painting stainless steel

[machiasmort]

GN, Most important, take your time between coats.

A cotton T-shirt works best, but only when paint is 100% dry!

 

[motorpsycho]

That is a nice job, however I could offer advice contrary that would yield better results with less work...

I don't want to sound like a know it all, because I always seem to learn something on here!

Just a few notes, A) You are correct that laquer is easier to fix mistakes in! It's more brittle than enamel, and therefore cuts (with sand paper)quicker! Laquer for these reasons is also thinner... My old boss was so good at laying that stuff down, He'd get away w/o buffing! I've seen laquer scratch from a fingerprint tho!

B) Not necessary to sand between coats as described. If you do it w/modern base coat clear coat applications for cars, this procedure will get you in trouble in a hurry, never sand between the color and clear coat on modern automotive finish systems.

C) I realize the tank pictured is not a high end sports car! And I by no means am trying to put your work down. NICE JOB! 600 grit is to coarse for use prior buffing, use 1000 or finner! 600 to flatten a run is ok but 1000 before buffing or you'll spend more time w/ the wheel in your hand! Look at the base of the lightbulb and you can see scratches, 1000 will get rid of that!

All-in All, nice work! I can't believe you got away with sanding the color before putting down the clear, especially w/metallic color!

oh i hear what you're saying. but i did use 1200 grit before buffing...i wrote 600, but i used 1200.
i did not use a machine buffer, i rubbed it out by hand.
yes it is laquer, and yes i wetsanded each color coat with 1200 to get rid of dust in the paint, again, i said 600 before, but i meant 1200.
this is old school laquer paint, not the new basecoat-clearcoat stuff.
I am not a professional painter, i just do this for fun...so i learn a little each time i paint something.
you know, i did have the final coat of paint where it was really nice & glossy.
I thought about leaving it, and just shooting the clear over it, but, there was dust in it and that's why i wetsanded it.
sometimes you have to know when to stop and say, "it's good...leave it alone"...lol...but that comes with experience.

 

[machiasmort]

Couple tips! If you get dust, between coats, use what they call a tack rag, they are cheap and good for removing overspray. The best thing you can do for shooting paint is wet the floor down and walls if you can! The water creates a suction to the dust! Best thing to do @ dust is be concious of it and don't kick it up!Bigger pieces can be removed from fresh paint using tweezers and a real steady hand!

 

[crowvise]

Eckwlfny1;287758] then coat two all at once waiting about 15min in between to let the paint get tacky.
...of course i dont know the long term results yet. whaddaya think? [/QUOTE]

you do not want to paint over tacky paint/primer. as the carrier (water/oil)dries the remaining compounds(pigments & binders) are drawn closer together(low grade paint has less of these compounds) wait until completely dry to allow complete molecular bonding. condition. tried to find an old paint book to explain w/ reference. No dice. On the krylon issue, I'd stick rustoleum for primer but use krylon for paint. Get gloss black in both and do a test while primer is applied. You will see the difference. Their colors are among the most vibrant as well. I've spray painted many a picture sold to tourists, carnival goers, college kids, etc. Across the U.S.(minus the west coast) been on net tv radio at the request of the dj(the womb) newspaper(the sun - mami ; artist name cheshire) had murals indoor and out. All spray paint.

 

[crowvise]

All pictures. not graffiti or graffiti style. Also, I grew up the son of one of the top painters in the D.C. metropolitan area (see washington post- calypso painting 1984). I have to say some of what you read here is plain wrong. A nice looking finish does not always equate a durable one. Maybe your best bet would be to ignore the well intended and hit a website specializing in this topic? I know near nothing about motors. So here i am ... Sorry about double posting but my cell only allows so much text at a time. Also takes 5 minutes to load a page. That only works half the time. And when i post, some phantom cursor takes over half the time ruining my ability to post. Screw virgin mobile's web service. When my access was prepaid (per data consumption) there was hardly any lack of connection. Now that it is unlimited all kinds of disconnect and lack of service messages.

 

[beentryin]

GN, Most important, take your time between coats.

A cotton T-shirt works best, but only when paint is 100% dry!

i thought i was the only person to buff rattle can paint with a t-shirt,it will give flat paint a semi gloss look and harden the paint in the process

 

[machiasmort]

Absolutely, as crowvice was explaining, paint contains oils and that's exactly what causes the shine! Buffing paint, actually warms it and brings a fresh oil to the surface while shaving off the top oxidized layer!

I am niether a good painter or buffer! One of my best friends is the KING tho!LOL!

I've learned a lot from him, my metal and body work is supreme, wish I could paint like him!

Crowvice, never knew Krylom paint will get along on top of Rustolium primer, was always scared to try!

As a side not, because oils cause the shine, if you paint something flat and clear over it, your result will appear as a gloss!

Here is a good example, I hand painted a rose with flat enamel. After the FLAT enamel, I used automotive clear. You wouldn't know by the result that the enamel was flat! See the effect that I got! Look at the blending of color where stem and leaf meet!

The rose was done for my buddy Amanda, who's grave I left it upon... RIP Girl, she would have loved it!

 

[machiasmort]

One thing that I failed to see mentioned here is the use of an etching primer. If you don't get a good bond between steel and primer, kiss all of your hard work goodbye with the first stone chip!

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