Painting finishing help needed

[glennpm]

Hi,

I've been working on restoring a 38 steering wheel. The wheel and horn button came out well but disappointed in the dull finish I got from a rattle can. Even with a couple of wet coats, the finish is dull. The single can delivered was $35!

The part is the headlight switch with rod. The pot metal part has a pebble finish. I removed all the old paint, sanded with various grits, used filler type Rustoleum primer and then the final coats. The first picture is closer to the real color and is a match for my car's exterior.,

I'm thinking about sanding with very fine scotch pads that I have and then maybe 1000 or 1500 wet/dry paper, finishing with clear coat.

Suggestions please.

Glenn

[rockfla]

I found "some" success with prepping the piece before painting it, THEN I put my piece to paint with a rattle can out in the sun for about an hour or so before painting. Also I start my spray well before I move across the the piece to allow time to attain full pressure and stop well past the piece. You can see in my second photo how cringley the first application went.... then the application as describes above...NOT a "perfect" finish BUT it does have a reflective quality and "fair" smooth finish!!! I also found better success when I did one coat, let that coat sit for a good 1/2 hour or more BACK out in the sun, Then hit the second coat, let that set in the sun again for another 1/2 hour or more, then a third coat. Make sure you keep the spray fan the same distance and speed consistent each time!!!

[rockfla]

Sorry, the crinkley one

[Bored&Stroked]

Me - I'd use automotive paint and a spray gun for best results. And if you want it really shiny, then use a 2-stage approach (base + clear).

[Flathead Fever]

I painted a rim with a Rustoleum a couple weeks ago and it runed out like crap. It wasn't a collector car and didn't really matter on this truck. The collectors' cars get real automotive paint. I still prepped it like I was using expensive epoxy paint. I have been painting stuff for 45 years, spray guns, spray cans. The factory paint was sanded, cleaned, dry, painted in a cool spot, 50/50 wet overlap coats and the paint just about did what yours did, it would not flow out. It did not like the wet coat of paint it was like an orange peel finish on steroids, almost a crinkle paint finish This is CA and I was thinking they messed with the formula to meet pollution standards. It wasn't me or the prep work. I won't be buying Rustoleum again. It's the world we live in now, if it works good they take it away from us.

[tom1948]

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I too have had problems with rustoleum primer, the top coat would not adhere. I think the base for it is incompatible with most top coat except their own. I would use a good quality self-etching primer , then use a good top coat. In my experience, most puff cans will not have a good shine without a LOT of elbow grease. To me it just makes sense to invest in a cheap spray gun and do it right. just my 1 1/2 cents.(inflation y'know)

[flathead48]

Glen, if it were mine I would strip it bare, spray with epoxy, then a filler primer sand to smooth the piece out, hit with 400 than base & clear. Second option would be scuff with gray scuff pad, spray couple coats of clear,( no reducer, just the hardener) let it cure, hit it with 1000 grit than couple more coats, if it is smooth enough to satisfy you there would be no need to polish for it will have a great shine. Just don’t use rattle can clear

[glennpm]

Thanks for all the tips guys!

I'm going to try to scuff it with a grey pad. If it looks good at this point, hoping that I don't go through the color, I'll spray clear on it.

I do have all the spray gun equipment but for such a small piece, i didn't want to go that route.

For the combination of Rustoleum, used it because it is enamel, the ExpressPaint top coat sprayed wet but then didn't flow out, giving me orange peal.

Again, thanks everyone for your input!

Glenn

[glennpm]

Success today! Humidity was final low enough to do a proper rattle can job.




Glenn

[rockfla]

Good job Glenn.

[glennpm]

Thanks!

[flathead48]

Looks good, glen

[glennpm]

Thanks,

I put in about six plus hours all tolled I'd guess. After I got to the point that I thought I was done, I'd come back three or four times again with 1500 paper and very fine Scotch pads.

I'm glad it was worth it, otherwise I'd have to start all over :-(

Glenn

[fordor41]

we did our '60 steering wheel with Rustoleum and and their clear. worked great. painted in the sun with multiple coats. 4 yrs later it still looks good

[glennpm]

I like to keep parts out of the sun until the paint drys somewhat. the claim is that the sun will dry the top layer quickly but not layers beneath it. I like to upt the parts in my closed van in the sun with the parts not in direct sunlight.

[rockfla]

Originally Posted by glennpm

I like to keep parts out of the sun until the paint drys somewhat. the claim is that the sun will dry the top layer quickly but not layers beneath it. I like to upt the parts in my closed van in the sun with the parts not in direct sunlight.

IF you don't GLOB the coats on I have found, as stated above, putting the part in the sun for about an hour, THEN doing very LIGHT consistent coats in different directions..ie horizontal coat, then vertical coat, then horizontal again with the proper overlap and time given to "gas out".....even painting directly in the sun has produced very favorable results. Just for my eyes, I roll my part back in the shade and spray them BUT I roll it right back out into the sun just as soon as I spray a coat!!!!

