Having Trouble sanding out fibers that are sticking up.

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 11:54 am
So i'm painting these small nylon parts that have graphite reinforcement baked into the mix. You can feel a kinda rough texture(just ever so much). When spraying primer I'm noticing that i'm getting little dots all over and have to sand them out after the fact. This naturally is a pain in the arse. Up until this point I have been scuffing the surface with a res scotchbrite pad before primer. I've even tried a test simple rubbing down the part with a tac rag and no sanding with the same problem. Is there a way to keep the fibers from standing up when applying the wet primer? I'm applying a full wet coat.

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:19 pm
If they are baked in would it be of any help to "heat/iron" the surface before priming? I have seen this done with a portable heated wood veneer iron in manufacturing. On the assembly line one guy was ironing/burnishing the surface, next guy was giving a final scuff sanding, then the last guy was priming.
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 3:56 pm
Thanks Darrel these are are actually tubular so a iron wouldn't work well. I did think about passing a torch by the surface briefly to kind of sear off the little fibers.

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 4:26 pm
I understand. Yeah, torch idea might have some merit. You are getting what I call the "Electra Shave" effect with those darned things. Wet primer has a hydrophillic action which pools around them allowing them to float up straight.
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 4:57 pm
Yup exactly. Surface seems smooth then hit it with wet primer and BAM little nibs all over the place.

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PostPosted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:45 pm
Would it help to do fast paced "dry" primer coat first? We have to do this some times on extremely old fragile coatings when we are trying to stabilize and save them. Just thinking that might keep them down before the wet coat comes on.....
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