Spray Paint Lumping

[addams013]

Until I can afford an airbrush and do things *right*, I thought I'd
make do with spray paint.

While the coverage is much more even than hand painting, using the
stuff can cause unsightly drips. Does anyone have a technique for
dealing with these drips that is different from "sand 'em down and
paint the spots by hand"?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can lend.

[Malcontent]

The best way - ONLY way, really - is to prevent drips from happening instead
of trying to fix them after they've started. And the best way I've found is to spray
two or three light 'dusting coats', with the can held farther away than usual, several
minutes apart allowing it to tack up. Once these have tacked up you can lay it
on somewhat thicker and closer so you get a nice glossy smooth appearance.

Some other useful pointers; paint only on dry days with low humidity, warm the
can in the sun for 30 minutes first, and shake, shake, SHAKE until *long* after you
think the paint is mixed - a few seconds after the ball starts to rattle is NOT going
to break down all the clumps and you WILL get gunk clogging the nozzle which is
going to ruin your paint job right in the middle. Finally, if you can slowly turn the
rocket on a rotisserie spit while the paint sets up, do it.

One last thing, the saying "practice makes perfect" is usually overlooked but it's
not bad advice where paint is concerned, because every brand and formulation is
different and will run (or not run) according to its own peculiarities. Spraying a small
test article, right before doing the real thing, gives you an idea of just how much you
can lay on before it starts to sag and run.

[syn...@gmail.com]

Good tips so far, I'll add a couple of my favorites that let us achieve
results like these Pinewood Derby Cars we painted:

http://www.members.aol.com/kilkeeslps/pwd1.jpg

And this:

http://www.members.aol.com/kilkeeslps/dist0.jpg

After painting, move the item to another area clear of the airborne
paint particles. It helps if you have whatever your painting mounted
to something so you can handle it safely while the paint is wet. This
will prevent the dust from settling on the fresh paint and dulling the
finish.

Invert the paint cans immediately after finishing each coat and spray
them until they run clear. This will keep the nozzle clear and ensure
the next coat goes on without splatters.

One trick I use for multi-coat projects in the colder months is after
spraying the first coats, I move the project inside and hang it on the
chandelier with the light on to cure it a little quicker. For the
final coat however, I keep the project in the cooler air (after moving
it out of the airborne dust from painting) so the final coat has more
time to flow out for the highest gloss. I'm not suggesting a wild
swing in temperatures here, that would cause problems. We've used
55°F (basement) to 68°F (first floor) for a differential, but it does
make a difference.

For what it's worth, we've been using MetalCAST paint from Wal-Mart on
a variety of wood and paper projects with great results. The primer we
use is either Zinzer BIN or Kilz depending on what's handy, then the
silver MetalCAST base coat followed by the transparent top color coat.

That's the system we used on the Pinewood Derby Cars and those were
painted by my Sons. I'll post the Estes Big Daddy I recently finished
using MetalCAST later tonight.

Mike Doyle

[syn...@gmail.com]

Here's the Bid Daddy painted with MetalCAST, the pic is kind of dark
and doesn't show the true shine from the heavy metalflake:

http://www.members.aol.com/kilkeeslps/bigdaddy1.jpg

Mike Doyle

[tai fu]

What's so bad with spray painting? think you can get this from a spray
paint??

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/4784/img0061fw7.jpg

Yes thats my reflection in that thing... and I used spray bombs... the burst
are done with airbrushes though cause they dont sell transparant spray bombs
in taiwan...

--
TAI FU
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