FIXED! Painting center caps - not going well

My center caps are all in rough shape, peeling and worn down to bare plastic in some spots. I removed one, cleaned it with a degreaser, washed it with soap and water, let it dry, sanded lightly, and wiped it off with denatured alcohol. I sprayed a coat of Krylon Fusion and it immediately fisheyed badly.

There's a stamp on the back of the cap that says PPE+PA. This is some type of plastic polymer that, according to one website, is specifically designed for painted automotive parts. So you'd think it would be easy to paint.

I have no clue what's going wrong or how to fix it. Any pointers or suggestions are welcome.

 

Using washed kitchen rags, or washed shop rags to clean with DNA? My guess is rags may be contaminated with oils....
Use new rags...
Start over, try again...
Wait till its warm out...
Light mist...
Let it dry, another light mist...
Looks like youre laying it on heavy....

 

Whenever you are painting plastics, it's always preferable to use an "adhesion promoter" and for the first coat to be VERY light. Once that coat cures you can then spray more liberally to get a better finish. I have access to a body shop (client) and they use one called Bulldog Adhesion Promoter. There are other brands but I know that one works from having used it myself.

The fish eyes you are getting may be from oil that has been absorbed over the years, especially in the spots that were completely bare of paint. So, make sure it's as clean as you can make it and use a pre-paint degreaser such as Prepsol or Pre-Kleeno according to the directions and then try the very light coat to start.

 

It sure looks like residual grease or wax (or some other detailing product) left on the caps, or even a certain amount of old clearcoat, either factory or later applied.

I got excellent results on mine by prepping with 220 grit, scotchbrite pads and denatured alcohol until just down past the factory paint, and used the same paint you have pictured.

 

your prep work sounds good but as others mentioned, could be some oil/grease contamination. Krylon has burned me before and I try to now avoid. Issues: Color not closet to cap color. Faded and wore off surface in one year (outdoor yard light hood and posts).

Good luck.

 

Sand it back down and soak it overnight in IPA. Blow clean/dry and repaint with light first coats.

 

Use tire shine on your tires? silicone infused tire cleaners are hell on adhesion of new paint and it takes a lot of clean to get it all off. Use enamel reducer or lacquer thinner if need be and change rags to new ones frequently. And any of the new ceramic waxes are just as bad.

Then lightly fog the first couple of coats very lightly, let dry and make sure you follow dry times to the letter, sometimes you get a window of time you can recoat before you need to wait for a few days for complete drying or it will wrinkle.

 

Rust-oleum makes a Universal Bonding Primer (for difficult surfaces). I use it for plastic. You can rattle can wheels with good success.

 

Thanks to all the helpful comments, I tried again today with much better results. I stripped it down to bare plastic, degreased, soapy water rinse, denatured alcohol wipe, sanded to 600, another DNA wipe. The big difference is I used an adhesion promoter. A few light coats of flat black and it looks great. Now I need to work on my masking skills.

This forum rocks! Thanks to all of you who took the time to offer wisdom.