# Milky/Dull Patches in New Metallic Paint



## gorslimy (Sep 19, 2010)

Hi All,

Have been trying to paint an ABS plastic grille with VW Diamond Black Pearl Paint (Halfords).

Had a bit of a false start where the first attempt in painting was a bit inconsistent with distance and speed of application and ended with a crappy finish, so wet sanded it down using 1500.

Painted it again this morning creating a much better uniform smooth surface finish, however some small patches are drying duller and cloudier than the rest, difficult to see in the picture.

It was painted in my garage, humidity was about 70%, and I had warmed the can in hot water prior to applying the paint as I had read somewhere this improves the force of spray out the can (or something like that). The grille was inside my house prior to paint so not cold. I did use some panel wipe just prior to painting and used a hair dryer to dry this off with a microfiber cloth.

What’s the reason for the dull, cloudiness or does this not matter as when the clear is applied this will disappear??

Any ideas.

Thanks

Mark


----------



## rich9 (Jan 28, 2014)

Did you not wipe off the wet panel wipe with a clean cloth?


----------



## gorslimy (Sep 19, 2010)

I wiped it off with a micro fibre cloth, which was pretty clean (only used with removing panel wipe once before), I put a hair dryer on the grille to make sure it had all evaporated as there were some small tight angled spaces. 

Could panel wipe which just evaporates on a surface cause a problem?

I was thinking of gently applying some fine grade polish to see if it removes it? I wonder if this would affect the application of the clear coat, and/or overall finish?


----------



## rich9 (Jan 28, 2014)

Panel wipe should be wiped off to remove the contaminents. If you just let it dry you remove nothing and generally leave a mess behind.

Difficult to guess what your issue is, possibly due to application not quite being consistent or dry patch. Was the grille in good condition with no previous paint, and primed all over?

I would not try any polish as some contain silicones which will ruin the job. Really you are meant to lacquer over basecoat within an hour. But it's not so critical with 1k lacquer from a spray can as the high solvent content will bite in.


----------



## gorslimy (Sep 19, 2010)

Hmmm. Okay, there is a small slump I would prefer to get out, so I'll bite the bullet, dull it off and re paint. If it is contaminents will just dulling off with 800 grit be okay?

It was primed and flatted with halfords plastic primer filler. Thinking about it, is paint over primer filler okay, or should I have put some regular primer on top?

48 hrs after painting, I can just about mark it with a finger nail. Assume this is normal and the lacqueur will, as you say bite in anyway and produce a harder finish?

Was planning on using Spraymax 2k lacquer. Assume this is okay on top of 1k paint?

Thanks for the help.


----------



## rich9 (Jan 28, 2014)

Primed and flatted you say - what grit? If too coarse that may have an effect on the finish.

If you are sure it's not contaminents then P800 rough up will be fine.

In aerosols, "high build" and normal primer are pretty much the same, so no need to put normal primer over.

If the paint is soft underneath then it will chip easier. As long as you only put a few light coats on it should be OK.


----------



## steveo3002 (Jan 30, 2006)

laquer needs to go asap once youve got it looking good ...as in 20 mins


----------



## gorslimy (Sep 19, 2010)

Hi,

Yeah I was planning to apply the lacqueur soon after paint, but when it started flashing off with the weird finish I opted to hold off as I wasn't sure.

I flatted off the primer, it was megga smooth.

Can still just about force a finger nail into the paint, is this what you would expect from a metallic once dried 72hrs after spraying? It was a couple of light coats and one heavy?

Do I need to go back down to primer !!

Thanks for the help.



steveo3002 said:


> laquer needs to go asap once youve got it looking good ...as in 20 mins


----------



## rich9 (Jan 28, 2014)

The softness could be down to the filler primer. 1k filler primer is a waste of time really, has no real filling power and just opens up to problems later down the line. Your prep should always be good then you don't need bodge products to cover over.

That said, if you want a quick result just knock it back and re-base like you said then put your clear on.

When you said the primer was mega smooth, too fine a grit finish is a problem. For basecoat should be no finer than P800 or you might get adhesion issues. Not such a problem with 1k primer though due to the solvent bite of the basecoat.


----------