[Ricosan]

That looks great Glen. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Richard

[glennpm]

Finished product! I plan to start a new thread about this restoration soon.



Glenn

[cas3]

Very nice !!!

[Bored&Stroked]

Looking fantastic! Looks like one very beautiful and well done car!

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Bored&Stroked

Looking fantastic! Looks like one very beautiful and well done car!

Glenn is a tribute to our hobby. Most everything that he undertakes turns-out beautiful, well thought out and well-done.

Coop

.

[glennpm]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Regarding, "Most everything that he undertakes turns-out beautiful, well thought out and well-done."

... eventually anyway, but I am persistent :-)

Special thanks to cas3 for his help with the horn rod!!

Glenn

[38bill]

For those of you that use Rust-Oleum clear over a Rust-Oleum color coat be sure to test their compatibility first. I have stopped using the Rust-Oleum clear because it will immediately lift and wrinkle the Rust-Oleum paint (and maybe other brands?). They must have changed the product.

PS: Just this weekend my BIL sent me a photo of a project that he was working on and was going to clear it with Rust-Oleum. I warned him about my recent experience so he tested it before spraying the work. Within minutes he called to thank me because it wrinkled and stripped the paint right off the test surface.

[glennpm]

Good tip Bill.

Krylon clear works over Rustoleum.

[DavidG]

Not to be a wet blanket, but if you do not mask the flat surface in the recess you run the risk of the horn button not grounding out and therefore no horn.

[glennpm]

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Hi David,

Yes, I was thinking, "why didn't I mask that area" :-)
I cleaned the paint off using a small wire wheel with my Dremel and also buffed the spring ends, top hat and copper contact too with a Scotch pad.

Glenn

[glennpm]

I removed this 36 steering wheel from my 32. Using a 33-34 horn rod, I mounted it on my 40. I really like the improved steering over a Grant wheel I had installed many years ago.




Glenn

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by glennpm

I removed this 36 steering wheel from my 32. Using a 33-34 horn rod, I mounted it on my 40. I really like the improved steering over a Grant wheel I had installed many years ago.




Glenn

Glenn ..... What kind of hanging pedals are those that I see in the '40?

Coop

.

[glennpm]

Hi Dick,

I think they are Ansen but I bought them about 50 years ago! I was actually just looking for literature for them in my files and you asked the question :-)
Looks like I don't have the literature.

I need to modify, shorten the threaded portion, of my clevis's to move the pedals closer to the floor. That's the next project. The 36 wheel is not dished as much as the Grant wheel I had and I need a little more room.

Glenn

[deuce_roadster]

Understand that anytime you spray paint you are shooting round droplets of paint through the air, they land on whatever you are painting and under ideal conditions, flow together and make a smooth as glass finish when the droplets dry enough to stop flowing. I control this process using the correct catalyst and if used, reducer for the temperature I am shooting the paint. This is a dance between the elements you have no control over outside of a professional paint booth, and the catalysts you are using. The containers usually have a range of temperatures to use at like 60-75 75-90 etc.
Dries too fast, you get orange peel, or worse, too slow, you get runs. I have been painting cars since the 70s and have a good idea what the brand of paint I use will do and adjust accordingly. Be advised, you can do EVERYTHING correctly and still have a poor outcome, humidity can change, compressor quits. Back in the 1970s I painted a brand x 52 hardtop a beautiful two-toned root beer and cream, Looked stunning, closed the garage doors leaving a gap for the fumes to move out and went into the house. Came back 45 minutes later to look at it and a cat had come into the garage, walked across the trunk lid, top and hood. Got to start over and lost money on that job. Some lessons you learn the hard way. I had the good luck to have professional friends mentor me over the years. Using spray cans is a gamble at best. At least get spray cans that put out a fan shape spray pattern instead of a round circle of paint. Actually, All painting is a gamble between what you can and cannot control, you just try to have the odds in your favor.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by glennpm

Hi Dick,

I think they are Ansen but I bought them about 50 years ago! I was actually just looking for literature for them in my files and you asked the question :-)
Looks like I don't have the literature.
Glenn

Glenn ...... I kind'a figured they were Ansens from the design of the pads. They quit making those eons ago. I guess you've had that '40 for a long, LONG time.

Coop

[glennpm]

... and Ansen's they are!

Thanks Coop!

[glennpm]

"All painting is a gamble between what you can and cannot control, you just try to have the odds in your favor."

That's for sure!

I repainted the driver's door years ago when my 40 was black. It came out great. A few days later the neighbor's cat got in my garage, tried jumping up to get in, and left deep scratches on it :-(

[Als48]

And don't forget bugs! Years ago a friend and I painted his '61 C... a beautiful royal blue. It came out really nice, except the garage we were using was not sealed off and the bugs got in. Next day It had the little critters scattered all over the car and we had to redo it.

Al H