the temperature conditions.
[Products listed are available from Eastwood Company, (800) 345-1178. RHH]
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