Need paint expert

I finished painting the tank on my XJ550 and although it looks GOOD, it doesn't look Great as I had hoped. Steps taken:

1. Stripped all the old paint off of the tank down to bare metal
2. Cleand the tank first with lacquer thinner and then with Dupli-Color Pre-paint cleaner.
3. Sprayed 2 coats of Dupli-color sandable primer. Wet sanded with 1000 grit after each application
4. Sprayed 3 coats of Dupli-color Exact Match Black
5. Wet sanded with 1000 grit after first coat and 2000 grit after 3rd coat
6. Sprayed with 2 coats of Dupli-color Exact Match Clear
7. Final product was quite dull so I wet sanded with 2000 grit
8. Applied rubbing compound vigorously first with machine then by hand.

The paint looks ok, but it doesn't have that depth that I was hoping for. Should I go back and spray another coat of clear? How should I prepare for that if necessary.


Here's what it looked like before


One other bit of info that may be pertinent. I don't have a humidity controlled environment to paint in.

 

Another coat of clear won't hurt. Did you let the base coat cure according to the directions? Did you spray in high humidity? Did you get fogging? Maybe that's your problem. I like using the 2 part clear urethane spray myself. Spray Max offers it in a aerosol. This gives a nice, rugged finish which resists fuel spills.

Note: Not an expert, but have done some painting on my own bikes with good results.

 

You might try Meguires cleaner wax it works great on clear coat.

 

My first thought is that you didn't wet-sand enough and still have imperfections in the clear, and possibly in the color. 2000 grit is an intermediate step when you want a deep gloss finish. I usually fonal wet-sand with 2500 grit but the shop in the link below take it to 3000 grit before buffing.
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/paint-body/1009sr-high-gloss-paint-job/#photo-19

 

I only let the base set up for a couple days. Humidity was normal for Illinois. Paint looked glossy when applied but dulled as it dried. Question: Will the Spray Max fight with my current dupli color clear or do I need to use some kind of sealer?

 

Is that Dupli-color a lacquer? As far as I know, you can spray 2k urethane over lacquer, but not lacquer over urethane. In my case, I used the 2k urethane was over Dupli-color black acrylic enamel. But the fact that you already have the clear lacquer applied I probably wouldn't take the chance of using the urethane at this point. But someone may have better insight in this regard.

 

I think at this point I'll try some more elbow grease with polishing compound and see where that leaves me. I might send an email to Spray Max and ask about putting it on top of the DupliColor clear. Thanks for the responses.

 

Humidity.

Urethane paint will go over ANY other type of paint w/o causing a problem, but the dullness you have will not go away by itself. Also, for ANY paint coverage, the original coat(s) --- whether it be primer, color, or clear --- must be FULLY dry before applying anything over the top of it.

All "paints" are made of color pigments and other chemicals dissolved in some type of SOLVENT. The "wet" part of paint is the solvent. The solvent "dries" via evaporation. Evaporation takes time. How can you tell when a coat of paint is dry? Stick your nose up to it and sniff.....if it still smells like "paint" ---- meaning you can still smell the SOLVENT ---- then it ain't dry. The pigments and other non-solvent chemicals have little to no odor themselves.............it's the solvent that smells.

Drying time varies widely based upon the type of paint and atmospheric conditions. Humidity and cold temps drastically slow down solvent evap. Even the spraymax urethanes take 30 days to fully "cure" (cure = fully evaporated solvents) before they become truly fuel resistant.

 

I spent about 3 hours today with my 2000 grit and rubbing compound finished off with polishing compound and it is really looking good. I'm not in a hurry, so I'm going to give it a week or so and then finish it off with a couple coats of urethane. Thanks again everyone.

 

I actually went to an automotive paint supply for the 2 part clear and used the Preval system to shoot it with. Was more expensive, but figured it would be enough to do two whole bikes. This was after determining how many 2k Spray Max I would need for one bike (3 cans if I remember correctly). At about $16.00 a of 2k Spray Max the route I took made more sense. In your case, one can should be more than enough for the tank. Below is a picture selected from the article I used when deciding what to use. I used a different brand clear coat, but any quality automotive clear coat would do. I think it cost me around $40.00 for the clear coat and $10.00 for the Preval spray which I found at Home Depot.
If your clear paint did fog up as Chacal suggested, then you will need to sand down to the base. Not an easy thing to do since it is hard to know if you got all the clear off and will most likely hit primer. Therefore, I would just sand back until you start seeing primer. Once you have a uniform primer where you see the primer peep out through out the tank, I would respray with the black and afterwards use the 2K clear coat. Keep an eye on the weather to choose the best time to spray. I live in Florida so in the summer it was a challenge. But just a matter of looking at the weather site and watching the humidity. Don't quote me, but I think I tried to shoot when it is at least 66% or below. Either way, if you do plan on using a 2 part urethane in the future, make sure you take all the safety precautions. That is some toxic stuff. Use a charcoal cartridge type respirator mask along with gloves and plenty of ventilation, plus any other recommended safety instructions.

