Thread: I give up!!!

Ralph, Sorry to hear about your prediciment. I've only used rattle can ONCE to base with and it reacted very badly to the HOK I did my flames with. Since then, I've never used rattle can paint again. I use a little spot gun and shoot auto base then clear, or HOK. That's probably not an option for you though.....

So, I guess I'd sand it down, and if I was going to use rattle can paint a second time, I'd buy automotive touch up rattle can from a paint or auto parts supply. Like Auto Zone 'r something. It'll cost mort than a dollar tho............

That probably doesn't help you very much, but without saying I don't like rattle can, I'm afraid that's the best I can do.

I hope you can work it out, and I'll check back to see if anyone else has a better answer for you. Best wishes on your dilema.

Greger

Ralph I am sorry you are having such a bad experience with this. In my opinion I would get some chemical stripper and strip it all down to the bare metal. Then I would clean it with a good quality degrease. Next I would prime the surface with an automotive primer and then base coat it. Stay away from the cheap fixes and paints, you can either use a solvent based base or a acrylic water base. My choice would be a solvent base. Let it cure for a good amount of time then do your flame tape and your AA paints. If you feel that the paint may still come off you could clear coat the base with a true clear coat, one tack coat and two wet coats and then let it harden for at least a weak. After it is cured scuff the clear with a wet Grey scotch bright pad you get from a auto paint store or wet sand with 1500 grit sand paper. You are just making the clear dull not sanding it off. Wipe the surface with a tack cloth and the clean with the degreaser. Now you can do your tape or sticky micky paper and paint your flames. After the flames are dry remove your tape and you should be good to go for your final wet sand and clear coat.

If you use an acrylic water base primmer the use a the same base coat paint.

Fred

ralph,you almost got it.your mistake is leaving the paint to dry on the tape.
if you can take the tape off when the paint is still tacky.then when you pull the tape off it wont pull up the paint.if the paint is dry then you got to cut the paint from the tape.after cutting the paint and tape then pull your tape.take a blade and slice the paint the over laps the tape.
if you can stop in i can show you some tricks and tips.
you can do a killer job with cheap walmart rattle cans.

Ralph, I'll put my two and a half cents (sense) in here.
First, I know your fender needs to match the rest of the vehicle, so that you pretty much have to stick with a paint type and color to keep the look consistent. But with that in mind, you need to understand and follow basic lines of logic and procedure.

Good paint jobs start from the very beginning, and every layer is only as good as the layers beneath it. So you need to make sure your original prep work is solid and complete, and that the primer is going over a clean and ready surface, and that it (the primer) is compatible with the type of basecoat or color coat you are going to use on top of it. The same logic follows through the rest of the job too. Your graphics paints need to be compatible with the basecoat they are sprayed or painted on, and each layer needs to properly dry and cure before you proceed to the next step. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, especially when you are talking about hard surfaces, all it takes is a little contamination from skin oils or dust to screw up your work. Keep your work and work area clean, and don't skimp on the steps. It makes a HUGE difference.
Paint lifting tells me that it is not bonding well to the surface beneath it, and that is typically due to incompatability of the paint or poor prep work. Your primer needs to have enough tooth for the basecoat to adhere, likewise the basecoat needs to have enough tooth for the graphics to adhere too. Each layer needs to be able to grab and hold onto the layers below. Many rattle can paints use a huge percentage of slow solvents, they help the paint flow out into smooth finishes. And while that's great for painting your lawn furniture, it sucks for trying to do work on top of it. Because it flashes, drys and cures so slowly, it makes it difficult to lay anything on top of it because it stays soft for so long. That softness makes it difficult if not impossible to scuff it cleanly for some tooth for the layers to follow, and the slowness in curing makes it very suseptible to damage from the solvents in the degreaser and the solvents your graphics paints contain. Without scuffing or degreasing your surface, you are tossing the fate of your job to the wind (or worse). That nice glossy finish that the paint offers keeps it from letting other paint bond well to it, so you are kind of damned if you do and damned if you don't using the rattle can paint. But keep in mind that you can get good quality enamels that you can spray through your airbrush too. Paints like One Shot Lettering Enamel let you control the viscosity and choose the speed of the solvent, and you can get them in small size containers, so you don't have to buy a gallon when you only need a pint.

For the tape residue issue, the usual rule of thumb is take the tape off as soon as your paint flashes. I try to avoid tape being on the work surface for more than 24 hours, especially in hot dry conditions. Those conditions can "Bake" the tape to your surface, and make it a pain to get off. If you do have residue from the glue, I would wait 'til your job is completely dry, then carefully use some "Goofoff" or something similar and go at the adhesive residue.

For the tape itself, old tape can be a nightmare, tape left out in the air can dry out and become nothing more than an expensive paperweight. Keep your tapes sealed in air tight plastic bags, and in a cool, dark storage container, a fridge works great if you have one you can use. UV, air and temperature extremes can age tapes, paint, hoses, solvents, etc., prematurely.