Dash paint issues

I started painting the dash frame last night and spent the whole day before just masking and prepping everything. Sanded and cleaned with dawn soap and water till completely dry. Painted the upper dash with the flat black paint and turned out great. The issue is with the lower dash after painting with the krylon satin. I’m not sure if that’s paint bleed in some areas of the lower dash. I just have to find out, fix it and repaint over the weekend. Let me know your experiences and how to possibly fix this.

 

I always use rustoleum and I have the satin paint as well. This is my first time using the Krylon brand as I heard its the correct lower dash paint and similar to what was used in the factory. Only difference is that its lacquer based and not enamel, from what I know.

 

I would let the Krylon set up up for a while. Then put the glove box door in and red pad or grey pad the whole thing and then shoot it again with better paint. One good even not too heavy coat with good overlap. Wipe it down with a degreaser first. You can use CRC Brake Clean in a pinch. Don't soak the surface - just wipe it off and make sure its all evaporated before painting. You can back tape or foam strip the glove box door so over spray won't be an issue. If the red / grey pad loads up you may have to start over.

 

Those round spots (lighter spots) are called "fisheyes"....meaning there was some contaminant like oil, etc on that spot and the paint is not adhering there.....the paint sort of "pulls away" from those contaminated spots since the contaminant doesn't allow the paint to grab there.

You can try to let the paint cure some and then scuff but you may still have the contaminant problem there. You can try lightly sanding those areas and cleaning them but any solvent based cleaner (lacquer thinner, enamel reducer, brake cleaner, solvent-based wax and grease removers, Prepsol, etc.) will likely react with the paint you just sprayed on there and make a mess.

Also...what temperatures are you spraying in?

 

I will try just that this time. I’m going to prime areas that exposed bare metal from sanding and go over the whole thing with a 400 grit sandpaper to smooth it all out. I will try it with the glove box and ash tray in this time.

 

That is what I thought it was. It’s in a garage around 20 C/ 68 F.

 

That's not "too cold to paint". If it were me and I didn't want to "roll the dice" on trying to spot clean those areas....I'd strip the paint (and primer) off and start over. In a perfect world, back to bare metal but not sure if you did that....at least remove all the new paint and primer. Then....

>CAREFULLY/METHODICALLY clean the surface before any new primer - preferably with an automotive paint type wax and grease remover.

>WITH clean/new nitrile, etc gloves on your hands

>with clean/new paper towels (or better yet an auto body type wiping towel - made for doing this but can be expensive)

>Technique w/the wax and grease remover - one towel wet w/the cleaner and wipe ONE WAY. Go right back over it with another clean/dry towel while the surface is wet. I'd do this at least twice to any surface you plan to paint. NOTE: with most paper towels you may have small specs of paper/lint left on the surface so a light wiping with a new tack rag would be advisable (cheap to buy).

I'd wipe those "bad" areas first (after removing the new paint layers) and then toss those towels instead of using them on other parts of the dash.

Take your time - the prep work is the key many times.

 

Also - did you use some filler (ie bondo, etc) in some of those lighter appearing areas. Hard to tell from the pics but some of those larger areas look like filler spots that are soaking up the paint and thus appearing lighter. No matter what, you have a contamination problem with those distinct smaller round spots.

 

I didn’t use any bondo. Those lighter areas are exposed metal from sanding. I need to go over them and prime again.

 

Be careful....your grey primer may be lacquer based. Your topcoat is enamel.

 

I’ll be using the rustoleum primer as it’s made for the enamel paint, which is what I’ll be using this time.

 

That should help. Again, the fisheyed spots are what you really need to be concerned with....along with the ability to clean the fisheyed spots w/out weakening the surround enamel finishes. Anyway, it's a dice roll to try and deal w/spot repairs when dealing w/enamels and non-catalyzed finishes (which is what you're getting with the spray cans). Please follow up here as things progress....always interested in hearing how things worked out (which you don't hear/see alot of times after folks ask questions on these bulletin boards).

Hopefully, the enamel "friendly" primer will alleviate some potential problems.

 

Will do! I'll keep you updated how it turns out. Thanks a lot for the tips.

 

Also - I went back and re-read your first posting here...."Dawn soap"....while it's a good product, it's really not good enough to remove stubborn contaminants, especially when it comes to painting. Oil type contaminants are very stubborn as well as other contaminants like silicone, "armor all" type products, etc. Warm or hot water does help when you use things like Dawn, etc but still.....a solvent-based cleaner (auto paint prep type product) is what is really effective if used properly. You could be dealing with something that got on the original dash paint (and soaked in over time) long ago or your prep work could have been the "cause". Using a "better" product helps reduce the risk of a bad result.

I have a large container of Dawn "Professional" Dish Detergent I use a lot in my restoration work.....but I really only use it as a final wash on parts that I've previously prepped/cleaned with auto paint type wax and grease removers before and after stripping the original finishes off of. Typically on something that's been primed and sanded to prep for the final paint stage and even then, on smaller pieces like console door metal pieces, etc. In the case of larger pieces like your dash metal.....a true auto paint type wax and grease remover is your friend.

 

Yes, I'm going to change that this time with either a lacquer thinner or CRC brake cleaner, which I both have.

 

Nawaf - Like I said before....you will likely have a problem if you get those lacquer thinner or brake cleaner products on any of the paints you already sprayed on there. They will lift/wrinkle and soften those finishes QUICKLY. You'll likely end up with a bigger mess on your hands.

 

So an automotive type wax and grease remover should be my only choice?

 

I will try to find that PPG DX330 cleaner.