I have a huge problem. Most of the deck on my board crystalized BIG TIME. I used tempera paint, royal blue. I know blue can be problematic, but I used the same paint before and this did not happen!! Actually, i used a better spray gun this time (i used a wagner paint sprayer before, now i used a spray gun with a compressor) and my paint coat was not as thick on this board as on the one i painted with the wagner. I allowed the board to dry 2 days before glassing. I even put it out in the sun right before glassing to make sure it was dry. The board is a fade from blue to white. I noticed crystallization did not happen on the white. What could have happened and what should i do now? Should i just hot coat? If i just leave it will the board delam easy? Do i strip the glass and start over? If i strip the glass, how destroyed is my blank going to be? HELP!!! Thanks!
Howzit sylvia, Did you spray 1 coat or several coats. If several coats then it’s possible you didn’t let the paint dry throughly between coats. Crystallazation is caused from the heat of the kicking off resin heats up and draws trapped moisture in the paint to the surface.Aloha, Kokua
Hi Aloha, I actually blow dried the board in between coats. I put 3 light coats on. The whole spraying process took me around 6 hours (waiting for each coat to dry). So should I just remove the glass? How bad does a blank look after you remove the glass? Thanks, help is really appreciated.
.,…DON’T STRIP THE LAM! …YOU CAN:Hotcoat then sand to 400grit and paint on the sanded hotcoat(use Liquitex or a latex waterbased paint instead,Liquitex works great,it costs more,but what’s it costing you know now?). …Then re-hotcoat,you can either dry or wetsand it,and/or polish it to give it a gloss(you can use glossing resin in you mix if you plan on polishing).Just go easy on the sanding and/or polishing to avoid burning thru to the paint(not good),REMEMBER:it’s the deck!!! …Oh yeah,DON’T over spray the paint,just enough to mask/cover the damage area up,or you run the risk of delaming the gloss down the road. …If you do this right,it will look even better than spraying the foam.The colors are sharper,and more vivid. …Without seeing the board I can only guestamate the problem,but most likely the paint is just effected,not the bond/lam.So you shouldn’t have any separation/bonding problems with you deck. …Let us know the outcome,and GOOD LUCK!!!Herb
Howzit Sylvia, I’ve got an idea what happened now, don’t and I repeat don’t force dry the paint with a hair dryer. In effect what you did was to dry/seal the paint from the top and trap moisture in the paint. Just let your paint dry on it’s own. Lay down your first 2 coats thin and let them dry throughly, the dry paint will let the following coats dry quicker so you can increase the paint flow for thicker(not to thick) coats which will cover better than the first layers. I have seen heat guns used to force dry but only for 1 coat paint work. A heat gun will generate enough heat to dry the paint all the way thru but you can also burn the blank and then you’ll have to paint it a burnt brown color if it doesn’t catch fire. Aloha, Kokua
Aloha, thank you so very much!! So tempera paint is safe to use, or should i buy the acrylic paint that surf source sells? And about the board i messed up…should i remove the glass and see what is left of my blank or just hot coat? If i hot coat, will it delam easy? The prob is that i was making this board for a friend, now i have to start all over with another blank that was to be for my new board… [frown] Thank you so much for the input and feedback.
Herb, thank you so much for your feedback!!! I was so incredibly depressed over what had happened. I’m making the board for a friend and i couldn’t bring myself to tell her i ruined it. The whole deck is crystalized, except on the white part(kind of like snow flakes all over. If i do what you say, you really think it won’t delam? I don’t want to give her something that is going to be crap…all the other boards i made have no probs. Thanks again…you can’t imagine how much i appreciate everyone’s feedback!!! [smile]
…Naw,not likely,I’ve seen some grossly crystalized paint on bottoms,rails,and decks.To the best of my knowledge,they have seen these particular boards delam…just get ugly-er(more spotty,fade,etc.).In most cases,If you strip the glass you’ll ruin the shape,and create more work ,frustration,and depression for yourself.I’ve done many sanded coat paintings with great success…let’s see what Kokua,Cleanlines,or others might have to say.Herb …ps.If you need any info on painting the hotcoat,well you know where to go to get the input.
