I painted a steel frame for my hot water pressure washer the other day, I used cans of military spec aircraft gloss red spray paint that I got from the local habitat for humanity re-store. I figured if it was military spec it must have been some good stuff.
However, I prepared the frame by removing any loose paint, then sanded it down and wiped it a couple times with lacquer thinner to remove any oil, grease, dust, etc. Then I sprayed it with rustoleum "professional" gray primer from spray cans. I followed the directions and it said that the primer could be topcoated immediately (as if it didnt have to dry first). I began painting the frame (did not sand the primer any, and I didnt wait specifically for the primer to dry, although I believe it was dry, as I started with the part of the frame that I had primed first.
The paint has now been on the frame for about 10 days. It is showing cracks all over the place (can see the primer behind the paint) and most places the paint is still soft enough to scrape off with your fingernails. Only in one or two places has the paint actually dried up to a hard durable coating.
What could I have done wrong? I am wondering if that paint isnt any good, or wasnt designed to be used on steel or something... no idea what.
It looks good from a distance... but up close the small cracks in the paint all over the place and the tenderness of the paint make it pretty much unusable. I dont even know how to fix this now, except for applying paint stripper to the entire thing and stripping it down to bare metal and starting over. That wont be a very pleasant thing to have to do and it will take forever.
Any words of wisdom or advice for me? Id appreciate it...
Thanks!
However, I prepared the frame by removing any loose paint, then sanded it down and wiped it a couple times with lacquer thinner to remove any oil, grease, dust, etc. Then I sprayed it with rustoleum "professional" gray primer from spray cans. I followed the directions and it said that the primer could be topcoated immediately (as if it didnt have to dry first). I began painting the frame (did not sand the primer any, and I didnt wait specifically for the primer to dry, although I believe it was dry, as I started with the part of the frame that I had primed first.
The paint has now been on the frame for about 10 days. It is showing cracks all over the place (can see the primer behind the paint) and most places the paint is still soft enough to scrape off with your fingernails. Only in one or two places has the paint actually dried up to a hard durable coating.
What could I have done wrong? I am wondering if that paint isnt any good, or wasnt designed to be used on steel or something... no idea what.
It looks good from a distance... but up close the small cracks in the paint all over the place and the tenderness of the paint make it pretty much unusable. I dont even know how to fix this now, except for applying paint stripper to the entire thing and stripping it down to bare metal and starting over. That wont be a very pleasant thing to have to do and it will take forever.
Any words of wisdom or advice for me? Id appreciate it...
Thanks!