General Painting Mistake?

[Vader41607]

All,

Maybe someone can help me understand what happened. I painted my Gauntlets Aluminum with a Satin rattle can, let dry for days and followed with a wine color and let it dry for days. Everything was looking nice. Last night I went to hit the gauntlet with a Satin clear coat. As soon as I sprayed the clear, the wine colored started to crack everywhere. Now I have to sand it off and restart. Temp in the garage was 64 last night. I don't know if that matters or not. I have clear coated with same can before with no problems. What do you all think?

 

[MinuteFett]

Clear coat should not be sprayed in humid temperatures. Trust me I know. I would spray it in a garage with a space heater just in case.

Also, do you mean the wine color cracked or the clear coat cracked?
If its the clear coat I would first try to remedy this by just respraying the clear coat again during warmer temperatures.
If not then lightly buff it with some 0000 steel wool to blend in the cracks.

If you have pictures that would be helpful too.

 

[ToEleven]

What material are you using for your base color underneath the satin? Some solvent based paint is really hot and will make an acrylic laquer crack really easy. The best thing to do is do a test piece and let it sit for a week and then hit it with the clear/satin to see how it reacts. In my experience spraying clear when it's humid will make it haze over and turn a little white...trust me I live in the south and we've got plenty of humidity.

 

[pucksdown]

I have had experience where some clear coats can totally change the base color paint you are painting over, although I have never had it crack before. Definitely test an area first before covering the entire item.

 

[WhiteShadow]

If the wine color actually cracked and exposed the aluminum undercoat, the problem was with the adhesion between those two layers. How many days did you wait before top coat? I always follow the rule that if it still smells like paint, it's not fully cured /dry.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

Clear coat has always been troublesome for me. It could be something as simple as having used too heavy a coat of it. I try to put it on really light, and do 3-4 coats rather than one heavy one.

 

[Vader41607]

Thanks for all the advice, the clear coat actually cracked the wine color. I sprayed it and it looked like it was bubbling. The gauntlet was made by Bobamaker. The wine color has been dried for over a month so it had plenty time to dry. So, I’m a little scared to use clear coat now, is it needed?

 

[Mike M.]

Thanks for all the advice, the clear coat actually cracked the wine color. I sprayed it and it looked like it was bubbling. The gauntlet was made by Bobamaker. The wine color has been dried for over a month so it had plenty time to dry. So, I’m a little scared to use clear coat now, is it needed?

personally, i don't use clear coats.

 

[SPY007]

The clear coat is softening the paint. I use Testors dull an have never had a problem. Expieriment on some scrap plastic...