just a quick question, then I’m off to bed…
has anyone sprayed a blank with enamel, before glassing it ?
if so, what were the results …did you have any delamination problems later ?
I’m asking because I bought some 'Bodytech Fast Dry Enamel Auto Finsh ’ spraypaint]
okay, thanks !
ben / "chip"
Hey.
I’ve never heard of anybody spraying their foam with enamel but the fact that you bought it in one of the auto shops would lead me to believe that the product you bought is an acrylic.
If the stuff you bought is an acrylic then you will be fine to spray the foam. Maybe you should do a test run first on a piece of waste foam and glass that.
I usually spray the foam with a clear acrylic spray after I’ve painted the blank. I also buy this stuff from the auto shops.
Hope this helps a little bit
Brian
thanks Brian. I bought it at k-mart actually, in the paint section, and it has ‘enamel’ written on it…so I’m still a bit unsure. Your “waste foam spray test run” … good idea ! [ Thanks! ]
ben
Chipfish, Hold on and take a deep breath before trying acrylic autopaint on any part of your surfboard. On someone else’s advice, I did it and had the most dissappointing and frustrating experience to date in coloring a board.
First off, most auto paints are glossy or semi-gloss, and unless you sand all the shine off before you glass, whether on the foam or on the hot coat, the resin will back away from the paint, leaving you saying things you thought you’d never hear come out of your mouth.
Case in point: I spent many hours painting a board (on the foam) to look like a Santa Fe Railroad engine. It looked beautiful as I wetted it out with the lam. Two hours later, the resin had let go of the paint, and left air pockets all over the place.
I corrected it on the hotcoat, sanding the paint to rough it up a bit, but I missed a few spots and it went kind of crazy. I had to do it a THIRD time to make it look ok.
What did I learn? Use flat water-based acrylics. They work on the foam and the hotcoat. If done on the hotcoat, you need to be careful not to sand into the paint when you’re sanding the gloss coat. Doug
Doug;
Doing my first board and worried most about the finishing. Am I better of just using tint in the hotcoat instead of any designs with water base paint?
Latelifer, Water-based artist acrylics work fine on either foam or the hotcoat. I use Liquitex brand because it’s high quality with lots of pigment. I buy the paste that’s sold in a tube, then I thin it to the right consistancy to spray through my small auto touch up gun. To thin, you can use Future Acrylic Floor Finish with a little distilled water. You can also buy Liquitex in liquid form tha requires less thinning.
Tinting is also a great way to color. After many trial and error attempts at color, my rule of thumb is: Color on the foam as a first choice. Then the color is protected when you sand the hotcoat .
Coloring on the hotcoat looks great, but you have to be extremely careful when sanding the gloss coat so as not to sand into the paint. Doug
Enamel is not compatible with polyester resins, even with a clear acrylic overcoating. You’ll also find that painting over a hotcoat with acrylic isn’t a good idea either as soon as you repair a ding. If you must paint over a hotcoat, laminate a layer of 4 oz. clear over it, then hotcoat and gloss. You’ll have a better margin against sand-thru’s and repairs will be easier.