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I'm painting my kids computer and it's been going fine till now. The whole case has already been painted except for the left panel. I had to cut the windo out first, but now the paint won't lie flat. I did my first coat on top of a clear primer and it bubbled. Then I sanded and retried and it still bubbled in the same spots.
Any ideas?
Maybe . . . there's something embedded in the original paint. It could be that you think you are sanding and then cleaning the original paint but something in the original coat (like oil or wax) is pushing the new paint away.
It's a really odd problem and that's my only guess. You might have to sand down to bare metal unless someone has a better idea of what it is.
That definitely looks like some kind of contamination in the original piant. At this point I'd try wiping it down with laquer thinner or acetone and getting it down to the factory paint. If the thinner doesn't effect the factory paint clean it thoroughly with the solvent then give it a good wash and try it again but use a gray or red primer so you notice on the prime coat if it does it again. If it does do it again then you'll need to go to bare metal. If you were mixing your own paint there's a product called fisheye eliminator that really helps with that issue, but doesn't help with rattle can.
Hope this helps.
That looks to me like solvent pop - there really isn't a lot you can do about it quickly but you do have two options, one of which will definitely work, the other will probably work. Of course, the way that will definitely work is the harder of the two. Bare metal, etch primer, then paint will solve the problem as long as there is nothing in the atmosphere causing the problem - silicone is the biggest cause so check there are no bottles of car polish etc anywhere near the job and you should be ok. The slightly easier way to get around this is to spray lots of extremely light coats from way over the recommended distance. Most aerosols suggest 10-12 inches from the surface - if you spray from about 2 feet away, you'll effectively be dusting the paint on - this allows more time for the solvent in the aerosol to vent before it hits the paint and bites into the previous layer - using this method it should take, at least, 5 or 6 coats before it covers properly but the gradual buildup may well solve the problem. You will have to wait about 10-15 mins between coats to let it flash off - super thin coats will dry very quickly.
Good luck
I'll try sanding again and then a tack cloth. Bare metal sanding is obviously the last resort
I've brought it upstairs in my home where it's warmer and where the paint will have a better chance of curing. I'll sand it down on Sunday and then use etch primer. Do you think painting it from that point will make the panel look lighter than the rest of the case, because those parts were painted on an undercoat of black paint?
Or maybe I should use an etch primer that's a darker color?
Depending on how many coats of the purple you use, the underlying colour may show through - if you're concerned about it, and have some there, there's no reason not to put black on top of the etch before the purple.
Yeah, definitely go with a black primer under the purple. That paint looks to be on the more transparent side.
It's worse now. I took it down to the bare metal and then put on the etching primer. And it dried horribly! I looks like total crap! It really aggrevates me how great the rest of the case looks and how bad this is going.
That wasn't all the way down to bare metal. Try again. The etching primer is causing the old paint to bubble off. Take your time with the prep work. Don't rush.
1. Sand down to completely bare metal.
2. Clean off all sanding residue.
3. Keep cleaning off sanding residue.
4. Wipe down entire panel with lint free cloth and solvent.
5. Let dry completely.
6. Primer. **
7. Paint black. **
8. Paint purple. **
**- Optionally, wet sand between coats.
The old black paint was still showing through the primer. With the transparency you're getting with the purple paint, you would have seen the blotches in the final coat.
