TIP: Recovering from a bad spray paint job

[Jag[TK]]

I've established myself at being NOT very good at spray painting and I'm also stubborn, cheap, and unwilling to settle for less without a fight. There is a graveyard of empty cans and spent sandpaper to prove this. I'm working on a TK and the whole rig needed to be painted. Even though I did research I committed a grievous error by painting on too thick of a coat and then compounded that error by doing it in several layers (yeah, i'm brilliant). I got a mostly nice shiny finish that neither hardened or completely dried after two weeks. The helmet was the worst. As I handled it, scratches and dents showed up, even under the most careful handling. I can't accept a shabby looking bucket (at least for my first troop in the suit anyways).

 

The recovery plan: sand off the bad paint job, paint again using more discipline. After weeks of sanding, I got off all the paint still finding gooey patches of paint in the creases. The repaint try was using light coats and maximizing the time between coats (30 mins). Keeping in mind I never want to sand a TK bucket clean EVER EVER AGAIN, I made sure the last coat was light... and didn't lay down smooth. I did accomplish good coverage and a dry helmet after a week.

 

This my kwdesigns ANH 2.5 bucket with a finish looks like an orange peel. ARGH!

(P.S. Kev, if you read this I also succeeded in washing off your sig on the INSIDE. If I see you on a troop, I'm the one with the blue sharpie asking for your autograph )

 

I found some tips on a model car builders site on how to fix a lame spray paint job WITHOUT painting again AND getting a mirror like finish. I visited a local Rockler store and picked up a package of micro abrasion pads that had grits starting at 1500 grit and climbing to 12000(!!!). These pads are typically used to put mirror finishes on wood furniture (and even polish plexiglass). I was skeptical but I had seen pics on the model site and gave it a try.

 

What do you think?

 

 

I started with the 3000 grit and worked my way to the 8000. After sanding down the orange peel to a dull but silky smooth surface, I then applied "Meguiars Scratch X" polishing compound (found at the auto store). The dullness vanished and I got a nice clear finish! BUT, to my critical eye the finish is NOT as good as a good gloss paint job. I've got another trick, car polish. The dome in the last two pictures has been given a quick coat of auto wax. I will do a better wax job, then I will have the finish I want.

 

I did find two spots on the helmet where the paint was NOT thick enough to tolerate the micro fine sanding on the underside of the aerator sockets. I sanded right through the paint to the surface and it looked ugly (like a hole rubbed through fiberglass). BUT, I did some quick and careful masking and hit it with a good coat of spray. After a single day of drying, I pulled the masking tape off and using the micro pads polished out the lines left by the masking tape and you can't tell where the helmet was painted twice.

 

There are some spots on my TIE helmet that will be getting some love from these high grit polishing pads. I'm very pleased with the polishing pads and HIGHLY recommend them to those who can't seem to get a spray paint job to lie down nicely. I had junk in the air land on my bucket while spraying (i.e. lint) which happens to me on a regular basis. But using the pads on a well done coat of paint, it can be very easily fixed. Even an errant fingerprint (say, to keep the bucket from falling on the ground and/or just losing focus and doing something stupid) is easy to recover from.

 

My latest favorite building tool: Micro-Mesh Cushioned Abrasives

 

I know that most don't have to paint their armor and those that do are skilled or have the skilled do the job right. This post was for anyone who doesn't paint well and doesn't want to give up easily

[FIVE[501st]]

Whoa!

That's really good looking from what I can see. Wish I'd known about that trick when I had to redo my MR CE last year.

 

Very nice for sure!

I may use this as my "TIP" in-----------

Edited December 13, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[SuperTrooper]

Nice work, the elbow grease really paid off.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Excellent - moved to TIPS & renamed title.

[Jag[TK]]

All: Thanks for the kind words. It makes the struggle almost worth it

 

No said:

I may use this as my "TIP" in -----------

 

Wow, really? I hope my experience will help others if they find themselves in the same situation.

 

Additional notes:

 

One, thing I didn't say in my initial post, I WET sanded using the super fine grit pads. I understand if optimal sanding can be done under running water. Yeah, I suppose I could of done it under a garden hose or in the kitchen sink but the wife would have slain me. I found good success wetting the bucket down using a spray bottle filled with water. Another thing I found the spray was good for was blasting the sanding pad to get the paint residue off. (it's more fun than rinsing and you get to shoot something! ) I'm still experimenting, but the pads do work well dry. I still haven't found an ideal lighting situation where I can see all the not so shiny spots, so when I'm going over the helmet and see a spot I grab the 8000 grit pad and run it over.

