[kingston73]

I'm repainting my tank and have given up on trying to use expensive paint, so I'm using rustoleum enamel engine paint.  I sanded down, redid the primer and color coat and everything looked great, no problems at all.  Things went to hell when I tried to put on the clear coat, twice now I've tried to put the clear on and twice it's wrinkled up in several places.  I'm using all rustoleum engine enamel, so everything should be compatible.  I let the color coat dry for a week despite the instructions on the can saying I can repaint after 24 hours.  Both times I used 2000 grit on the color and wiped it all down really well to make sure there were no contaminates on the tank, and like I said both times now the paint's wrinkled after drying.  I'm doing it down in the basement, it's cool but the can says above 50F is ok and even so, should the coolness just extend the drying time, not cause wrinkles?  Any other suggestions, I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Blindstitch]

The wrinkle could be something foreign in the air since you said it's clean. But is the wrinkle happening in the same area?



Also I would not paint without 65 degrees of heat. Even if I had to build a little booth with mini heaters in it.



Believe me I have a mini heater in the bathroom at the moment laying primer on my saddlebag trailer hitch. It's 30 degrees outside so it won't happen there.

 

[LowLife1220]

when i painted my tank it was 32 degrees outside. it was 4 o clock in the afternoon in arizona!! since i was at work i went inside a motorhome and put it next to a furance duct. 2 hours later the paint was dry. weather is a mother f'er for curing paint. the wrinkling is because the clear coat chemicals got in a fight with the base coat chemicals. the same thing happened to me with my tank. i used rustoleum base and rustoleum clear. the clear shouldn't wrinkle the base if they are the same brand but mine did for some reason. most of the rattle cans have their own gloss coat formulated in there so if you reshoot with a gloss then don't bother to clear it afterwards, you're just giving yourself more work.

 

[Blindstitch]

I should mention that I believe he painted the same tank last season with similar results. It fought him all the way.

 

[LowLife1220]

really??? well then shame on him. what was the definition of insanity? to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result?

i was thinking though, i saw in the ol casa depot the other day they have aresol empty cans that you can load your own 2 stage paint into. get 2 of those and some good 2 stage paint from a good automotive paint place. use 1 for base coat 1 for clear coat. 2 stage paint is more resistant to fuel spills.

 

[NightBiker07]

Wrinkling can happen from too much heat, too cold, or most likely, too thick. contaminants will cause fish-eyes, not wrinkling.

 

[Blindstitch]

Previous post.

http://choppercharles.com/cs/forums/1/173311/ShowPost.aspx#173311





I will never use those aerosol cans again unless I want to make a big mess.



On a small scale it would be better to run over to harbor freight or another store and pick up a 2 or 3 gallon compressor and work slow. I think I saw one on sale for $40 or so.

Guess they raised the price this week. http://www.harborfreight.com/3-gallon-100-psi-oilless-pancake-air-compressor-95275.html



But he used Spraymax last year. It's a clear that has two chambers. You break the barrier and it mixes the two and there's your clear. Ordered online it's $28 a can. I know because I have a can and never got to using it.

 

[kingston73]

Yep, that was me last year and I'm at it again.  Last year my first try actually turned out really well, until I left the tank off the bike and overnight had gas dripping down the sides.  I had every intention of getting it professionally done this year but couldn't find anywhere that could do it for what I could afford, most places gave me a $400 and up quote.  I took a temp reading and it's about 64 down in the 'paint room' so I'm going to try the space heater route first and warm it up to at least 70 to see if that helps.  I know it's not going on too thick, so hopefully it's the cold doing it.  This is definitely my last time doing this though, if it doesn't hold up this summer I'm just saving up the cash and getting it done by somebody who can do it better than I can. 



The spraymax worked really well and held up to gas spills for the entire summer, but I chipped the paint toward the end of the season when I dropped something on the tank, and I think gas must have seeped in between the clearcoat and tank because it started to bubble in a single spot.

 

[chev]

When you say wiped it down what do you mean?

 

[LowLife1220]

wrinkling has also been called shrinking. which i have seen in perfectly sterile environments. the strangest thing though. when i did my rear fender i used a base and a clear from the same manufacture and the clear shrunk up and wrinkled almost immediately. when i shot my tank i laid down 4 coats of rustoleum base and 2 coats of ace hardware brand clear. didn't shrink at all.

 

[rickbert]

I had every intention of getting it professionally done this year but couldn't find anywhere that could do it for what I could afford, most places gave me a $400 and up quote.

Dang, when i did mine 2 yrs ago the body shop did my tank AND side covers for only $150....WOW guess I got a DEAL !



Good luck Kingston, I gave up trying to redo some areas of my son's pick up truck with a rattle can.....I couldn't keep the dust away and it kept looking like crap but OBVIOUSLY I'll take IT to the same body shop I took my tank and side covers too.

Good luck !

 

[rickbert]

When you say wiped it down what do you mean?

After you spray primer and even after some of the initial coats of color you sometimes sand it down to make it perfectly smooth with very FINE sandpaper. Then you wipe it down/off real good to make sure you get all the dust and impurities off before applying the next coat.

 

[chev]

It should be washed, dried, then wiped with denatured alcohol.

 

[TXDrummer]

Painting is one of those tasks where the little things can make the difference between a great job and a mess. Prior to laying down a coat of paint, using a tack cloth is a good idea to remove fibers and dust that may have settled on the surface between the wipe down and application (paint, clear, or primer).



The Eastwood Company has some stuff online that can help. Here is a page on automotive painting basics. Some of the info may not be applicable for your specific application, but it will give an idea of what the steps are and how things interact with each other. Another article talks about aerosol paints specifically, and may have some good info that will help. Here is their tech library index. Lots of stuff to dig through there.



A trick with rattle cans is to allow them to sit on a candle warmer for a while before spraying. Warming the paint up helps it to atomize better, and results in a smoother finish.



Personally I have not had good luck with rattle can clear coats over paint in the past. If it has to look great, then I go for an automotive paint system (primer, paint, clear) that is compatible with each other and use a spray rig (air compressor, gun, dryer, etc.). A huge pain in the rump! And not cheap. Compare costs with what a body shop charges; it might be surprising.

 

[jonmcg93]

Kingston if you lived closer...I have pro buddies that will paint it for you as long as you bring the base and top coat. As I said previously I got everything for 125$ or there bouts. Their cost to paint? A case of beer and a warm day to do it LOL



In any event, lighter coats is always better, and 65+ for the temp without a doubt.

 

[kingston73]

I ended up make a rigged up paint booth with some old sheets and put a space heater in it and tried again.  With the "booth" temp around 72 and after warming up the paint cans I got much better results.  I thought I would be good because the cans said "use above 50F" but those are pretty optimistic directions.  It's not a professional looking job but it'll work and looks better than it did before.  Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

 

[nolavox]

Another Caveat... if it has not been previously mentioned. Make sure the cans of paint and the Tank are the same temp. Evaporating propellant (propane) also gets cold and chills the paint so go slow or swap out cans...



My= .02

hth