Major Paint FU help needed (long and whiney)

Thanks to government regs changing between painting the interior and the exterior of our car, I did my final top coat using Acrylic Urethane mixed with Acrylic Enamel reducer. When I asked for Acrylic enamel the supply shop forgot to mention that it had been discontined due to Vapor law changes (Canada only, still sold in US) and assumed I had wanted Acrylic Urethane. I had enough reducer from first phase of painting so I just mixed it up and went. I didn't use a hardner as I was painting in less than ideal venting conditions and wasn't worried about a slow cure.

As a result the paint did not harden. It won't sand off it just gums up. Before I go to heat guns, putty knifes or chemical stripper I was wondering about respraying a top coat of reducer mixed with hardner. Hoping it would help the paint cure to the point where I could sand it off and go again. Any advice short of burning the car for insurance would be appreciated.

It also says a lot about being a little faster on getting projects done. I have pointed it out to the wife that I obviously need more shop time if the rules are going to change faster than I can compete a project.

 

must remove

 

I AGREE!!!!!

Bummed ..... you're screwed !!!!!

After all the work you did it is really sad that now you must treat it just like any old beat up paint job(s) that needs to be removed & stripped down to bare metal.

I assume you know what that is like.

 

The one time I really wanted to be wrong about something. Best removal method? Its pretty gummy ugly grit paper or chemical or heat and scrape? At least I don't have to do the roof, it didn't get painted in that go around.
Thanks for the advice.

 

That just blows.....You might get away with 80 the whole car High build Nitrostan and then reprime and then reshoot.....Try washing the car with water or any other chemical,Gas ,Laquer thinner

 

I did that once. The biggest selfmade mess. You might laugh at me but the best thing I tried was pressure washing it off.

 

Final top coat !?!?!? Oh man,
Since its all got to come off any way .....
Try your hardner/ thinner idea on a small spot.
Also try some slow reducer, maybe it will soften the gooy stuff enough to wipe it off. If either of those work you can sand with finer paper.

 

Use the least harmful methods/ chemicals first, if your not happy with the results , or speed of action, then move to a more aggressive chemical or method.. Try to salvage your undercoats if possible, midway thru the aggressive scale would be oven cleaner , try in a foot square area down low ...lower rear 1/4 maybe. Spray on some oven cleaner, but be ready with clean, clear cool water and a washcloth to flush off and nuetralise if it appears too aggressive. You will have some trial and error, good luck. 40 years a bodyman/ painter .... ain't much I ain't seen , or fixed.... Gary

 

Scrub it off. Get yourself a bucket with slow reducer in it dip a scotch brite pad in it and start scrubbing. Do a small area at a time and wipe it clean with a rag.

 

do what syco steve says thats your best deal and no bs chemical stripper

 

Have you tried scrapping it off with a razor blade scrapper? Since the paint is soft it might come off pretty easy that way, worked for me before. You would have to be careful to sand out cuts/ scratches in the undercoat afterwards but that would be less work the chemical strip.

 

I really appreciate all the advice and sympathy. I tried a spot pour of hardner yesterday and was able to raise some dust sanding after a couple of hours so I am hopeful. Going out today to spray the hood as that is the worst. Will give it a couple of days and see how we do. I figure I don't have much to lose if it doesn't work. Will advise of our progress.
Rusty A did you use a paint stipper nozzle or just a regular pressure nozzle?

 

I hope the supply shop is looking after you for all the extra work THEY are putting you thru!!!

THEY should have asked you if you needed the proper additives etc when they sold you the paint.

Common sense, not to mention good BUSINESS sense, would have them trying to sell you the additional product...and then both of you would have realized something wasn't right about what you intended to do.

