Why is painting so hard? Even a simple metal bracket.

[walterjay]

Use Rustoleum High Performance spray enamel. It is a very tough coating. I have been using it now for a few years for everything including painting the lower panels of work trucks. It is Industrial grade.

Available at Lowes, HD and Amazon.

 

[Hall]

That type of steel always seemed "oily" (to prevent rust) but your prep should have removed any, if any was still there. Someone already mentioned it, but try baking it in your oven. Need to figure out an ideal temperature and once you do, probably the longer in the oven the better.

 

[RooflessVW]

Can't say I've ever had this issue. I suspect the prep.

I would have absolutely sanded it or at least scuffed it up nice with some Scotch Brite then wiped it with acetone or MEK.

I spray-painted some table frames a few months and they came out great and have not collected any damage yet.

 

[MaximumMini]

If you're only doing metal parts and pieces (not car panels), one option is plating. I've plated motorcycle parts with Caswell plating systems with outstanding long lasting results.

another option for parts and pieces is powder coating. Done right that stuff is hard as steel and impossible to scrape off.

As far as rattle can paint...I've done way too much of it. I usually used duplicolor and 2k clear.
It's never "ideal" but it can keep areas from rusting badly and look pretty decent.
Look at PaintSociety on YouTube for his videos on the subject. He's a master.

To get pro looking results I have a top end paint gun. Getting good results using a compressor and paint gun depends on skill, conditions (weather if outside), paint quality and probably as important as anything else....the quality of the paint gun.

A pro can get a good finish with a so-so paint gun, but a novice will need all the help he/she can get.

 

[spasm3]

I’ve swapped an engine, done multiple timing belts, and even learned to weld, but I have never figured out how to paint.

Oh, I’ve tried, but every result has been a miserable failure. Everything I’ve painted, the coat comes off cleanly with a drag of the fingernail. I’ve used different paints, and primers.

My latest humiliation was a simple piece of scrap metal. It’s meant to hold a brake cylinder to my minibike.

I did not sand the piece because the metal is not smooth to the touch. It’s scrap that was weathered to a rough surface. All mill scale was removed using vinegar. Acetone used afterwards. You can see what the scrap looked like before I cleaned it.
View attachment 345000

I sprayed rustoleum professional primer. One coat, then waited a few minutes, then a second coat. Precisely as the instructions stated.

I waited five days later. The rustoleum sheds paint so easily with my fingernail. . Why is painting so hard? The paint gods would tell me that I need to sand the surface, but how, oh how, oh unknowable ones are you supposed to know when you’ve sanded enough?

I don’t understand why painting has to be so hard. Is there something that can be done to foolproof painting? Some kind of device that reads the surface texture and states your surface is prepped for paint?

GAAAAAAAAAAH.

Make sure the first coat or two are thin. If its too thick, it will have trouble curing. Several thin coats, lots of time in between, maybe an hour, then a slightly heavy final if its a gloss.

EDIT : The only spray paints i spray heavy are hammered paints, as it needs the solvents to make the hammered look.

 

[wavinwayne]

I’ve swapped an engine, done multiple timing belts, and even learned to weld, but I have never figured out how to paint.

Oh, I’ve tried, but every result has been a miserable failure. Everything I’ve painted, the coat comes off cleanly with a drag of the fingernail. I’ve used different paints, and primers.

My latest humiliation was a simple piece of scrap metal. It’s meant to hold a brake cylinder to my minibike.

I did not sand the piece because the metal is not smooth to the touch. It’s scrap that was weathered to a rough surface. All mill scale was removed using vinegar. Acetone used afterwards. You can see what the scrap looked like before I cleaned it.
View attachment 345000

I sprayed rustoleum professional primer. One coat, then waited a few minutes, then a second coat. Precisely as the instructions stated.

I waited five days later. The rustoleum sheds paint so easily with my fingernail. . Why is painting so hard? The paint gods would tell me that I need to sand the surface, but how, oh how, oh unknowable ones are you supposed to know when you’ve sanded enough?

I don’t understand why painting has to be so hard. Is there something that can be done to foolproof painting? Some kind of device that reads the surface texture and states your surface is prepped for paint?

GAAAAAAAAAAH.

I will see your frustration with painting, and raise you an irrational hatred of brake work. Two simple sounding tasks that I refuse to do, period, full stop.

 

[97prizm]

I’ve swapped an engine, done multiple timing belts, and even learned to weld, but I have never figured out how to paint.

Oh, I’ve tried, but every result has been a miserable failure. Everything I’ve painted, the coat comes off cleanly with a drag of the fingernail. I’ve used different paints, and primers.

My latest humiliation was a simple piece of scrap metal. It’s meant to hold a brake cylinder to my minibike.

I did not sand the piece because the metal is not smooth to the touch. It’s scrap that was weathered to a rough surface. All mill scale was removed using vinegar. Acetone used afterwards. You can see what the scrap looked like before I cleaned it.
View attachment 345000

I sprayed rustoleum professional primer. One coat, then waited a few minutes, then a second coat. Precisely as the instructions stated.

I waited five days later. The rustoleum sheds paint so easily with my fingernail. . Why is painting so hard? The paint gods would tell me that I need to sand the surface, but how, oh how, oh unknowable ones are you supposed to know when you’ve sanded enough?

I don’t understand why painting has to be so hard. Is there something that can be done to foolproof painting? Some kind of device that reads the surface texture and states your surface is prepped for paint?

GAAAAAAAAAAH.

Have you tried self etching primer?

 

[K-Man]

After removing rust and other prep, spray the surface with brake/carb cleaner to ensure you get any oily/greasy residue off. Spray the cleaner, then wipe using clean shop towels or clean scrap cloth. Then apply primer and paint. Some metals just seem prone to retain a certain oiliness that prevents good paint adhesion.

 

[ecotourist]

When we paint metal at the aviation museum we (generally) bead-blast first, always apply a self etching chromate primer, and then paint. Works well.

 

[Kurtatron]

Make sure the first coat or two are thin. If its too thick, it will have trouble curing. Several thin coats, lots of time in between, maybe an hour, then a slightly heavy final if its a gloss.

EDIT : The only spray paints i spray heavy are hammered paints, as it needs the solvents to make the hammered look.

But the directions on the can say to spray few thin coats only a few minutes in between.

 

[Kurtatron]

how do I know if my layers are too thick? Is that’s what’s causing my paint to never cure?

When I drag my fingernail across the piece, the primer almost feels “clay-like”. Like it never really fully cured. But this was after like 5 days. And even more so, the primer didn’t fully come of with my finger. A thin coat underneath remained.

 

[Kurtatron]

So after 24 hours of drying, the paint is still pathetic. I can take a power towel, and rub it against the paint with moderate force, and the paint sheds onto the towel?



Is it just not finished drying? In my experience it never drys!!! Why can’t I paint???

 

[#18FAN]

So after 24 hours of drying, the paint is still pathetic. I can take a power towel, and rub it against the paint with moderate force, and the paint sheds onto the towel?



Is it just not finished drying? In my experience it never drys!!! Why can’t I paint???

View attachment 345162

Don't get to worked up it's just not quality paint at all in the aerosol world in general its race to the bottom. I know because im in the facility that produces 10's of millions of aerosol cans.

 

[Chris142]

Scuff it well then spray with brackleaner.

 

[fdcg27]

For what you're painting, brush on a coast of rust resistant primer then follow with a brushed on color coat.
This should work without issue. Rattle cans are garbage.