Got a floaty silver you just can't blend right? Has one of your customers come back with flaking paint? Let's check out what may be causing the problem.
Mottle or "floaty" basecoat
Usually happens with light metallics, especially silvers, creating a spotty or floaty appearance in the paint.
How it potentially happens:
Wrong basecoat thinners used for conditions
Incorrect mixing of basecoat
Spraying the paint too wet or wrong gun pressure
Basecoat curing time too short before clearcoat
How to remedy it:
Avoid spraying metallics too wet
Keep gun angle parallel to the panel being sprayed
Use correct thinner for spraying conditions
Refer to TDS to the specific paint system
Flaking Clearcoat
When the clear coat has lost adhesion to the basecoat.
How it potentially happens:
Flash off time of final basecoat too short
The wrong ratio used on the clearcoat
Excessive basecoat film thickness
How to remedy it:
Fully remove all affected paint and refinish
Bare plastic adhesion loss
When the paint has started flaking away directly from the plastic substrate.
How it potentially happens:
Release agent not removed properly from cleaning the plastic
Improper preparation technique used
Wrong sealer/primer used
Plastic adhesion promoter not used
How to remedy it:
Remove all paint layers from the plastic, prepare properly and refinish.
Bleeding through paint
Caused by the hardener from the polyester filler seeping through the paint causing a stain/discolouration under the paint.
How it potentially happens:
Use of too much hardener in the filler
Incorrect mixing of filler
The reaction of the old paint and filler
How to remedy it:
Remove filler completely, repair and refinish
Isolate the old paint with a suitable sealer before applying filler
Paint blisters
Bubbles in the paintwork appearing from underneath.
How it potentially happens:
Moisture trapped underneath paint film from incorrect cleaning
Humidity too high in spraying conditions
Contamination in airlines
Too much film thickness trapping water/solvents - not dried properly
How to remedy it:
Remove affected paintwork completely and refinish
Edge to edge colour not matching
When the freshly paint panel colour differs from the adjacent panel that has not been painted
How it potentially happens:
Spray gun incorrectly set up to the wrong pressure
The adjacent panel has naturally changed colour from weathering
Too wet (creates darker shade) or too dry (creates lighter shade)
Colour not stirred or mixed properly
How to remedy it:
Blend the adjacent panel/s
Create spray out cards to identify the correct mix and shade
Paint cracking/crazing
When paint over time develops deep cracks within the paint finish.
How it potentially happens:
Too much film build
Paint materials not mixed correctly
Excessive or incorrect use of additives
Using incompatible products
How to remedy it:
Remove affected paint down to bare metal and refinish.
Edge mapping
When the paint surface appears to have map like edges in isolated areas
How it potentially happens:
The trapped solvent in undercoats
Primer not mixed thoroughly
Finishing repair in too coarse sandpaper grade
Using a spray gun to dry paint creating a paint skin instead of drying correctly
How to remedy it:
Remove affected paint down to the affected area and isolate or bare metal and refinish
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