Technical Bill Hirsch Enamel Paint Issues

Folks. I sprayed this stuff as instructed to the T. After 3 weeks...and this happened. Two thin coats and this garbage wrinkled on me. I sprayed it with HVLP gun. I will pass on the message to Bill Hirsch. Just a heads up. I'm sure people have had better luck. BC/CC for me going forward.

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In all fairness to the Bill Hirsch product, it looks as though the old finish is "moving" around. Bad foundation makes for a bad house.

 

I should have mentioned...the block was completely rebuilt, hot tanked. What I had was a completely clean surface.

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So it worked everywhere except the water pump? If so you did something wrong or there was still something on the water pump from the cleaning. Paint doesn't fail in only one area unless something has caused it.

 

No, the wrinkles were around the engine block as well. Side cover, oil pan, etc. Wrinkles were not present 100% on the engine. More like 30%, enough to remove it all and start over with another paint system. It seems like Bill Hirsch users have better luck with the rattle can version rather than spraying it out of the quart can.

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You got too much paint in the areas that wrinkled. It those areas the surface cures over and seems dry but it isn't and the second coat eats into the film that has formed on the surface and wrinkles it. Aerosols probably work better because you are less likely to over apply the paint and the solvents are usually more aggressive so they will melt that film and flow together rather than wrinkle it. HVLP's put a lot of paint on the surface compared to an aerosol. Are the wrinkles mostly in areas where you had to adjust your spray technique (as in not just back and forth) to get into nooks and crannys?

 

I completely agree with you there. I did do light coats but I bet it just wasn't thin enough

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Once the engine is in vehicle, you won't notice that little "boo-boo".

 

Do hot tanks typically have a rinse cycle that uses clean non recycled hot water, or is the engine just pulled from a hot caustic soup that would still contain some light oil residue?

 

see if you can gouge a bit out of the pump paint, is it wet underneath? sure looks like too thick application

 

Hmmm... I use Hirsch paints on everything, like Frank's red hot!

I've used the aerosol can and quarts but honestly I've never put it thru an hvlp gun.

I've also sprayed under the worst conditions, high humidity, rain and below recommended temps. Be interesting to see what the problem was.

 

IIRC, that paint is an old style synthetic enamel. Without a hardener, it is extremely sensitive to recoat time, which also includes dry time for thicker coats. Either the paint didn't dry fully (under the top skin) when you recoated, or maybe you waited too long for the second coat?

 

Ive only used it once, out of the quart can. Never had a problem. Tuff as nails

 

My friend sprayed Bill Hirsch out of an HVLP gun with similar results. He didn't thin it out enough. We salvaged the job by spraying a heavy wet coat thinned with mineral spirits out of a conventional gun and rolled it out into the sun. I don't think his was "wrinkling" though, just looked like poo.
Enamel is thick. I don't like shooting it out of HVLP guns.

 

Too much mil thickness. Never had a problem, but don't us HVLP guns.

 

I've shot gallons of Hirsch engne enamel over the years. Early on I had that reaction too. It was a syphon feed gun and the issue was too much time between both too thick coats. On engine paints, less is more. I also tend to seal with a very thin coat of reduced epoxy. I recently had one that wanted to do that. We gave it the weekend to dry, wet sanded with 400, sprayed 1 more coat, no worries. My "normal" Hirsch color:

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Obviously, the issue was too thick. Instructions called out for 1-2 minutes between two coats. I simply had issues with the paint flowing out, creating a matte finish. In order to get glossy, I applied the 2nd coat thick for wet look.

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HVLP gun has nothing to do with the problem.

 

I agree. I used both HVLP and conventional gun and both resulted in wrinkled finished. As far as being too thick, I carefully laid down two thin coats on a plate and it still wrinkled. Perhaps spraying it sucks

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i used there high temp paint on my headers , lasted about thirty seconds .

 

That sucks. I had my exhaust manifold porcelain coated

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If it's any consolation, I think the wrinkle finish looks great. Nice and uniform.

 

Aeroman: Where did you get porcelain done??? Last place I heard of was in Oakland, they've been there for years...
Where's 'Winchester'? (if you ask "Where's Atwater", it's 60 miles North of Fresno, on 99)

 

A friend of a friend did it. There's a place in Corona, California that does it. West Coast Appliance. I'm near Temecula

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Yes, I can

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Was the paint allowed to dry completely BEFORE starting the engine?

 

Mike, I believe that Caps, in Fresno does porcelain. And that's not real far from you....

 

I never started the engine. It's still on an engine stand. It was applied too thick

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That is correct. $25/lb

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