DIY Job Scratches Super Easy… Is there anything I can do

General Discussion. Make yourself at home...read, ask and answer!



Settled In
Posts: 34
Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 3:07 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:15 am
if you used S/W finish 1 acrylic enamel the mixing ratio I believe is 4 to 1. mixing it with hardener only no reducer. I have used it a few times with out any problems.
Acrylic enamels are pretty forgiving to use when it comes to the mixing ratios. with many enamels you don't need a hardener for them to dry and cure so if you get the mixing ratio wrong it's not a big deal.
enamels will dry quickly but will take time to cure . when a finish is dry you can handle it and do your reassembly work but if you take your finger nail and push it into the finish it will leave you nail mark in the finish.being that way you still have to take extra care not to mar the finish. when it's cured if you do the same it will not leave a mark in the finish.
at a point it will not matter if you try and bake it in the sun because it will not make the finish cure any faster.
not knowing what grit you did your prep sanding work with it's hard to say what is going on and just how easy the finish scratches off. Or if the paint is just scratching off the primer or is everything scratching off top coat and primer right down to your substrate ( old finish)
like another poster stated with enamels to would want to prep sand with 320 or 400.
also other unknown is you stated you used acid 8 and u-pol adhesion promoter. many people tend to over uses undercoat products when they are not needed. acid 8 is fine for giving some adhesion to bare metal but with enamel not needed for going over old OE paint. I'm not a big fan of adhesion promotors either. all that needs to be done is to sand the substrate to get the new finish to adhere.
like others stated with your wipe down this too could also cause problems if not done correctly. you want to wipe the product on wet and using clean dry rags wipe it back off right away not letting any of it dry on the surface of the panel. in general there are two types of cleaners one is a per-clear for per-cleaning the surface before you start to do work on the panel then there is per paint cleaners for prepping the surface before you start to do your paint work. at times it's ok to use a pre-cleaner to prep the surface for painting but per cleaners AKA grease and wax removers take longer to evaporate off the surface. most up to a half hour before you should start to spray any products over the substrate. in my shop I tend to use a few different wipe down products RM 900 pre body work cleaner and 901 pre-paint.along with kicker pre-cleaner and I will also make my own too. more for cleaning at times when static electricity is a problem I will mix 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and distilled water.



Top Contributor
Posts: 6765
Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 7:10 pm
Location: OREGON COAST
PostPosted: Wed Jun 30, 2021 11:06 am
here's a hillbilly way to patricianly solve you problem. get some clear coat, i don't know where your going to find just a small amount, you might try a auto body shop. take a couple small jars with you and ask if you can have some clear coat, you only need a few oz. .get the activator, fast activator if you can. pick up a fine point artist brush.
now mix a small amount of your clear and just fill the scratches. don't try and do it all at one time, it may take several applications and hour apart posibly. build it up so it looks level with the old finish, let dry a day or two then block sand with 600 or so to start with. just cut the high part down then go to a finer paper 1000 and so on. this is the hard part trying to cut it down with out cutting into the old clear, BE VERY CAREFULL! apply more clear if needed. let dry several days before you try and buff. if its still soft the buffer will pull the fresh clear out of the scratch. i've done this and had very good results and a few not so good. take baby steps don't rush it. other than this you should probably consult a pro if you don't have the tools and knowledge, you'll be money ahead.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 2787
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:46 am
Location: Canberra
Country:
Australia
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 1:34 am
That may work, Jay, but depends on how deep the scratches are.

To get an idea of whether the process will work, just spray a wet coating of Prepsol on the panel, in the scratches. If they pretty much disappear then that clear method will probably work.

After it's cured use the poly filler method to protect surrounding areas when sanding down the high spots of the clear.
Chris



Non-Lurker
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:44 pm

Country:
USA
PostPosted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:05 pm
Update…

So after leaving the paint to cure over the last couple of weeks, I will say that it greatly improved. That said it was still too soft in areas, so I decided to sand it off. I knocked the majority of it off with 150 grit using an random orbital sander, then went back over it with 320 grit with the orbital, and finished with a third pass of 400 grit by hand. During sanding it became obvious that some areas were good to go and others were not. I’m going to assume that since I had prepped it like I had the exterior for the raptor liner that my issues were related to poor prep and not the actual paint. Either way, I’m back to square one and it appears that I’ve got three options…

1. Respray with the acrylic enamel I’d previously used but with corrected ratio

2. Go get some single stage urethane

3. Use raptor liner

Obviously I need to prime (since I’m done to bare metal in a lot of areas) and wipe so two questions I have in addition to your opinions on how I should proceed would be…

Should I use the Upol #8 Acid etch primer or can I get away using a rustoleum auto primer? Rattle primer seems like it would be the simplest but I don’t want to screw this up a second time.

What should I get to prep the surface right before I paint? Obviously the Prep-all was a bad call. Would straight acetone work, diluted alcohol, or is there something I can get from NAPA (as it would be easier to source)?

Lastly, my planned course of action no matter the option I go with is is as follows:

Wipe, Prime, wipe, spray…

Is that accurate?

Again, your opinions/input are welcome and appreciated.

User avatar

Top Contributor
Posts: 2787
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 4:46 am
Location: Canberra
Country:
Australia
PostPosted: Sun Jul 18, 2021 10:03 pm
Although I use it for small areas I'm not a fan of etch primer when epoxy is so much better or there are two pack Down To Metal primers that are also very very good.

So, remove all that acrylic enamel. ALL, don't even leave a tiny bit on there. Then:

Epoxy - no need to sand if primed within the "window"
Primer - then block to P800 or P600 if a solid colour
Top coats.

Before epoxy sand with P150-P180 then use a quality wax and grease remover. Generally the ones sold by the bigger paint companies are the best, PPG's Prepsol better than any. Spray on and wipe off or use the two cloth, wipe on, wipe off method but make sure you get as much off as evenly as possible and allow it to fully flash off. Then I like to use a 50:50 water and alcohol mix. again sprayed on and wiped off and allowed to completely dry. Then use a tack cloth while blowing compressed air on the panel to shift any dust, lint ot other contaminants immediately prior to painting. I repeat this before basecoat or 2K single stage / direct gloss and tack and blow only before clear. Do not use straight acetone - it can damage any paint that is already on there.
Chris
Previous

Return to Body and Paint

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Drew, Google [Bot] and 108 guests