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I borked my badges.

Discussion in 'Detailing' started by eazyrider711, Nov 1, 2013.

  1. Nov 1, 2013 at 8:01 AM
    #1
    eazyrider711

    eazyrider711 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Long story short, I ended up with a "ripple/wrinkle/crackle" finish on my clear coat and I'm not sure why. Here's the long story.

    I de-badged and painted my emblems. Waited two days, and did the clear coat. Everything looked pretty good except for a gnat that got painted in and some small grass/dust that also blew onto it. I put on the 3M double-sided automotive tape and then proceeded to trim it away from the holes. I nicked up the paint doing this in a few areas. A couple of places, I scratched with the blade, and a couple with the handle. I figured, that was pretty easy the first time and now I've got the tape trimmed... what the hell, lets just redo the paint. I got some fine grain sandpaper, 320 I think, and scuffed up the surface good. I wasn't trying to take everything off, just the clear-coat and make sure the surface was rough to take the next coat of paint.

    Washed/dried to get all the sanding dust off. Repaint, and it looks great. Even better than the first time. At this point I'm very excited. I wait 4 days before I can clear coat due to being busy and not getting home before dark all week. I do one coat (even spray, across and back, just like before) and I notice an immediate wrinkling/crackling effect on the clear coat. WTF?!?!? :mad: I was sad.

    The only two difference I know were that I had to wait longer for the clear coat than I did the first time, and it was a somewhat humid day the second time. It was going to rain and I had about 30 mins of sunlight so I wanted to get it sprayed and back inside to cure up. I suspect the humidity, but really, it wasn't THAT humid.

    Any ideas or thoughts? At this point I'm just taking the tape off the truck and going with no badges for a while. I was going for red badges on the black truck. Looks good with the red springs.
     
  2. Nov 2, 2013 at 10:18 PM
    #2
    eazyrider711

    eazyrider711 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Any thoughts? Do I need to sand all the way down to the chrome? I'm thinking I'll give it another go, but maybe I just need to wait until later when its not as humid.
     
  3. Nov 2, 2013 at 10:28 PM
    #3
    jeremy_283

    jeremy_283 Super Member

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    What brand/kind was the paint?

    What was the humidity level when painting?

    What do the directions on the can say?
     
  4. Nov 2, 2013 at 11:29 PM
    #4
    Rich91710

    Rich91710 Well-Known Member

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    Satoshi with FJ badge, factory cruise, factory intermittent wipers, Redline Tuning hood-lift struts, Hellwig Swaybar, Rosen DVD-Nav
    I've had that happen with a number of rattle can products.
    Clear has always been a big problem... if I don't recoat within an hour or two, any future coat will crackle.
    I've had the same thing happen to color coats after sanding.
     
  5. Nov 3, 2013 at 10:50 AM
    #5
    eazyrider711

    eazyrider711 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Sorry, I've been following the instructions over on the De-Badge thread.

    I'm using Rust-Oleum specialty plastic paint (red) and crystal clear coat enamel for the top coat. The paint looked really great, I did about 3 coats. It wasn't until the clear coat that it wrinkled up on me. I have no idea what the humidity was that day, but it was getting ready to rain.

    Should I sand down and try again or would I need fresh badges for some reason? I'm thinking to take it down to the chrome and start fresh again.
     
  6. Nov 3, 2013 at 2:38 PM
    #6
    Rich91710

    Rich91710 Well-Known Member

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    Satoshi with FJ badge, factory cruise, factory intermittent wipers, Redline Tuning hood-lift struts, Hellwig Swaybar, Rosen DVD-Nav
    If you can get them all the way down to the chrome, you should be good to go.

    Be aware that the wrinkling was due to a chemical compatibility issue, and when you try to sand it off, it will likely ball up on the sandpaper because the paint did not cure properly... it's going to be a major pain to strip. Try soaking in paint thinner and see if that will do the job, but it will be easier to start over with a new set of badges.
    Rust-Oleum by itself has a very nice finish... I would forgo the clear on something as small and detailed as the badges. My Satoshi center surround is Rust-Oleum white without a clear.

    Humidity will generally cause fogging/hazing... an almost white appearance in the clear coat, but the wrinkling is from the solvents in the fresh coat reacting with the previous coat(s).
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2013
  7. Nov 3, 2013 at 2:57 PM
    #7
    eazyrider711

    eazyrider711 [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Thanks Rich, I think I'll definitely try again, but without the clear coat. I was very pleased with how it looked with just the paint. I only did the clear coat because I thought I needed it as a protection coat over the paint.
     

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