Finishing metal flake paint

[cs]

Okay this might need to be upstairs but it is not boat related but rather motorcycle related.

When spaying metal flake paint it goes on not quite as smooth as regular automotive paint. The surface prep was as smooth as a baby's butt. You can make the metal flake smooth with some light sanding with 1500-2000 grit wet dry paper, but it dulls the metal flake.

Will the clear coat bring the flake back or should I spray the clear coat and then do the light sanding?

Chad

[Phillip Allen]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

I thionk the cclear coat will do the trick after sanding...others may know more

[Uncle Duke]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

Philip is right - clear solves the issue.
Couple of other points, though:

1: 'Flake' paint requires a different spray tip and a lower pressure. Tips are cheap and worth it.

2: You can lay on the clear as soon as the flake coat(s) are tacky/sticky. 2 coats at least. Let completely cure (2-3 days), sand with 600, give it another coat or two. Now final sand/buff.

and, for that added touch of perfection....

3: Before spraying the flake coat(s), assuming you're spraying onto metal, like the tank, get a 12 volt battery and a couple of jumper cables. Connect one cable to one end of the tank and the other to the other. Now spray - the slight flow of electricity in the metal tank will help align the flakes in a consistent direction - makes it look slightly niftier in shifting light! Decent battery charger works for this, also.

[jonboy]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

my experience is try and get it right first time like the pros do and I am I'd guess a bit like you, a well practised amateur..metalflake is notoriously tricky, but any attempt to rub or cut back and then respray never works at our level... in the subsequent respray the flakes never lie the same way as the first application and cutting back will dull them... a good automotive paint shouldn't need a clear-coat, so that's more expense and work too. Practice on scrap with different pressures and air volumes and thinner ratios, but if you are using the home compressor and cheaper pistols, it will be always much trickkier than straight gloss cellulose or acrylics. Good luck, but with flakes, flip flop, pearl, leave it to the pros..in my humble opinion

[Phillip Allen]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

Philip is right - clear solves the issue.
Couple of other points, though:

1: 'Flake' paint requires a different spray tip and a lower pressure. Tips are cheap and worth it.

2: You can lay on the clear as soon as the flake coat(s) are tacky/sticky. 2 coats at least. Let completely cure (2-3 days), sand with 600, give it another coat or two. Now final sand/buff.

and, for that added touch of perfection....

3: Before spraying the flake coat(s), assuming you're spraying onto metal, like the tank, get a 12 volt battery and a couple of jumper cables. Connect one cable to one end of the tank and the other to the other. Now spray - the slight flow of electricity in the metal tank will help align the flakes in a consistent direction - makes it look slightly niftier in shifting light! Decent battery charger works for this, also.

caution: no gas fumes in tank and cap open...a direct short across the poles of a 12v battery is gonna melt something...!!!

[Bobby of Tulsa]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

If you are going to buy good quality paint and all that goes with it. It will probably be cheaper to have a pro do it. By the time you buy paint, thinner- activater and hardener you will have spent a bunch more than you think. oh, and with the urethane clear coat you will need a really good respirator.

[jonboy]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

3: Before spraying the flake coat(s), assuming you're spraying onto metal, like the tank, get a 12 volt battery and a couple of jumper cables. Connect one cable to one end of the tank and the other to the other. Now spray - the slight flow of electricity in the metal tank will help align the flakes in a consistent direction - makes it look slightly niftier in shifting light! Decent battery charger works for this, also.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely do not do this !!! not with a car battery any way...maybe a small dry cell, but a direct connection through the tank with anything more than an amp or two will be serious fireworks. You can braze and weld with a 12v car battery ......

[Uncle Duke]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

jonboy is somewhat correct and I should have logged in and posted a correction after Phillip's post. Car battery works fine if you're painting a whole car (I've done several like that in my mis-spent youth) but probably not so good for a tank. Trickle charger maybe or a smaller batter would be better.

Let's note, though, that the problem is not as dire as you might think - the battery runs out of juice pretty quickly in that scenario, after all - and you're more likely to get a good spark when you hook up the second cable than "serious fireworks". You can, after all, hook jumper cables to a battery and connect their ends without exactly burning down the neighborhood.

[purri]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

Talk to Tom Wolfe.

[Fishbucket]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

You can, after all, hook jumper cables to a battery and connect their ends without exactly burning down the neighborhood.

Not the neighborhood, but the cables will get hot and probably melt. (along with the tank)

The car battery idea is lame... All you have to do is stand back with the spray gun and "fog" the tank so the flake is even all the way around. Dont fog untill it's dripping wet. or the flake will shift and move. Then wait till tacky and clear right over.

[paladin]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

Proper prep...and procedure in sequence......Prep and prime the tank.....sand primer.....prime again, sand primer. Use the base coat without flakes and spray tank, sand, repeat, sand, repeat. Depending on size of flakes, use appropriate nozzle and pressure, spray on flakes....wait until tacky. Make one gallon (or quart) of clear, add one tablespoon of the base color, mix thoroughly. Spray a coat, wait until tacky...repeat...6 times, lightly sand...spray with tint again, 6 times, wait until tacky, 3 coats of clear, sand, clear again, sand, final coat of clear.....when finished I had 20 coats...and it looked like you could reach 2 feet inside to touch the flakes.

[BrianW]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

I had some doubts about the car battery myself. Especially considering the source. (the guy is a bit crazy! )

But what if you wired in a headlight into the circuit as a resistor? And a switch, to cut down on sparks.

[paladin]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

The way I understand the battery situation was used......one lead goes to the part being painted, the other to the container holding the paint...positive lead going to the part being painted...no continuous electrical circuit in use.....the negative charge is placed on the paint container, attracting the particles to the part being painted......dunno about the state of charge....

[Uncle Duke]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

The way I understand the battery situation was used......one lead goes to the part being painted, the other to the container holding the paint...positive lead going to the part being painted...no continuous electrical circuit in use.....the negative charge is placed on the paint container, attracting the particles to the part being painted......dunno about the state of charge....

That is sometimes used as a cheap way to try to get the benefits of what is known as "electrostatic painting" - the correct way is to have a charged electrode (called an "ionizing electrode") at the spray tip. Commercial electrostatic systems operate at very high voltage - way more that you get from a battery. The benefit to electrostatic coating is that the paint is attracted to the item being painted, vastly reducing overspray and waste.
The point to having a flow of electricity through the surface of the item being painted is that it encourages the flakes in the paint to align themselves consistently before the paint sets - strictly a visual benefit not having anything to do with bonding the paint to the item.

But what if you wired in a headlight into the circuit as a resistor? And a switch, to cut down on sparks.

What if, for a small piece like a motorcycle tank, you just used a trickle charger....post #8.

[paladin]

Re: Finishing metal flake paint

Hiya unkle dook.....yeah...I would have anticipated a high electrostatic charge...but didn't wanna advocate it here.....something like using a flyback transformer and...and ....and...