sticky finish

[Peterschupp1977]

Working on my es-1
I have painted and lacquered it but the finish is still sticky months after. Are there any suggestions?

[Andy40]

Stan knows the troubles you face........

[Peterschupp1977]

thanks Stan.

[wokkaboy]

Hi Peter what sort of paint and lacquer did you use ? Did you allow plenty of time curing between coats ?

if it's been months sounds like it won't cure. Where do you live ? (trying to work out the climate)

[Peterschupp1977]

I used automotive paint and lacquer. I let the dry for almost two months before i continued with the build. I live in Canada on the West Coast near Vancouver.

[stan]

Stan knows the troubles you face........

Oh yes, ask me how much I hate automotive acrylic.....
It dries from the outside in, giving the impression of being cured on the outside and soft in the middle.
Some people have had awesome results with it.
Here are some of the key points I discovered whilst using it:
Warm up the spray cans in warm water - it helps the paint flow and reduces the spitting you can get from the nozzle.
Fine light coats - not one heavy one. Several light coats - leave a day in between - it seems like too long, but see the curing statement above.
Every few coats a light sand - keeps it flat and nice - seems to give a nicer result than lots of coats and flatten at the end.
Most finishes dont like humidity when curing - acrylic is no exception - it causes hazing, surface imperfections and stuff with the curing.
Adding more heat to cure seems to cause fine bubbles to surface - possible moisture drawn from the timber, didn't work for me...
It took months before I was happy it was cured - see My sisters LP in my sig...
All the best - oh and I had a period there where it just wouldn't cure - it had to be sanded off. When you get passed the hard outer, it was still gummy in the middle, and removing that was more than painful....

Like I said - some have had excellent results - go slow, light coats, plenty of time in between, low humidity, use poly or nitro next time (haha)

[Simon Barden]

Were all the paints (I'm assuming spray cans) from the same manufacturer, and were they all acrylic or poly, or did you use a mixture of both types?

If they were all the same brand and type of paint, then I suspect one or more of the cans had a bad batch of paint in it, as the surface certainly shouldn't still feel tacky.

I suspect the only way that you are going to solve the problem is to strip the paint off and start again. It's hard work I know, but sometimes it's the only way. I'm in the process of a second strip-down on my ES-3, but I'll get there.