 

I dont really remeber. But it was just one of the reg. tips. Hope it all works out for you in the end. I also would give your supplier proper shit. They should have given you the mixing info. With my last job I worked at a supply store and mixed alot of ppg and if i didnt give all the info it was my fualt and did anything to kep the customer happy

 

This is why you have to read the cans every time you do a paint job, even if it is a product you have used a bunch of times. It will specify what hardeners and reducers are to be used with the product in that can. We have used so many different primers and top coats that we have a lot of different part numbered cans in the shop, so I always refer to the paint can and make sure the numbers on the other components are the ones they are calling for.

I think the store that sold it to you will have the position that you should have read the back of the cans before using them. They generally sell to professional painters, not home hobbyists, so they assume the guy buying it knows what he is doing.

Don

 

It wasn't just the suppliers fault I thougt they gave me the wrong info shee, and didn't clue in when I to go to a US site to get the one for my paint. I already had what I thought I needed, they did ask me if I had hardner and reducer. I think I blame the government mostly.
I sprayed down with reducer and hardner this afternoon and things look encouraging. I will go back out on Wednesday and see how hard it got.

 

Wow those laws are 2 1/2 years old now!! I wouldn't expect any paint supplier to think you are still using products you bought that long ago. Even hobbyists need to keep up on what the current technology and rules are if they are going to use the products.

 

Hilarious

 

I made a similar mistake, I literally scraped it off with a razor blade, it was only on the roof of my 59 El Camino which is pretty small, but my fingers hurt like hell and it took me a couple of days.

 

Oven cleaner and a putty knife should work good. I used it on my ford and it had 6 layers of old paint and worked like a charm... Also if you can get Air craft paint stripper that stuff works even better, but its a bit expensive. Sorry to hear about the botched paint job..

 

Sorry to hear about this. What a shitty spot to be in.

 

As I get older I am really hating these character building exercises more and more. My son is totally not into them at all. The really sad part is we were about a week for having the car on the road for the summer. This could put us back to next summer.

 

Could you clarify please, did you use Acrylic Enamel with Urethane reducer, or acrylic urethane with enamel reducer? Maybe I'm not gettin it but the 1st post kinda reads both ways.

 

I re-read the first post, and he used acrylic urethane, with enamel reducer, and no hardener. I think, if he used the correct hardener, even with the enamel reducer, it may have cured.
I agree with the other poster, the store should NOT have sold you the paint without the hardener, even if you didn't specify that you needed reducer with it. Often times you have left over reducer, but you should always get fresh hardener with your paint. It DOES go bad with age.

 

i appreciate the "long and whiney" warning. i wish more people would do that. it prepares you. thank you for that.

 

He said they offered and he declined. Not much more a store can do other than refuse to sell him the paint.

It may seem harsh but I really see no to blame but the OP. He was offered the correct hardener and reducer and declined it, he was given the right tech sheets and decided to ignore them and the products he did use were at least 2 1/2 years old because that is when the new laws went into effect outlawing the sale of the products he already had.

 

Judge, jury, and executioners on a HOBBY site,this shit aint that serious! Give the guy a break, it amazes me how some of you can't keep your asshole attitudes off this site, the guy prefaced his question and asked nicely, but you just can't help yourselves, you (a few of you) slam the guy. Streiht8 just bare through the asshole posters, good luck with the paint problem, some good advice posted along with the rest of the comments. It seems as some on here just can't wait to devour the spoils like african hyenas , instead of just giving helpful advice.

 

You might try some of the citrus based paint stripper. It works very well and is pretty innocuous.

Bill

 

Unfortunately he is another Albertan . Ashamed to say.


The guy asked for help not an ass reaming. Sure he blew it, no need to heap crap on him, he already knows what he did in the screw up.

But thats ok because K13 has never made a mistake

 

Whoa. I'm not sure I read it right, but it sounded like you bought the wrong stuff? I certainly feel your pain, having made similar errors (see my '36 Fordillac thread wherein I used the wrong reducer in the 2K primer and it turned to jelly in the gun), but you screwed the pooch on this one. I'd try washing it off the base coat with laquer thinner first, but I think you get to start over.

Bummer.

Brian