Hello all, this is a bit premature, I won't be thinking about paint for a few months or more. I'd love to keep it as is for the patina, but I could not stand the 80's graphics and I pulled the tape of and the paint came off with it?? Right down to the primer. Also there are a few spots where the paint is flaking off. The paint is not thick but maybe not compatible with the primer? This is a budget build and daily driver, not a show truck. Does anybody have any thoughts as to why the paint would be coming off like this? I assume the only correct solution is to remove the paint down to the primer?

 

Questions come to mind.....1. Did you paint the truck?.........2.What kind of paint is on the truck?.....

1. If you or someone else sprayed the truck.....was it cleaned and sanded properly?
2. If it was not sanded and prepped good enough.....yes paint will lift.

I think with another sanding....and mask job/ then wipe down with wax and grease remover and maybe if you want added protection...use some bulldog or adhesion promoter....which any auto store sells.
Lacquers used to flake alot if not prepped properly. Most likely it might be acrylic enamel....and it should adhere right....if prepped right.
Base coat/clear coats ....same thing.....not prepped correctly...they will lift.
THE NUMBER ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS.....CLEAN AND SAND AS WELL AS YOU CAN....and all will stick right.
Bill
p.s.---most likely it is painted with enamel....and just a bad prep job......no big-deal!!

 

there are many reasons that could cause it. when you say the paint comes off, is there primer on the back of the paint removed? or is it clean? if it has primer on the back of the paint chip, it would be old crappy lacquer primer delaminating within itself. if it is just paint only, i'd guess improper sanding, junk un-catylized acrylic enamel, or an enamel/acrylic enamel over lacquer primer with no sealer to tie them together. all of it means you will get to spend quality time with a stripper(hope you wife doesn't mind) of your choice(mechanical or chemical) if you want to fix it correctly. some ppl try to feather, prime, and recoat. that makes chips become sheets coming off. and more stripping. for the most part, paint of years past is all junk. in 2012, there will be a major shakeup in paint. gubment will require all to use water borne paint. they are also saying it wont be sold to the general public. only licensed repair facilities. if you are gonna diy, better get in gear!

 

DO NOT USE BULLDOG ON LACQUER PRIMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it will swell and dissolve it like paint stripper. had a customer try that a few years back and made a mess out of his car. was good for the shop tho. we came out ok as he had to pay more to correct it. i think it even says that on the can not to use on lacquer substrates...... it used to anyways.

 

Always read directions on labels when painting. I have 35 yrs of painting everything known to ever need painting...LOL......and not all old school paints were junk...sorry!
I realize every year chemicals are getting more refined,but water-borne will be the thing for all body shops in the near future....and most likely out west already.

 

I do not know the history of the paint on this truck. When I pulled the plastic tape stripes only the paint came off. After I was commited it seems like a heat gun helped the paint o come off.
I know it was painted back in the early 80's the PO did a lot of older restorations, they all looked good. This was the truck he drove from the barn to his house, perhapes he did not spend a lot of time on it or just mixed p some leftover paint and sprayed it. the paint job was well done no drips, well masked, Whatever body work was done is not seen.
Could he have waited to long between primer-ing and painting? I did not check to see if it's a lacquer or enamel.. I'll do that tonight.

 

Likely done like an Earl Shribe paint job: wash it off and spray color over whatever is there. At least ES uses an adhesion promoter (I think and hope). Other problem could have been incompatable paints, such as use of an all purpose enamel as a top coat without sanding between to give the paint some tooth to hold on to. IMHO the only real solution is to remove all the top coat (and primer too if I had gone this far) down to sound surface, then give it a coat of a good no lift sealer before a new color application.
There is no shortcut here that won't come back and bite your butt in the future. Do it right the first time and you won't have to do it over.
Ask for advice at your local pro body shop one or two brand paint supplier, NOT at a general parts store. The sales staff has gone to school on the products they sell, they can't afford to have failures. If you can't find a knowlegable salesman, call the manufacturer of the paint line you want to use's customer/tech support. Use EXACTLY the products they recommend all the way thru, NO SHORTCUTS or cheaper products! Stick with one brand of product throughout, even thinners. Save hardware store products for clean up.

 

We just painted my truck last night, laid the black down, waited for an hour until it was good and set up, taped out the flames, painted them with candy brandywine, started unmasking the flames to clear and the black under started to peel up with the tape. We used the same manufactures primer and paint, very expeirenced body man did all of the work, buy we ended upnon the paint booth til 4 am this morning getting it all fixed and still are not why it peeled. No fun but we did get it done. I will post pics on my build page in a couple of days.

 

Did the flames peel or the black under the tape? What kind of paint was used (single part, 2K)? was the candy the same type? 1 hr sound like an awfully short time to taping, did you use plastic tape for sensitive surfaces, remove right after flash? Did you scuff the primer? Did you tape then cut the flames out of the tape?

 

I just looked again and the back of the paint has primer on it. so is the primer braking down? I did rub some mineral spirits on the black paint and it had zero effect.

the paint that is peeling is more like bubbling or sweating. lots of little bubbles and blisters. no rust under them. my first thought was there was bondo there and it was not fully cured be fore painting??

I plan on a satin or flat paint, either red or blue lastly maybe the original smoke color..

but I guess I'll have to strip this down to the primer at least?

 

Bob, If the truck was painted in the 80's, then most likely it's lacquer primer. Tiny blisters and peeling paint like you describe is typically caused by trapped solvents in the primer trying to get out. Essentially, the primer never dried all the way before they top coated it, and it has been slowly eating itself alive all these years. You can probably take a razor blade and strip the paint off the primer in pretty short order. Then a mechanical sandng to remove the rest of the primer to bare metal will go very easy, and you can start over from scratch. That would be my best recommendation.

Just to add my background, I have 23 years of automotive painting and custom car building and restoration experience, before changing occupatins to something heathier a few years ago. ;-)

 

Merc, that sounds correct. The PO had a lot of older resto's model A & a T a few 30's lincolns and a Packard... that sounds like what he did.

 

At my work we always wait a day or 2 before laying out stencils or anything sticky because the paints not cured yet. it could be dry to the touch but below the surface is still drying. ive had it happen a few times to me in the past.

 

""I just looked again and the back of the paint has primer on it. so is the primer braking down? ""

norvillebob, that's what i asked you in my 1st post. crappy lacquer primer. the bubles "may" be solvent. BUT more than likely moisture trapped in it from contaminated air from the compressor. that's why we use refridgerated air driers and dessicant driers.

kdmcinnis, since kandy uses so many coats, you have to allow for a LOT LONGER time. there are diff ways to get around those issues. some basecoats are more sensitive than others. acrylic base are much more prone to do it than say a polyester base. temp, humidity, airflow, are also major factors. solvent penetrates into the substrate and THEN evaporates back out. with thicker bases from kandy, solvent pop can be a major issue.

 

If you're going to put the money into putting new paint down, strip the primer as well and put new stuff down. Nothing worse than putting all that effort and cost and time in to only discover something was wrong with the primer.

Painting is a lot of work, they should just call it sanding cause thats what you'll be doing 99% of the time, but in my opinion it's also the most rewarding part of a build and I wouldn't let anyone else have the fun. There is just something about being there the moment it all comes together, going from a project to a real truck in an instant... espcially if you use a candy, lol