…That’s,“I never have seen these particular boards delam…just get ugly-er”…sheesh!..my 3 yr old is being testy today,I hate potty training!!Herb
I can’t say I have experience with crystallization and delams, but I just finished up my second board with a botched paint job on the foam. The first one was just a two-tone fade on the rail bands, with pinlines. I was furious, ended up sanding down twice, then gave up, glassed, hotcoated, and tried what Herb mentioned earlier, painting ontop of the sanded hotcoat… it came out awesome, better than on the foam. I used the exact paint as on the bottom, which happened to be a translucent acrylic, so I could do a light coat. The darker part of the fade came from underneath while the lighter part was from the top layer, almost a 3D effect. Plus if I burned through a little bit it wasn’t the end of the world. I did this last board that way on purpose, with an entire board fade… again, with two layers the fade comes out a lot more even, and it has depth. Keep fighting until your happy, it’s not too late. You might even like it better… rook
Thanks again for everyone’s input!!! Just to recap…I use acrylic latex in between the hotcoats…but how many layers of paint in between hot coats; 1 or 2? Herb, where can i buy Liquitex paint? Surfsource.net sells their own brand of acrylic latex…would this be ok?
Howzit Sylvia, You can mix tempra with your acrylic paint to aid in drying.If you use only tempra you should add a mixture of thinned out elmers glue to give it good adhesion to the blank. Or just use acrylic paint, you should be able to find Liquatex paint at your local craft store. Aloha, Kokua
are you mixing Liquitex with water or acrylic for spraying? can you hand paint designs with the non-diluted Liquitex and get positive results?
how much tempera should i use when mixing with acrylic? How much glue to use when mixing it into tempera? Thanks!!
the paint, for spraying, should be the same thickness or consistency as vegetable oil. the glue i am not sure about
…Any art or craft store,like Aaron brothers or Michael’s.I don’t know demographically what is in your area,but it should be easy to find,stick with the Liquitex"Basics".This type of Liquitex is formulated for beginners,and is easier to mix. …The surfsource acrylics are most likely good to go,being that they cater to surfboard builders,and would not want a bunch of people P.O.-ed at them for bad paints on boards. …KEEP ASKING,I’m interested in your outcome.Herb
I get the ‘Basics’ at Pearl Art and Craft - convienently located down the street from EZFoam in Huntington - they’re huge and I would highly recomend the visit if one is in your area. They have all kinds of additives (irridecents, metalics, etc.) for some cool effects. I’m just anti-Michaels; they’re about as much an art store as ACE is a hardware store. …but hey, take what you got I guess.
i’ve got a Pearl nearby. I’ll go there and check it out. What do i thin liquitex out with?
No oilys… …Stick with water for now, it’s cheap and simple.Later on you might try adding either Future,alcohol or lacquer thinner. My favorite additive is “Future floor sealer”.Future is water based so you can add it to the mix,and it won’t hurt it at all. …You can add lacquer thinner or alcohol to the mix,BUT JUST A LITTLE ALCOHOL or LACQUER THINNER, TOO MUCH WILL MAKE IT RUN,BLEED,AND FADE AS IT DRIES!!!CAUTION:Lacquer thinner is highly flamable,and spraying it in large amounts in a enclosed area can cause spontaneous fire or explosion,especially if exposed to a spark or you have a source of flame in the same connecting area(s)!!!That’s one good reason why I don’t use it much.Alcohol is a little less volatile,but is still tricky to use,stick with water first,and/or maybe try a little Future. …Mix it in a cup first with a stur-stick,and just enough water until you get it thinned a bit,then put it in a pint plastic drinking bottle w/ a lid,add just a little more water or future to it again(just a little at a time),and shake it up well,then strain,and you’re ready to paint. …Also after I’m done painting and it is completely dry,I spray straight clear Future over the paint.Just a good,LIGHT single coat,DON’T GO WILD WITH IT!You don’t need to over coat or want it to run all over the place.Herb
…Try to not use heatguns or hairdriers,too many problems can arise.Instead,use a fan about 2-4 feet away to dry your painted boards(oscilating fans work great).A LOWER VOLUME is all you need.Too much flow might blow your board of the racks or run your paints.Fans help dry the paint evenly,and a bit quicker,w/o sealing the top of the paint trapping moisture below the surface.Herb