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Tremclad Paint Job Begins...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark M
  • Start date Start date
Mark, it looks like a bad reaction to the original finish. To save my prep work I would have primed it first. I like the concept, hopefully it works. This is mine after 2 part urethane, decals and before clearcoat.
 
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The fisheyes are caused by the part not being completely clean and having some grease, oil, or other contamination on it. What did you use to wipe them down before painting? Could be a reaction between the original paint and the new one also. I would have primed them if it were me, but I use epoxy primer on everything. You may be able to overcome the fisheyes and bubbles with more coats but to me it looks like you are having a reaction to something on the original surface and that could cause the adhesion to be spotty and you could end up with peeling paint later on.
 
jmanz6 said:
The fisheyes are caused by the part not being completely clean and having some grease, oil, or other contamination on it. What did you use to wipe them down before painting? Could be a reaction between the original paint and the new one also. I would have primed them if it were me, but I use epoxy primer on everything. You may be able to overcome the fisheyes and bubbles with more coats but to me it looks like you are having a reaction to something on the original surface and that could cause the adhesion to be spotty and you could end up with peeling paint later on.
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The fisheye is definitely contamination on the piece. Everything was washed with hot soapy water prior to wet sanding with 320, then rinsed and wiped with clean paper towel. The places that fisheyed are scratches on the surface of the fender that I think still have some dirt in them. The fender was quite dirty and greasy with some oil residue. I cleaned it heavily, but may have not been diligent enough. I will sand down the fisheye spots and clean those areas again with dish soap and hot water, then try again.

I was debating on the primer. The paint says no primer required except on bare steel, so i tried that first. I may sand it all down and try primer on the fender because it was giving me trouble. The side panels actually look to have good adhesion, but the coat is very inconsistent and uneven. Which is my fault, not the paint.

Mark
 
Back in the day, I would wash the pieces down with a rag w/enamel reducer on it. It would remove old wax and oil residue that doesn't show, than a quick wipe with a tack cloth. Never a problem after this step. Just a thought.

Thanks,
Stiksave
 
You might try some isopropyl alcohol to do the final wipe down on the parts. I use it when I clean parts and it gets off dirt I didn't even know i had. Get the good stuff - at least 90% - the drug store should have 2 different concentrations. One will be something like 70% for general disinfecting and the other will be at least 90%. The stronger stuff has less water in it and will dry faster and clean better. You can also get a gallon of it at Home Depot or the like. Mineral spirits has too much other crap in it and paint thinner may just remove the paint already on the parts. Don't be stingy with the paper towels either. Use lots of cleaner and lots of clean towels. Then, blow off the parts with DRY comressed air (the air in a can works great for this). Hopefully this will save some headaches.
 
jmanz6 said:
You might try some isopropyl alcohol to do the final wipe down on the parts.
Click to expand...

Good point, I did not do a degreasing after I was done sanding. I will sand the fisheye areas down and use the isopropyl to be sure it is clean.

Thanks,
Mark
 
Go to Canadian Tire or wherever they sell paint products and get actual Wax and Grease Remover. I think it's about $10 for a litre or so. It'll last you many projects, and it works wonderfully. It MUST be used after you touch the surface in any way with your hands. Hot soapy water just doesn't cut it.

Wipe with a cloth with Wax and Grease Remover on it until you don't see the cloth picking up any dirt anymore. Let the surface air dry, or wipe it dry with a clean cloth to speed things up.

Remember, prep is everything.
 
Well, for those that said it looked like a compatability issue with the original paint and the Tremclad, that appears correct. After sitting for 18 hours or so (indoors, with very low humidity), the paint still had not cured at all and was very soft and tacky. Feck.

So I did a test on the fender and turpentine just wiped the paint off with no effort... So I have now wiped all the first coat off everything and will scuff again and try a coat of primer.

The reason I think it is a compatability issue is that the white bled onto the black Tremclad I sprayed in a few spots and those runs were cured hard and I could not lift them with the turpentine. Hopefully, the primer will adhere well and cure properly or I need to find another paint system to try out.

More to come...

Mark
 
Mark M said:
Well, for those that said it looked like a compatability issue with the original paint and the Tremclad, that appears correct. After sitting for 18 hours or so (indoors, with very low humidity), the paint still had not cured at all and was very soft and tacky. Feck.

