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How to repaint
an item without major dis-assembly.
MOST
important, is preparation for painting.
Make absolutely sure everything is
clean.
Paint is a highly planned
chemical compound- and anything contaminating the application
process can lead to unpredictable results. Paint on top of a
imperceptible oil or soap layer can look great at
first, but peel or chip easily later.
Paradoxically, it's what you do AFTER
spraying or otherwise "applying" paint, that has the most
consequences: paint takes time to change from a liquid to a
solid, and humans are impatient as a general rule.
"Just walk away."
That's probably the single most important
thing to DO when painting!
After washing a part and drying as best
you can, don't assume all moisture to be gone, and hurry on to
the primer or paint can.
"Just walk
away."
Give a little time to let any
water residue evaporate, at least a half-hour.This is a good practice,
because once you start spraying paint, you have to "Just walk
away" and let it dry anyway.
More paint-jobs of any given item are
screwed up at this point- people just have to "do" something
in those critical moments.
"I'll just
turn it around to get the other side..." Kee-rash!
"Just walk
away..."
PAINT TYPES I likeenamels
for the most part, because they
naturally dry to a high gloss, and can be applied over just
about anything without risking a paint reaction like lifting.
Enamels dry thru a two step
process.
First, the volatiles (liquid part added
to allow spraying)
evaporate
and the surface is produced. At this
point, the coating feels and even seems dry, but will continue
to 'cure' for several days or weeks, depending on formulation.
This is a process called
Decarboxylation
. During this time, the enamel
actually takes IN oxygen, completing the cure process. The
paint coating is hardening up while this is happening, and
special care must be taken to prevent scratching.
This is why you aren't supposed to rub,
wash, or wax newly painted car for 30 days or
so.
The typical
"store brand" paint is enamel.
Lacquers
are great if
something's being painted for the first time, they are a bit
more durable these days, and dry solely through
evaporation.
Depending upon application
techniques, this can make for very fast
work.
I found lacs to be much easier to use
when doing custom work or airbrushing murals: Once they FEEL
dry, they ARE dry, and can be safely masked over without
worry. enamels tend to lift if masked too soon, so they take a
bit more time and care to use in custom work involving more
than one color application.
The typical
auto touch-up paint is lacquer.
This is important to know:
Lacquers will attack existing enamel
coats; the reverse is not true.
Lacquers
shouldn't be immediately post-processed either,
as it may take as much as a few days for a full coating
thickness to lose its liquid components.
This process in both types may be
directly observed as the "shrinking out"
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