Rattle can issues

[flanagan0718]

Ok to my fellow "rattle can" spray painters...What am I doing wrong!!! Here is my process:

-Sand enclosure w/220 grit and clean before spray
-Paint, let dry, bake, wet sand, rinse and repeat 3 times.
-After the 4th wet sand I apply clear coat to the enclosure. Almost every time it bubbles and gets all ugly looking. It's incredibly annoying. I've stripped and started over on the same enclosure 3 times now.

any advise or tips?

This is a picture of what it is doing. (not my actual enclosure)

[Soup39]

what brand paint and clear coat?  Sounds like they aren't compatible. 

[diablochris6]

I don't bake my enclosures, but I sometimes get that same effect. I use Rustoleum enamel spray and Rustoleum enamel clear coat, so you would think the compatibility wouldn't be an issue. From what I gather, I think the last coat of paint isn't fully dry before the clear coat is applied. Since the clear coat is touching the air, it dries faster and cinches up, crinkling the layer underneath before it has a chance to dry. Maybe let it bake longer? I plan on letting my boxes dry in my garage an extra day before clear coat to see if that is the issue.

[flanagan0718]

what brand paint and clear coat?  Sounds like they aren't compatible.

I thought enamel is enamel. Shouldn't they be comparable regardless of brand?

EDIT: After reading a bit it is possible I mixed types. I'll have to check when I get home. Thanks guys.

[bcalla]

Mike, this happened to me once when I used Krylon clear.  I never baked my enclosures, and I never had any trouble with Rustoleum paint.  Since then I completely switched over to buying painted enclosures and finishing with Envirotex.

[flanagan0718]

Mike, this happened to me once when I used Krylon clear.  I never baked my enclosures, and I never had any trouble with Rustoleum paint.  Since then I completely switched over to buying painted enclosures and finishing with Envirotex.

This seems to be the way everyone is going. I might have to give Envirotex a try in the future. Thanks for the tip

[ggarms]

After about 2 years of using spray clear, I recently (10 or so builds ago) switched to the 'tex and have been wondering why I didn't start sooner. It offers a beautiful finish, is rock hard, and pretty easy to use. In fact, even my first time using it came out great, So I definitely have no complaints.

[bcalla]

BTW, if you decide to go the ET route NEVER pay full price.  My wife taught me that Michaels always has 40% off coupons on line, and they even have an app for your smart phone.  I bought some Saturday.  Marked $35, paid $21.  You can do a lot of enclosures with one box of ET.

[billstein]

Amazon also carries it at a good price.

Envirotex is definitely my go to finish now. It does take a little more patience. I did a pedal recently and only let it cure for 3 days. It was still a bit sticky and I left some finger prints in it.

[rullywowr]

I know how that feels, very frustrating!  This kind of madness pretty much forced me to get into powdercoating myself.

[Stomptown]

I've had this happen on many occasions using Krylon spray paint and krylon clear (no oven).  My experince seemes to indicate that a short curing time for the paint (I tend to rush things) followed by overly thick coats of laquer cause this. Definitely try to let the pedal cure for longer (I'd wait a week) and make to the clear coat layers are thin.