Painting Issues

[W-L]

I just recently went down to Lowe's and purchased a can of Valspar paint+primerspray paint to paint over my bare CD drive and I've noticed that my paint is still fairly soft and when I scratched in an inconspicuous area it comes right off. I let the paint dry for 24 hours and made sure the metal was clean before I started anyone have tips or pointers before I try again?

[MzCatieB]

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/13502-basic-case-modding-guide/

 read that see where you went wrong

[airdeano]

no mention of sanding.. not properly sanding and prepping will destroy the

outcome before you even start. the sanding allows the paint to "latch" onto the metal.

you really need a self-etching primer for bare metal surfaces. the SE primer actually

attaches to the surface and the paint, then attaches to the primer.

 

disassemble the part as well as you can (this cuts down on the masking time).

 

sand part with correct grit sandpaper or scotch-brite pad.

bare metal 80-220/red pad,

painted metal 220-360/green pad,

plastic 220-600/gray pad.

 

clean part(s) from oily finger-prints and contaminates.

 

mask off areas not to be painted

 

re-clean from masking operation

 

remove any dust from setting (tack rag)

 

paint

 

dry time

 

cure (not dry, cure) dry-time is enough to handle lightly.

cure time is surface is ready for installation. if paint does not

cure, it will easily scratch and flake. cure time on enamels

is usually 2-weeks. acrylics 1 week.

 

airdeano

[W-L]

Hmm I did sand, clean and prime the metal drive cover before starting so I guess i'll give it a bit more time before reassembly to see if the paint fully cures, Thanks for the advice (:

[PBaines]

How cold is it where you are painting? The temperature can change the outcome of the quality dramitically