Painting base model grille...EPIC FAIL.

I found a use base model grille that I wanted to paint to match my truck. I was following instructions somewhere on TW that required adhesion promoter. I couldn't find any so I tried Kylon Fusion as the primer.

I washed, dried, and wet-sanded the grille with 220 grit sandpaper. I then used rubbing alcohol to make sure it was clean. Once dried off, I applied 3-4 coats of Krylon as per instructions on can. An hour after the last coat, I applied the Dupli-color paint. During the 4th coat, the bottom of the can accidently hit the grille and took a spot of paint off. I could tell it wasn't dry, it was grimey. I knew that wasn't right and pissed off as I was, I took my thumb and smeared the paint right off the Krylon. It wasn't easy but it came off. See the last pic. I left it for an hour or so and came back. The black Krylon had dried and the color paint also seemed to be more durable. 'Perhaps I didn't give it enough time?' I thought.I figured I sand the black area that met the paint to perhaps apply Krylon again but later realized I could still use my fingernail to scrape the paint right off.

My plan now is to try and sand it right down to the plastic again , find some adhesion promoter, apply sandable primer then paint.

Thoughts? Any suggestions on getting that paint off quickly? It still seems gooey underneath the paint.

I did read that the Krylon was paintable but it doesn't appear to be.

 

It probably diet have enough time to cure. And possibly you laid the paint on too thick?

Just suggestions. Next time try to do even and lighter coats.

 

x2. Next time spray the grill in the sun that way it will dry quicker after you spray the paint to the grill.

 

Best thing you can do at this point is let the paint sit and cure out as much as it can, so that it hardens up some and won't be such a pain to sand off.
You did a good job scuffing the grill but spray can stuff just won't get you the finish you're looking for. Duplicolor over Krylon probably didn't jive.

 

I second that. I was goin to say that maybe the paints didnt mesh well. When I was painting my lower valance. I used a cheap paint to cover it. Then I used the krylon clear coat and something in it peeled the base coat off. It sucked.

 

Thanks for the replies. I did paint it in the sun (although it was mostly cloudy) but it is likely I rushed the process and/or didn't use the proper process.

The finish of the paint seemed promising though.

I was using this thread as a reference but obviously didn't follow it 100%. But this guy had good results.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/117163-painting-grille.html

I was trying to find the Dupli-color adhesion promotor at Canadian Tire but they are not stocking it. Napa may carry another brand so I'm trying them tomorrow.

 

Almost any auto store should have adhesion promoter. Self etching primer is a good one to use. Try to use plastic paint as well as matching paint brands if possible.

 

See if you can find Bulldog, it's good adhesion promoter out of a rattle can.

 

Ok. Thanks for the tips!

 

Goo gone will take off the fresh paint pretty easy if you want to go back to square one. Otherwise, like mentioned let it dry up enough to sand and re cover.

 

Just buy the grille color matched from usatoyotaparts.com, I'm lucky to live close to pick one up. $190.00

 

I saw that site before and checked again but they don't have DSM colored grilles. Its not a popular color so I guess they don't bother with it.

 

What is the best kind of clear coat to use with the duplicolor rattle can?

 

I found this process the absolute hardest when doing my Satoshi. I gave up and eventually bought spary on Bed liner. It worked like a charm and is holiding up really well. It's not colored matched but I love the look

 

I would skip sanding that whole thing and just buy a new partsgeek grill for 30 bucks and save a lot of time and headache and just start fresh.

 

They don't ship outside the US. I am in Canada. Good try though.

This morning it was 100% dry and the paint seemed solid. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I found some Dupli-color Adhesion Promotor this morning. I'm going to sand the hell out of it and give it 3-4 coats of that, and then color within 10 minutes of the last coat as it says on the can.

The can also says I can apply it over old paint as long as its clean. So I'm not going to be overly concerned if I don't get all the previous paint off.

 

gotcha. I would just sand smooth the rough spots and paint over everything else.

 

For color matching I usually just cheat and visit a body shop for small parts like a grill. More often than not it will only run you a couple hundred bucks and the results are usually far superior to that of a rattle can not to mention will last longer. If I'm just going to convert something to black I will rattle can but color matched body parts always look better if done by a good body shop. Plus those Duplicolors always seem to be close but rarely ever spot on in my experiences.

 

Thats a good point as the color didn't seem to quite match up. I thought it just needed to dry properly and maybe the clear coat would bring the colour out but it looked more silver than beige.

 

I would agree here - Especially since the OP has a nice new truck and the grill being a focal point as it is.