So I did a test on the fender and turpentine just wiped the paint off with no effort... So I have now wiped all the first coat off everything and will scuff again and try a coat of primer.

The reason I think it is a compatability issue is that the white bled onto the black Tremclad I sprayed in a few spots and those runs were cured hard and I could not lift them with the turpentine. Hopefully, the primer will adhere well and cure properly or I need to find another paint system to try out.

More to come...

Mark
Click to expand...
Wipe all your pieces down with rubbing alchohol. This will get any greasy/oily residue (even soap and finger prints are enough to cause issue) off the pieces.
 
enamel reucer, laquer thinner, isopropyl alcohol all lack a key ingredient that wax and grease remover has, mainly to break down and remove silicone remnants. I use 80% alcohol between coats to keep everything clean, but the only final prep before paint that will pretty much guarantee a real clean surface is to use the wax and grease stuff. I use high quality paper towel, becuase they are lintless. Also, this time of year is really bad for static electricity which can cause havoc in a different way with paint and prep. If you're not in a heated area with a humidifier, be careful to release the static buildup, otherwise it may cause your paint to go on in little blobs here and there. Its the basic theory behind powder coating, the surface is one polarity, the paint another-you know the rest.
 
stain said:
I only thinned mine @40%
Click to expand...

Well, mine was thinned at 33% so I should have been fine. I don't think the thinning had anything to do with it because the white that got onto the black rattle can Tremclad I sprayed cured properly and stuck fine. I think it is either a paint compatability or surface prep issue. The fisheye was definitely surface prep, but I am not sure on the side panels.

I will see what the primer can do for me tonight. Good thing it's a long winter...:eek:

Mark
 
All right. I wiped all the white off, scuffed again with 320 wet and then wiped it all down with isopropyl alcohol. For good measure, I wore nitrile gloves while wiping stuff down and for all the painting. I also thinned the primer a bit less than I did with the white, closer to 3 parts paint to 1 thinner. The primer went on much better, still a bit bumpy, but I think that is my fault for trying to put too thin of a coat on. It is not the end of the world, a bit of sanding and maybe one more coat of primer will have it all nice and smooth. The primer is also drying as it should, the paint has been on maybe an hour and I can already touch it with no tack left. Much better all in all.

Just one pic of the parts in primer this time:

100_0552.jpg



Mark
 
Mark M said:
I also thinned the primer a bit less than I did with the white, closer to 3 parts paint to 1 thinner.

Mark
Click to expand...


I use Tremclad for my frames. I spray it through a paint gun, and have found that a 3:1 is pretty close to perfect. That would be a good consistency for rolling too. I've also found that when thinned, it dries a LOT faster.

Keep up the good work. I might try a paint job like this some day.
 
Success! I hope, anyway... I sanded the primer with 400 wet, then rolled on a coat of white. I thinned this at 3:1 and it was pretty good. I think it could be a touch thinner, but it was not bad and leveled itself off nicely with no bubbles left at all that I can see. Now to see if it dries properly or not. It has been sitting for close to 2 hours and is already less tacky than the first run ever got.

And in all their warty glory...

100_0553.jpg


100_0554.jpg



Mark
 
Just a quick update. The white did indeed cure properly overnight and now has a hard shell finish with a very high gloss. I was worried last night because it stayed tacky for quite a while after painting, but a couple of PM's with Rudy suggested a fan to keep the air moving and assured me it would dry eventually.

So, the next step is wet sanding with 400 and another coat tonight, then wet sanding with 600, then hopefully the final coat.


Mark
 
Does anyone use/ recommend T.S.P. cleaner (trisodium phosphate) as a degreaser :confused:
 
mcloud said:
Does anyone use/ recommend T.S.P. cleaner (trisodium phosphate) as a degreaser :confused:
Click to expand...

I think it would leave a residue behind that would cause paint problems. But it is a nasty cleaner if all you wanted was to degrease parts. I would also be careful with it on bare aluminum, it may blacken the surface or cause other problems.

Mark
 
Wow ... only three coats? The Tremclad guys that originated the idea typically had eight or nine (or more) very thin coats before they arrived at what they considered a finished product. If you're getting there with only three coats you're definitely doing something right!

Keep at it - looking good so far!

Regards,
 
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