Why is My Painted Finish Powdery?

[colnago]

Beginner painter here. I'm actuality in the middle of an engine rebuild, but I figured that while I had the front clip off and the old engine/tranny out, this would be the time to repaint the front of the frame (glossy chassis black), and clip interior (underhood matte black). I also figured it would be a good place to learn how to use an HVLP gun.

I used an epoxy primer yesterday on both the frame and clip. This morning, I painted both black. They both came out looking good (not great, but good for what I needed). However, part of the clip ended up with a powdery feel to it. Is this the paint, or the painter? The paint was not a two-part paint; it went from the can to the gun. Temps were in the 70s, humidity was low, and I'm using two inline air driers. Paints and primer came from Eastwood.

Any ideas?

Joseph

[colnago]

Well, to answer my own question, I did some research, and it sounds like I may have been too far away from the surface, so the paint dried partially by the time it got to the surface. I guess that means that I need to sand it down, and reapply. Ugh! Oh, well, better to learn on something other than the body.

If anyone has any painting advice, I'm all ears. I don't think taking it to a shop is an option. I asked one place for a ballpark figure, and he quoted me $10K. That's a tad high for me, so I'll have to do it myself.

Joseph

[sargentrs]

Newbie painter myself. I did pretty good with my chassis and suspension. Eastwood Rust Encapsulator and Chassis Black. Tried to paint my interior with red 2 part urethane and totally blew it. Orange peel was terrible. Sanded it all down n paid a friend to spray it for me with his guns and it came out beautiful. My air pressure was too high, my nozzle tip too small and I didn't thin enough. Best advice i can give is practice, practice, practice. Go to a junk yard and grab any fender from any car and sand and prime it. Then spray it till you get the hang of it. If it doesn't come out good, keep trying till you figure it out. And if you switch paints practice with the new one like you never tried the first. Every paint is different. Good luck!

[lamogo33]

Beginner painter here. I'm actuality in the middle of an engine rebuild, but I figured that while I had the front clip off and the old engine/tranny out, this would be the time to repaint the front of the frame (glossy chassis black), and clip interior (underhood matte black). I also figured it would be a good place to learn how to use an HVLP gun.

I used an epoxy primer yesterday on both the frame and clip. This morning, I painted both black. They both came out looking good (not great, but good for what I needed). However, part of the clip ended up with a powdery feel to it. Is this the paint, or the painter? The paint was not a two-part paint; it went from the can to the gun. Temps were in the 70s, humidity was low, and I'm using two inline air driers. Paints and primer came from Eastwood.

Any ideas?

Joseph

Difficult to really tell what is going on without seeing pictures. Powdery means soft to me, which would mean you've got something underneath your paint that is reacting to it (old grease, silicone, etc...). What you later described is just excessive orange peel. That would have a texture of hard and ruff, almost like sand paper. I'm curious of what the product is, having no catalyst or hardener. I'd imagine in the conditions you described that it wouldn't be drying that quickly to cause that problem. Again, difficult to really tell without seeing it.

As far as the cost to respary the truck, that price, unless heavy rust, and beat up old body, is a price that says they just don't want to mess with it. You should be able to get a custom car painter with a good name to do it for half that. The issue is that you need to know people to know who really does that stuff. Body shops make money on quick insurance turn-arounds, not completes. Which is why they gave a $10,000 price tag. If you find the right person they usually would apply the "you get what you pay for" adage. What that means is that if you want a $1,500 spray job, you'll end up with a $1,500 spray job. You want to spend $3,000, they'll make sure you get a $3,000 dollar paint job. A $10,000 spray job should be winning awards, and that belongs on a car that is with $55,000+.

If you don't know anybody, then I'd suggest hitting car shows and talking to people and asking them who did their paint job. My dad doesn't advertise as a custom car painter, doesn't need to. He has made a name for himself and everybody who builds cars know him. So he always has work. HTH.

[Jacksdad]

It could well be that the paint went on dry because of the distance the gun was from the surface. Most people tend to be conservative with the amount of paint they're putting on because they don't want runs. The trick is getting it wet enough to keep a nice finish went it dries, and not laying down a little more and having it run. That's what makes a great painter (not me, by the way). Is it in areas that were hard hard to get to? Sometimes that limits the way the paint can be laid down too.

[colnago]

Is it in areas that were hard hard to get to? Sometimes that limits the way the paint can be laid down too.

There were definitely nooks and crannies, but the problem areas are the tops and sides of the inner fenders. I think I got lazy when I was putting on the second coat, and held the gun too far away. The gun I'm using likes to be really close (like 4"), and I think I was probably twice that. I'll try again this coming weekend. The part that looks good does look good, and the part that doesn't ... doesn't!

Good thing it's not intended to be a show truck. As long as I own it, it will never attain that status! Captain Mediocre to the rescue!

Joseph

[Lone Ranger]

Wow four inches is close. I'm no painter but I usually run 8-12 inches. Your gun however might like it closer than mine tho. Powdery almost sounds like the overspray that you "push" around. If it's to hot it'll dry before it lays down too.

[colnago]

Yeah, four inches is really close! I would have liked 8", but no-go with this gun. I picked it up at Harbor Freight, after reading a bunch of reviews. It's actually a pretty good gun, other than the fact that I have to hold it real close, and I'm chasing a small leak around the trigger. I repainted the engine bay the following weekend, and made sure that I moved a bit slower, and I paid more attention to what I was doing. Again, not show quality, but it looks so much better than it did before the paint.

Joseph

[Lone Ranger]

Cool glad it's working for you. If your happy that's all that's matter

[colnago]

I'm happy for what it is -- the engine bay. I wouldn't be happy if this is what I got for the body. My next big paint job will probably be the truck bed. That's another area that doesn't need to be 100%, but it will be a great area for learning: flat panels, the actual paint that I'll use on the truck body, cargo area so I can afford the occasional run (or powdery finish), etc.

On that topic, does anyone know a good source for Lunar Green paint, that can be shipped to California? I can find Wimbledon White for the bottom half (two-tone truck), but I can't find the green. I live in a small community, and we don't have any paint shops, so I might have to take a drive to the Big Evil City (Los Angeles).

Joseph

[lamogo33]

On that topic, does anyone know a good source for Lunar Green paint, that can be shipped to California? I can find Wimbledon White for the bottom half (two-tone truck), but I can't find the green. I live in a small community, and we don't have any paint shops, so I might have to take a drive to the Big Evil City (Los Angeles).

Wimbeldon White is often known as a factory pack color so many bulk paint places like paintforcars.com and others that ship will sell you it. Something like a more specific color will need to be mixed by a paint store. Napa has a few affordable lines that probably have the toners to mix it. However, if you are not too committed to the actual Lunar Green, perhaps one of the bulk paint suppliers can sell you a color that is close enough. That is what I am currently doing with my truck. HTH.

[sargentrs]

I've found this site to be a good x-reference http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedi ... 77&rows=50