Buffing spraycan paint

[Arron]

Hi. I have painted this half hull model with spraycan paint. British Paints Spray Easy in blue, white and clear. The finish is not bad for a rattle can job, but I’d like to make it perfect. Can I buff it? I’m thinking of a very light sand with 1500 grit, then buffing with Meguiars medium and then fine compounds.

I don’t have much experience with rattle cans.

Anyone do this and can advise on best procedure and likely pitfalls.

Cheers
Arron

279969D3-FD9E-4CFC-9074-040669032375.jpg

[Simplicity]

Technically you should be able to bring more gloss in.

But start with 2000 grit also pre soak your paper for a bit(an hour) and one or two drops of washing up liquid
(One or two you don’t need heaps)
Then go for your polishes.
If 2000 is not knocking the orange peel back fast enough, I would go 1500/2000/2500 then 5000 if you really want to go over board.
And remember to wipe down with a wet cloth between grits of paper.

Cheers Matt,

[Arron]

Ok, so you’re saying that in your experience it works as well with that brand of spray cans as it does with most finishes. Is that right?

[Simplicity]

No
I’m saying it should work with a gloss surface you are just flatting the surface so light can reflect back.
If you are concerned about ruining a nice piece try the clear on some similar scrap and see if you can bring a better shine

[Arron]

No
I’m saying it should work with a gloss surface you are just flatting the surface so light can reflect back.
If you are concerned about ruining a nice piece try the clear on some similar scrap and see if you can bring a better shine

OK, thanks. I was just trying to clarify whether you were answering generically or specifically.

No other replies so it looks like buffing spray can paints is something not many people do.

Cheers
Arron

[Simplicity]

OK, thanks. I was just trying to clarify whether you were answering generically or specifically.

No other replies so it looks like buffing spray can paints is something not many people do.

Cheers
Arron

I’m pretty confident it will work
One and only one way to find out

[Sir Stinkalot]

It might be worth sending an email to British Paints and asking the question. I have just had a quick look at their site and it doesn't mention that it is polishable. I used a Dulux spray the other day and I did read somewhere that it was polishable (it's mentioned on Bunnings site but I am sure I also found something on the Dulux site). On my project I had intended to polish the finish however in the end it was going to be too difficult due to the complexity of the item and the finish was fairly good anyway.

Let us know how you go.

[Arron]

Ok, so I let the object sit for a week to properly dry out and harden.

Then I tried it with my usual lacquer buffing method which is
Sand lightly with 1500 grit
Rub with Meguiars Medium cutting Compund.
Then rub with Meguiars Swirl Remover
Then rub hard with a cotton cloth.

For the clear, it worked pretty well. Not fast, but good result.

For the blue paint (same product range) it was a complete fail. Hard to describe - kind of like buffing really cheap poly, or enamel house paint. End result is dull with cloudy patches. My guess is that the product never hardens sufficiently to allow removal of the finest scratches. I guess to the average user that’s not a problem, and has the advantage of resisting cracking and other issues with substrate movement giving the product great versatility.

One of these days I’ll have to sand it all off and start again.

FYI - I rang the tech line which led to a confusing and pointless conversation. I didn’t try with a scrap piece first because I had none of the product left - and now that I live in a non-urban location I’m trying to get out of the pattern of driving to the shops each time I feel the need. I guess that was my mistake.

Arron

[woodPixel]

You can liven it back up by giving it a mist of universal paint thinners.

You could also use a custom aerosol. Get the colour code from the manufacturer, call SupaCheapAuto and have them make you up a single pack can in the exact colour. They will post it to you.

https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/se...s/paint-mixing

It is mind boggling how advanced car paint is. The two-pack clear is utterly amazing.

I've been going on like a pork chop about it for ages. More woodworker should give it a try! This stuff was developed for daily abuse, dust, scorching heat, freezing cold and unrelenting UV. Makes our needs seem all rather trivial

[Fumbler]

OK, thanks. I was just trying to clarify whether you were answering generically or specifically.

No other replies so it looks like buffing spray can paints is something not many people do.

Cheers
Arron

Arron, in my search for a glass like gloss finish on a box, I used some White Knight spray gloss, (on a test piece) but don't know how but the finish came out dull and flat, almost satin like, whether the wrong contents were in the can I don't know, but it was replaced. Anyway as I don't like starting over I kept up coating with my spray can, then I lobbed on a buffing wheel in the drill (the orange el'cheapo ones, and there was some residual wax left on. Unbelievable, it buffed like crazy and shone like a high gloss. That was until I got a bit carried away and left in one spot for too long and it burnt/melted a patch.

Needless to say, the upshot of it was yes you can manually or mechanically buff out spray can finishes. 2 recommendations though. 1. let the finish fully cure, 2. go easy, light sweeps, then finish off with a light buff with the Doris's furniture polishing cloth (aka the yellow one with red stitching).

[Fumbler]

This stuff was developed for daily abuse, dust, scorching heat, freezing cold and unrelenting UV.

You'd need it in the capital hey WP? Scorching heat, freezing winters? Might drop in next time i'm down. were about due for a trip down.

[woodPixel]

You'd need it in the capital hey WP? Scorching heat, freezing winters? Might drop in next time i'm down. were about due for a trip down.

It's a poorly placed city! We miss all the good rain because of the mountains blocking it, miss the snow as its too dry, stinking hot, cold in winter and the soil is unbelievably bad! Bugs... so many bugs!

The days temperature and humidity changes a lot during the day. Overall, it makes it very hard to spray paint. It makes you focus a lot on process, cleanliness and laying everything down properly.

[Simplicity]

I did this just as test for my self last weekend.
Three or four coats applied,first one was a mist coat,the rest full coats.
To be fair I only cut it back with 800 wet and dry wet once it HD dried over night.
Then hit it with the cut and polish,so a quick and dirty one.
Next time I will use micro mesh to 15000 then polish,
But as a test I’m pretty impressed.


Pic are average but the clear coat has a full body and I’m sure if I payed a little more attention the shine would really pop.

Cheers Matt,

[Arron]

So I gave the British Paints another week and then tried buffing it again. No dice.

so to provide a note of context to this thread:

Yep, the SCA acrylic clear will give a very good response to buffing because it is an auto-body finishing product and buffing to a high gloss is in its DNA.

Likewise the White Knight will do it too - it’s a marvellous product but you would expect that being nearly twice the price of the BP. I’ve just used some to spray metal table legs and it really is a great product.

The fundamental requirement of a finish that facilitates buffing is that the finish cures to a hard surface. Polys and oil based enamels don’t cure to a hard finish which increases their versatility, something more readily appreciated by the average user who does not expect to work a surface after it has been laid down. I suspect the BP spray product is in that camp along with the other inexpensive brands. I guess if there must be a lesson learnt it is that if you want the best possible spraycan finish then shell out for the most expensive brands - White Knight and Dulux - which are both about $15 here.

[Cal]

Just to add a bit to your thread, I had my son ask me “what’s that box up there got in it?” Well I pulled I’d down and showed him, I was thinking of your post as I got it out. A yacht I built when I was about 13-14 years old, timber hull with fibreglass skin sprayed with cheap enamel paint and polished. For memory I think I left it for a month before cutting it back and polishing. It’s been in storage for many years and still looks good. Here’s a few pics.