 

The sanding pads are color coded. No grit number is printed on the pads. I'm not color blind, but to me the colors on the legend did not simply match. Before each session, I sorted the pads out in order determining what was "teal", "purple", and "royal blue". When I got going I didn't need to slow down to make sure I had grabbed the right grit. It's easier to tell which is which when you've got the pads laid out and suss out the order using the legend. I wasn't brave enough to get stick my hand into the bag and grab the one I thought was the right color. For most there are two pads that could fit a color.

 

Also at www.rockler.com are individual super fine sanding sheets (I think they are actually on cloth) for about $5 a piece. Those have the grit printed on the backside. I got the pad assortment because I wasn't sure what grit I'd need.

Edited December 13, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Agent RayBans]

Wow, I wonder how hard it would be to do this around decals and what not. Would you recommend this process on a finished helmet? I have that kinda eggshell texture on certain spots of my helmet that drive me crazy.

 

I guess that begs another question: If you did this technique only on part of a helmet, not the whole thing, would there be a noticeable difference in finishes?

[FIVE[501st]]

I guess that begs another question: If you did this technique only on part of a helmet, not the whole thing, would there be a noticeable difference in finishes?

Good question!

If you do this (anyone) and can post pics / video I'm sure we'd all post and say, "Thank you!" at least.

[Hogan]

Daryl,

 

I want to say a big THANK YOU for this tip. I know that I'm NOT a good painter so this will really help.

 

 

 

 

Rick

[Jag[TK]]

Wow, I wonder how hard it would be to do this around decals and what not. Would you recommend this process on a finished helmet? I have that kinda eggshell texture on certain spots of my helmet that drive me crazy.

 

I guess that begs another question: If you did this technique only on part of a helmet, not the whole thing, would there be a noticeable difference in finishes?

 

Argh! I don't have pics at the moment of where I did repaint (under the "jawline" on either side). I was able to polish the tape lines down to nothing and it blended in with the rest of the paint seamlessly. BUT, be sure that there is sufficient paint laid down during a respray. If you painted your bucket with three coats and polished through a light area, be sure to lay down a heavy enough coat (or coats) to cover the spot and surrounding areas or you may find yourself uncovering MORE light spots during the sanding/polishing. Laser-brain me found this out the hardway.

 

OBSERVATION: I could NOT get the finish to look like another painted piece of armor with a decent paint coat. Yes, it's silky smooth and shines and it's not the same. A well painted piece with gloss is something I've yet to achieve after sanding/polishing. If you "fixed" a place on your paint with a coat of spray and then polished out the evidence of the masking, it may still be noticeable as the shine is different. Still, if you had to polish the whole helmet (using the pads, polishing compound and wax were needed) it wouldn't take that long to get the finish to match.

 

Using the sanding/polishing pads is not as "clumsy or random as a blaster". My bucket was bare so there were no worries about damaging the decals. The only spot I think would be worrisome would be the blue stripes. It would be easy to go over those little decals and possible mar them. The other decals are in depressed areas so by controlling pressure on the pads you could avoid those spots.

[Jag[TK]]

Here are pics of my "bucket recovery" DONE!

 

the helmet is a KWdesigns, A.N.H. 2.5 (one piece, rotocast)

 

 

I've noticed some flaws I didn't catch as I've sponged for builder affirmation from others in the So. Cal Garrison. Different lights and different angles revealed some things only a builder could stress over. I'm not going to do anything major from here on out. It's good enough and I don't want to mess up what I've gained to "fix" something invisible to anyone else... and no, I won't tell you where to look

[RogueTrooper[TK]]

Nice a shiny... with that new car smell too Top notch Daryl!!!

 

Got any pics of the interior??

[Jag[TK]]

Nice a shiny... with that new car smell too Top notch Daryl!!!

 

Got any pics of the interior??

 

Not yet. I fear I won't have the inside as nice as the outside. I'm going to mount up padding taken from a batting helmet. It's clear where the forehead and crown pad will go. But the two other pieces not so sure, may have to cut them down, leaving yucky ragged edges.

[synaptyx]

Amazing recovery! Well done mate.

[TK8776 jgarrettg]

Awesome! Now you are a color sander. Works on your car too. Thanks for posting this. I've certainly suffered from these bad paint jobs. Next time I'll have enough guts to give it a try.

[JTninja[TK]]

Very nice!

 

Since I build car models, Im use to using 1000-2000 grit sandpapers. Ill be wetsanding with 1500 soon enough...