 

^ All of that is why I still appreciate a good alkyd enamel and a paintbrush (or roller if you want to get all fancy and modern). Even so, I do use spraybombs most of the time.

 

I have painted my XJ 2 times
both with simple cheap spray bombs
both times with amazing results
painted, then clear coated with 2k Clear
wet sanded the clear with only 2000 grit
then applied the rubbing compound.. at that point it was super dull
then I used a wet rag and wiped it and it shined like a diamond
second time I painted I used a dull clear coat
love the look of it.. no rubbing needed

 

Got my can of 2K. It's not real humid today so I'm going to give it a try. I had an experience the other day that confirms what someone said above. "It takes as much as 30 days for these paints to completely set up" There was something rattling in the tank so I finally decided to figure a way to get whatever it was out. I got my flashlight and there was the missing Tall Stack for the petcock. I hooked a bent wire into the end and pulled it out, and when I did one tiny drop of gas fell on the Dupli-Color clear coat. By the time I reached for a clean rag it had created a small crater in the paint. It appears to have only affected the clear coat, and not the black base coat. I'll sand it down with 1000 grit before putting the 2K clear on.

 

I question what going over the duplicolor clear with a 2k product will do. I would test on scrap. Could cause a reaction or just not bond. Or be just fine. But it's an activated product so more is going on that usual

 

My thoughts too. Even though everyone I talked to says it should be fine. I didn't get to it yesterday, but I'm going to spray the tail section of the tank where it is hidden under the seat and let it sit a couple hours before doing the whole tank. I'll post the results.

 

I don't think you are going to have a reaction with the clear that you have already applied. I think you used clear lacquer? However, I don't feel putting 2K clear over the existing foggy clear is going to get rid of the fogged appearance. In my mind, assuming that the 2k clear doesn't fog up due to humidity, you may still see the foggy layer of clear (original lacquer clear) residing between the 2k clear and the base coat. I am just guessing. That is why I suggested you sand the clear lacquer off first. The only way I can see to do this and know if it is all off is by also sanding off the black base until you see primer uniformly on the tank. The black doesn't have to be completely gone but close to it. That way you are assured the clear is gone. Afterwards, repaint with the black base coat prior to the applying the 2k clear. Like I said, I am not experienced enough to say this is the correct course of action. But I'm guessing by doing so, and taking the extra precaution, you may save yourself extra work, time and money in the long run. The only sure way to know what you are trying will work, is for member here to confirm that they tried the same exact thing already after their paint job fogged up on them. On the other hand, if you go back to primer, you know everything will work.

As far as humidity, when I painted, I checked the hourly forecast in the morning for the day of painting. Then I chose the time frame of least humidity during that day. Anything in the mid-sixties or lower % humidity, I would go for it. Probably below 80% is fine. But man, with all the work involved, I didn't want to take a chance. I think auto paint manufacturers rate their paint @ 70 degrees and 50% humidity. But when I research it for my painting, I learned that slower reducers/hardeners/activators can help remove any chance fogging. With rattle cans you don't have that control. So best to go to the rattle can's manufacturer's and lookup their recommendations.

 

I got permission to post the attached write up below that was posted on another forum. I had used it as a reference when I did my painting. Now I have a decent compressor and paint gun. My compressor will easily do a bike in one spraying, but not a car. Not powerful enough to do a professional paint job, but pretty close.

But, if you want to see what a rattle can paint job achieve, here is a link: http://www.kzrider.com/forum/11-pro...900-restoration-modification?start=780#520206

 

The foggy paint went away when it dried. I did some more sanding and rubbing compound and put on what I hoped would be my final coat, I wiped it down good and used a tack cloth to make sure there were no surprises. But of course there are always surprises. This one in the form of specks of crud that must have been stuck to my arm and of course they fell off right in the middle of what I'd hoped would be my final coat. So I waited a day and starting with 600 grit sanded all the imperfections out working my way to 2000 grit. Of course the time on the 2K had expired so it took a fresh can at $20. I now have a beautiful black gas tank Thanks for all your help gentlemen.

 

Out of interest - do you think you could have done the same with just black gloss 2k and done without clear-coat?

 

Clear coat is an important part of the process. It will help the paint have more depth and assist in keeping it from getting ruined if chemicals hit it.

 

I'm pretty sure my tank (original paint) doesn't have a clear coat. Also the 2k black will be fuel proof just like 2k clear...

 

Correct.

 

Let's say fuel resistant. So no one silly. To the op. I look forward to the pics