Hello everyone. I don't know if this has been asked before or not but here it goes.I just use in cans. I've noticed that my top coats are not fully dry. They look and feel dry but after I leave them sitting on the shelf and decide to use, when i lift the pedal the bottom kinda feels like it was sticking with the wood of the shelf. The surface has dents and dirt sticking on it. I also noticed that some of these were pedals I made like 4-5 months ago. They are still wet-ish. How come? I usually spray 1st coat and dry for an hour then 2nd coat and dry for 24hrs. take note that the climate here is hot and humid. how do I fix this? Thanks for any help and advice.
I am not at all an expert, but I'll offer some help inexpert advice. ;)
First, you can probably fix the humid climate problem with a toaster oven.
Second, your coating will remain soft if it cures on the outside before it fully cures on the inside. You can probably fix this with lighter coats.
Again, I'm not an expert. All of my clear coats have orange peel texture (and require some hand polishing), but at least they fully cure, for what it is worth.
The toaster oven is a great fix. Beyond that though, as above, use lighter coats. I've had tons of problems with this, although mostly on guitars. I always thought that heavier coats = more shiny. I've now got my pedal regimen down to a dusting to set the decal (so the drilled holes don't sag and pull the ink with them) and then 2 or 3 coats that appear a bit bumpy but level themselves out. If it looks wet on the pedal, chances are it's too heavy. Especially if you shoot too quick. I usually do the dusting, wait about 5 minutes, and then shoot 2 light coats about 20-30 minutes apart. If you need it to be glossier then leave it over night and shoot a slightly heavier coat.
Thank you for the replies. So the already finished enclosures, I'll put in a toaster oven? For how long and what temp? I do spray light coats but I don't dry them directly on sunlight. I've tried that and the decal warped.
I'm afraid the already-finished ones will need stripped and redone.
Thin mist coats with lots of time to dry between. What's the material you're spraying, lacquers will melt into the previous coats, other materials just sit on top of the previous coats sealing them in.
dave