Pmerems

Pmerems

Well Known Member
Advertiser
Gents,

I just painted my glare shield on my Tip-up frame with flat black spray paint (rattle can). The issue is inconsistent surface appearance or sheen. I kept the paint as wet as I could and overlapped the pattern but the result is still an uneven appearance. I live in Arizona and the humidity level is very low and it was about 80 degrees when painting (indoors) so this may play a role in the finish. I have experienced this problem with flat black paint in the past.

My question is this- Any recommendations to improve the surface finish consistency?

Any input would be appreciated.

Paul
 
Flat Black

Hey Paul,

I used BBQ black paint from Home Desparate. It went on very nicely. Obviously will be no problem with the heat.

I have to say it is the paint and not the technique.
 
I spent 4-5 cans trying to get it "perfect" -- no such luck.. I got tired of stripping that paint off all the time :) Finally got it to be acceptable and called it good..

PS. Not sure if it'll make any difference, but try fan tip on the can..
 
crinkle coat or fleck

I did two layers. First layer flat black (undercoat) and 2nd layer a crinkle coat /fleck or you can use another type of paint with a texture in it. I found that the flat black really showed the rivets and waves in the aluminum whereas the topcoat of black crinkle coat or fleck makes it look like a $1 million and still produces no glare. With the flat black undercoat it doesn?t take a very heavy coat of crinkle or fleck to make it look good.
 
You definitely do not get what you pay for necessarily in flat black rattle cans. I tried a couple of "fancy" brands, threw them out and ended up using a simple ACE hardware brand. It really worked well - that was 6 years ago, so no claims about the current version.
 
Rustoleum Textured

I used the newer rustoleum textured paint in black and liked the results. Available at Home Despot and others.
 
Pmerems said:
Gents,

I just painted my glare shield,(snip)the result is still an uneven appearance. (SNIP)
My question is this- Any recommendations to improve the surface finish consistency?

Any input would be appreciated.

Paul
Click to expand...

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I covered my glareshield with strips of black "industrial strength" Velcro butted together. It is consistent, non-reflective, and convenient for sticking gadgets, pencils, etc on top of the glareshield.


It was cheap, quick, and works for me ;-)



James Freeman
RV-8
 
Flat Black

Gents,

Thanks for the info. I have already tried two other times to get a good finish and stripped it clean and started again. I need to make my decision and move on so I can permanently mount the Plexiglas and start the fiberglass forward fairing.

Thanks,

Paul
 
To the original poster, since you're not happy with how it looks and you're probably gonna want to strip/sand it off anyway, try this. Get out some 600 wet sandpaper and lightly wet sand it. You might be able to even it out.
 
I had a the same problem. Found the solution by watching Boyd Codington's painters using a very fine grit sand paper to take out organge peel on one of tier cars. It worked great! I had three coats so the light sanding didn't cause a problem.

Frank @ sgu and slc RV7A
 
I've always found that flat paints shouldn't be applied in heavy coats. Apply a light coat, let it dry, and repeat once or twice. Heavy coats will give the appearance the original poster described.
 
flyeyes said:
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I covered my glareshield with strips of black "industrial strength" Velcro butted together. It is consistent, non-reflective, and convenient for sticking gadgets, pencils, etc on top of the glareshield.

It was cheap, quick, and works for me ;-)

James Freeman
RV-8
Click to expand...
Holy crapola! What a fantastic idea. Just stick a little piece of opposite
velcro onto anything you want to store and place it where you can easily
get to it. Like my pens, ipod, small flashlight, etc. There is so little storeage
room already in these planes that this makes total sense. A very creative
idea. And it looks sweet too. Gotta get me some velcro.
 
Leather

I used Black leather hide and glued it down with 3M glue and it works great, no paint.
dsc07606gy3.jpg
 
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Although I'm going to do the same thing Alan did I thought I would give you the tip to good rattle can painting.

Heat the can.

That's it, that's the tip. Just don't over heat it you will have another issue to deal with. Apparently by heating it and then shaking it, all the paint/chemicals/solvents get mixed together better and you get more consistent results.

The other thing I do is to wipe the nozzle with a paper towel ever other pass. This helps reduce drips & globs.
 
Heat... In Tucson??

N941WR said:
Although I'm going to do the same thing Alan did I thought I would give you the tip to good rattle can painting.

Heat the can.

That's it, that's the tip. Just don't over heat it you will have another issue to deal with. Apparently by heating it and then shaking it, all the paint/chemicals/solvents get mixed together better and you get more consistent results.

The other thing I do is to wipe the nozzle with a paper towel ever other pass. This helps reduce drips & globs.
Click to expand...


Hey Bill.... we live in Tucson... added heat not needed..... :)

It was 85 F here yesterday, and warmer earlier in the week...
This is probably not Paul's problem.... :D

I'm just worried about putting spray cans in the back of the car in summer... :)

I vote for the earlier poster that said many thin layers, I too have found that a thick even coat that would look good from a spray gun will not turn evenly flat if done from a spray can....
 
The saga ends.

Gents.

This morning I got up and decided to spay another coat on the the glare shield to see if I could make it work. I sanded down the surface and it was ready to go. Applied the flat black and got a more even finish. That was until the bottom of the can swiped the surface. :( I then sanded it down a bit and tried to apply another coat. This time is was not consistent.

That was it, it was time for plan B. So once again I stripped the paint (I was getting very good at this since it was my third time- you know third times a charm). Purchased some Urethane enamel flat black paint and using my trusty Sharpe Finex FX300 spay gun laid down a perfect coat of flat black paint.

There was much rejoicing in my workshop as I cleaned up from my spray session. :p

I must have spent at least $20 on spray cans (3) and self etch primer (1) and at least 5 hours prepping, painting, stripping, prepping, painting stripping........

The Urethane enamel (1/2 pint) cost me $9 (I had the hardener and reducer) and only took about 45 minutes to setup, spray and cleanup. I only needed 2 oz to paint the whole glare shield.

Paul
 
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