Textured Finish with Rustoleum Gloss - Any Suggestions

[PhysicsGuy]

Oh no, not another paint thread!!!

I've had pretty good luck with Rustoleum 2X rattle cans, but was very unhappy with the finish I got on my last project. I'm looking for suggestions on the cause.

You can see the results in the picture. I painted this tubing and transition with Rusto 2X Gloss Winter Gray. I had a nice wet/shiny finish at the conclusion of painting, but it dried with this bumpy texture. It's a standard cardboard (BT20) tube and a balsa transition. I had applied a coat of Rusto 2X primer and it dried for about 2 weeks before I applied the color. I lightly sanded the parts and wiped them with a tack cloth before I put on the color.

The instructions provide guidelines for temp and humidity. On the day I painted, the relative humidity was probably 80%, which is above their recommendation. Could this be the result of high humidity? I live in central Florida and the humidity is a fact of life. Painting indoors is not an option. At the same time, I painted some other parts with Rusto 2X gloss red and they came out just fine.

I'd welcome any suggestions. I sent this same photo to Rustoleum Customer Service. They were quick to respond, but did not offer any possible cause.

--MARK
NAR 65148 L1

 

[Nytrunner]

Orange peal

Could very well be humidity related, they're not kidding about their required atmospheric conditions. The 2X line of enamel takes a long time to fully cure. Theres been discussion recently of a necessary wait time after Sanding a coat since that may expose deeper volatile layers.

Another tell is if you out your nose on it and still smell paint. Its not ready yet

 

[lakeroadster]

I'll bet the paint in the can wasn't warm enough. I always put the can in a big plastic container and run hot water on it, then leave it "heat soak" in the hot water for about 15 minutes. That seems to prevent a lot of issues.

The other advantage of the can in the water.... you know how much paint is left in it by how much of the can stays in the water.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Hardware store spray paint cans have a low pressure to propel the paint out of the can compared to a typical automotive say gun, therefore poor atomization is the result. Instead of very small drops of paint, you have very large drops of paint being thrown out at your rocket resulting in "Orange Peel" as it's called in the paint industry. You can even find it on a new 80K dollar Corvette.
You can knock all the tops off the domes of the droplets by wet sanding, or using polishing/rubbing compounds like in this video.


Rattle cans are the most primitive way of spraying paint on a surface and the results prove this, but it is the cheapest too. A very simple case of getting what you pay for. There is a company called Alsa which makes very high quality spray cans with high pressure and high quality atomization nozzles.check out how great the finishes are from a spray can.
https://alsacorp.com/killer-cans/

 

[Banzai88]

Meh, happens with mainstream rattle cans and high temp and high humidity. Part of the issue is that it's cheap enamel. Only thing for it is to sand it smooth and top coat again under more favorable conditions.

If you have an art store nearby, or order things online, look into Montana Gold paints. They're artist nitrocellulose lacquers in premium rattle cans with German spray nozzles. SUPER high pigment density, SUPER easy to work with, and on sale are just a tiny bit more expensive than wally world rattle cans. You won't be disappointed. One can is enough to fully paint a 6 foot tall, 4 inch diameter rocket with two coats, so you get a LOT of paint for your money. It's lacquer, so it dries fast, goes over any auto primer nicely, and can be top coated with just about anything without fear of wrinkle.

 

[Ez2cDave]

Rattle cans are the most primitive way of spraying paint on a surface and the results prove this, but it is the cheapest too. A very simple case of getting what you pay for. There is a company called Alsa which makes very high quality spray cans with high pressure and high quality atomization nozzles.check out how great the finishes are from a spray can.
https://alsacorp.com/killer-cans/

Prepare for "sticker-shock" . . . https://alsacorp.com/one-shot-killer-kits

Dave F.

 

[Bruiser]

And I thought the Duplicolor "color match" line of paints was pricey!

-Bob

 

[pondman]

Ain't nothin' guys! Add reducer + clear+hardener. Oh, and the gun & compressor too......

 

[Tom]

I am going to guess it was either

A. The 80% RH

B. A second coat was applied 'too late' after the first coat. There is a window of either within a time limit 2X states within 1 our or wait 24 hours. I would wait 48 hours depending on the conditions.

I personally don't like the 2X it seems thick, runny, and takes forever to completely dry.

 

[Banzai88]

Ain't nothin' guys! Add reducer + clear+hardener. Oh, and the gun & compressor too......

View attachment 388211

Not necessary, as they sell their 'one shot' kits already mixed and put into rattle cans. About $100 shipped.

