TheExaminer

Rookie question. I'm doing some repairs on my whale tale, and when I got to paint it did THIS in some spots. As prep I used Dawn, then Rustoleum wax remover/cleaner, and rubbing alcohol. The paint laid down ok, no fish eyes at all. Was pretty flat that evening, but when I went out to look at it the next evening, it had these ripples in some spots. Why? My first thought was that the coat was too thick. I did two coats without any time to dry between. I thought it might take more than one try because I have no clue what I'm doing, may have to sand and restart. The pic is kind of dark, I tried to use the reflection to show the ripple texture the best I could. The right side of the reflection is where it's clearest. Oh, btw, I don't have a proper paint setup, can't afford it yet. I had to use spray cans.

NowhereFast

Looks like orange peel to me. Wet sand it out with 2500/3000 grit, and polish.

TheExaminer

It's real bad though in spots. No way paper that fine would take it down. In fact, I just had to use something like 250 to knock it down--400 wouldn't even phase it. I just stripped most of the paint off of it with thinner, I'm gonna clean it up and hit it again, only this time I'm going to lay down a primer first. I didnt think I'd have to do that since it had original paint on it, but primer might have revealed some of this before I wasted paint, and it might also have prevented it by giving the paint something better to grab onto. I'm going to finish stripping and cleaning tomorrow, and hit it again. Hope I don't have the same problem. Going to go with thinner coats next time too. Any more pointers or advice is appreciated!

dcd2236

iTrader: (4)

Check these points out. main cause Ive found every time Ive ever had orange peel come up is the thinner evaporates out too quick, in that case I change to a slow reducer and re prep. Ive seen where people have their pressure too low which causes the paint to spatter out of the nozzle which causes the orange peel look also.

Orange peel is typically the result of improper painting technique, and is caused by the quick evaporation of thinner, incorrect spray gun setup (e.g., low air pressure or incorrect nozzle), spraying the paint at an angle other than perpendicular, or applying excessive

naf

iTrader: (7)

Could be solvent pop, can't see from the pic. Spraying the second coat before the first has time to off gas can trap the gas in the second coat. Allowing adequate time between coats would prevent. Fix is to sand off and respray.

TheExaminer

LOL.... I'm using a spray can. I don't have all the right equipment, can't afford it now. But I do think I laid it down too thick and didn't wait long enough between coats.

TheExaminer

THIS is more likely IMO. I didn't wait long enough, and put down too much paint.

ThirdGen1984

iTrader: (1)

you didn't let the 1st coat get dry enough so its drying under the top layer and shoved bubbles out, but the top coat already tacked up so it created that effect, that's coming from a body shop owner who has been in the business of restoring cars and painting cars for over 30 years

TheExaminer

Oh, I believe you. It was my gut reaction too when I saw it. But, I came here anyway to get reaction from pros and to fill in anything else I missed. Right not I've got it sanded back down. I put it some more filler in a small crack that I noticed was still visible when I painted. Tomorrow I'm gonna smooth that out, clean/prep and hit it with a thin coat of primer. Wish me luck! LOL

TheExaminer

I put down a coat of primer, no issues at all. Laid down flat, no distortion of any kind. Put one coat of paint on, got a slight orange peel in some sections. Waited about an hour, put another coat on and got fairly moderate orange peel all over. If it doesn't get any worse in the next day, I think I can wet sand it and smooth it out. But as to what caused it, I have absolutely no clue. It has been fairly hot here lately, maybe thats it, idk.

ThirdGen1984

iTrader: (1)

you should be able to wet-sand it down, the guy at the body shop did the same exact thing and it look OK, he wasn't pleased with his own work though and sanded it down to bare metal in that area and re-primed and then re-painted and it was much much better, couldn't even tel

TheExaminer

Yeah, already smoothed out about 1/3 of it, finish it up tomorrow and put another coat on that once I get it ironed out. I'm using 400 (wet) because I know I'm going to paint over it. I may wait til it cools down some too, it's been mid 90's here this week. I'm working my butt off on it, never thought it would be this much trouble. Paint can be a pita. Only problem is, I refuse to take it out with no whale tale, looks like crapola. So I can't drive it, and that's annoying me......