Need advice about paint cans

[Davlin]

Hello everybody,

I'd like to ask the community about paint cans. Story is, I have modeled, bonded and sanded this little prop in five parts - three to be black parts, two to be red parts - and after getting smooth and clean results, it was time to paint, at last.

For now, I do not have the luck to own my own airbrush compressor, and I won't have one in the foreseeable future, so I have to do with paint cans. I thought I bought good ones... until I started spraying the paint onto the three parts.
Man, what a mistake.

The paint is shi**y. It made micro bubbles that bursted on impact, creating a paint job that is just plain awful. I aimed at a perfectly smooth surface, and here I am, having my pieces with a ruined paintjob. Gotta watersand them all other again. X(

So, I'd like to ask you guys what would be, in your opinion, the thinnest and finest paint cans brand I have to look for, whatever the price; And, if possible, brands that I can buy here, in France ( yeah, I know ).

Sorry for this noob question, and thank you a lot for your replies !

( Mods, it's my first post, so feel free to move this thread wherever it belongs if you have to, and sorry for the trouble )

 

[Wicked]

Was it that Krylon water-based paint? I got some of that on clearance once and it wasn't even suitable for a picture frame that I didn't care about.

Otherwise are you painting thin coats? It would also be a good idea to check and make sure the paint is compatible with the primer you're using.

 

[Risu]

You've most likely not followed the instructions on the cans. Spray paint isn't perfect, but you can get really great results with it if you follow the instructions to the letter.

 

[jasonw2112]

Was your surface clean? If it started to act crazy as soon as you applied paint, it sounds like there was still contaminents on the surface.

 

[exoray]

Well to get a good rattle can paint job nothing but experience will get you there... The more you work with rattle cans the better you will become with them, you can read all day about this many inches or this or that but at the end of the day technique that can only be learned is the answer...

There are some things that will help...

First did you prime the parts? Primer has a purpose and should always be used... Skipping the primer step isn't worth it...

Temperature and humidity play a large factor, both the piece and the air temp should be stabilized, meaning don't take the piece from your nice warm shop outside where it's 10° cooler or warmer and immediately shoot it with paint, let it normalize with the current air temp... Read the can and see what the optimal temp and humidity is and don't exceed the recommended ranges...

On that note with rattle can's they work better when they are warm, although it goes against the above sometimes it's helpful to let the can soak in a tub of warm to hot water before spraying, to warm it up...

Type of paint, enamel, lacquer, water based, this or that all have their pros and cons again experience will pay off... Neither is the end all they all have their uses...

As for brands I can't recommend any in France, but from my experience I have found that brand loyalty isn't always the answer anyway, I have had $1 cans of paint that outperform $6 cans of paint it all depends...

And last but not least even a cheap spray gun setup is the better option... You don't have to go crazy and get the top of the line, even the cheap spray guns will generally outperform rattle cans... With the increasing cost of rattle cans a spray gun setup can pay for itself in short...

 

[Davlin]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, it was misty coats, and yes, I did followed the instructions to the letter. Didn't changed anything to the paint's quality.

I do not know if it's Krylon based; But I'm totally sure the surfaces were clean, no strains of grease or whatever. The parts are in plastic, pretty sure they're neutral. :/

EDIT : @ Exoray : Thank you too for the reply. No, I did not sprayed a coat of primmer, because that's what I've been using to sand my parts, and there is still some on the parts, even thought sanded. I did not want to add useless coats - my fault, apparently. Room temperature and humidity are ok.

 

[exoray]

I do not know if it's Krylon based; But I'm totally sure the surfaces were clean, no strains of grease or whatever. The parts are in plastic, pretty sure they're neutral. :/

Were they primed?

 

[Davlin]

Our replies crossed themselves, it seems.

I know using an airbrush is better, but I can't do that, since I do have the Paasche, but I lack the air unit to power it, unfortunately...

 

[exoray]

I did not want to add useless coats

A full coat of primer is never a useless coat, it seal and normalizes the surface for paint...

As for you specific bubbles issue that is generally cause by two things, not shacking the cans enough, so the paint isn't mixed... Or something on the surface reacting with the paint, this is not uncommon with resins and plastics sometimes they are simply not paint friendly as they release impurities, this is where primer will play a big roll... Get some paint made specifically for plastic, in the US we have Krylon fusion and several other brands that are similar, paint or primer the part with this type of paint first then followup with your top coat...

My advice for you at this point is sand them back down, prime them with maybe two coats of primer let that cure for at least 24 hours and then give them a quick very light wet sand with dish soap and warm water just to smooth out the primers surface, rinse well with cool clear water and let dry completely then paint...

I have found wet sanding with dish soap to be the best way between paint coats, it removes all contaminants and it works very well as a sanding aid...

 

[Davlin]

Thank you very much for your time and advice, Exoray. I'm gonna find myself some Krylon primer and paint ( I know some can be found here ) and follow your advice.