 

[Hobie1dog]

One alternative to cheap rattle can finishes, is to do some networking and find an automotive spray painter to befriend. I was hanging out at the Cigar and Pipe shop and asked one of my new friends what line of work he did, and he paints high end exotic cars. I mentioned that I use to paint cars too before becoming disabled. He volunteered to paint any rockets for me as he said that he could paint them as he was painting cars. I would just let him know what my preferred color would be and he could let me know by texting the similar color he would be using for my approval. Having an automotive base coat/clear coat paint job put on with a $500.00 spray gun is something that I will be happy with instead of ending up with an $8.00 rattle can job I would be embarrassed showing up at a launch with.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

Thanks for all the responses. I have a feeling its just the summer humidity here in FL. I did some painting back in the spring with the same paints and it came out just fine. I will probably just sand this down and re-paint later. Will also take a look for the Montana Gold paints.

I used to apply a lot of paint with an airbrush on small to mid-sized models. I was able to get a really nice finish, but getting the right paint to thinner ratios and dialing in just the right pressure took a lot of experimenting. And, cleanup got to be a real chore!!! I still have the equipment but haven't airbrushed in quite a while.

I like my rockets to have a nice finish, but I'm not as picky about small imperfections as I used to be. I just tell myself this rocket could lawn-dart on the very first flight (or CATO, or drift off with the wind, or land in the canal, etc.). So I like the rocket to look good, but I won't stress about getting a perfect finish.

Thanks (wish I knew an automotive painter)!
--MARK

 

[Banzai88]

(wish I knew an automotive painter)!
--MARK

Quite often over the years I've been able to stop by a MACO and see what they had on the schedule to paint, and get things painted with 'extra' for extremely cheap. Wouldn't necessarily get a whole car painted there, but the things that I've had painted over the years have been done very well. Wouldn't hurt to ask!

 

[Hobie1dog]

Quite often over the years I've been able to stop by a MACO and see what they had on the schedule to paint, and get things painted with 'extra' for extremely cheap. Wouldn't necessarily get a whole car painted there, but the things that I've had painted over the years have been done very well. Wouldn't hurt to ask!

MAACO and other body shops should be investigated especially for larger rockets to be painted. Showing a manager what you want painted can get him interested in helping you out. You could offer to have their business logo on your rocket as well. Have a picture taken of it at launch time framed to hang on their wall would likely secure future paint jobs. Just be sure to have it primered and ready to spray for them so that they just have to take it in the booth and spray it with what they have left in their gun cup.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I used to apply a lot of paint with an airbrush on small to mid-sized models. I was able to get a really nice finish, but getting the right paint to thinner ratios and dialing in just the right pressure took a lot of experimenting. And, cleanup got to be a real chore!!! I still have the equipment but haven't airbrushed in quite a while.
--MARK

Be sure to check out the Auto-Air paints that are water based but can be clear coated with solvent based paints. They have a great website and you can buy the base paints in small bottles. The airbrush community uses this brand a lot. The standard for custom helmet painters.
https://autoaircolors.com/

 

[Chris_H]

Be sure to check out the Auto-Air paints that are water based but can be clear coated with solvent based paints. They have a great website and you can buy the base paints in small bottles. The airbrush community uses this brand a lot. The standard for custom helmet painters.
https://autoaircolors.com/

The Auto-Air colors are great for color on small projects, but for a top-coat clear, there are better choices.

 

[Hobie1dog]

The Auto-Air colors are great for color on small projects, but for a top-coat clear, there are better choices.

Yes, like automotive clears

 

[Chris_H]

Yep. I hesitated in saying that, as automotive urethanes are pretty gnarly, and require a real spray setup. I feel pretty lucky in that respect, as I have a real spray booth with Hepa filtered make-up air, a 25cfm @ 125psi rotary screw compressor, 6 stages of air filtration/ moisture removal, and more than a dozen guns. And about 35 years experience in using them.

Nitrocellulose lacquers are good intermediate step, as they are way less toxic, super forgiving, many of them polish well, and the clear can be tinted to many different colors.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Yep. I hesitated in saying that, as automotive urethanes are pretty gnarly, and require a real spray setup. I feel pretty lucky in that respect, as I have a real spray booth with Hepa filtered make-up air, a 25cfm @ 125psi rotary screw compressor, 6 stages of air filtration/ moisture removal, and more than a dozen guns. And about 35 years experience in using them.

Nitrocellulose lacquers are good intermediate step, as they are way less toxic, super forgiving, many of them polish well, and the clear can be tinted to many different colors.

And that's why I had suggested previously to quit expecting results from cheap rattle cans that mostly result in disappointment, and buying the Killer Cans from Alsa which give great results but don't require a compressor, high dollar gun, solvents, clean up procedures. Most paint supply shops now offer spray cans that they can fill with your choice of any automotive color that have great atomization nozzles too.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I think everyone should review this paint thread to see what is required to get show quality results with rattle cans
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/painting-the-magg-or-how-i-spent-my-summer-vacation.57942/

 

[Hobie1dog]

Then follow up by reading his next paint job with a clear coat on it. Lots of great pictures.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/the-porsche-dx3.59761/