parts painted with rattle can look like crap - what did I do wrong?

[4 speed fish]

If you use a primer let it dry for at least a day if the weather is not hot.By letting it dry good it will limit the chance of having a reaction with the top coat.I use  alcohol to clean items before paint.Then I drink alcohol during and after the final paint process.

[roadman5312]

If you use a primer let it dry for at least a day if the weather is not hot.By letting it dry good it will limit the chance of having a reaction with the top coat.I use  alcohol to clean items before paint.Then I drink alcohol during and after the final paint process.

                                          And that boys and girls is the secret to sucess       

[dakota]

Thanks for all the feedback and tips.   I decided to run a little test.   It looks like the problem is between the Rustoleum primer and the Krylon paint. 

I cleaned off one of the rear spring shackles with a wire wheel, then masked off half before spraying some of the Rustoluem primer.   Once dried, I sprayed the entire shackle face with the Krylon semi-gloss and let that sit for a day.   On the half with the primer, the topcoat was dull and still soft to the point it was easy to scratch off with my fingernail... just like the stuff that ticked me off in the first place.   The side with paint seemed to have the appropriate semi-gloss finish.   It was still a little soft after 8 hours but seemed to be OK after 24.  I didn't use any of the Loctite on either side this time.

I have repeated the masking off 1/2 the shackle with Rustoleum primer and spraying the whole face with the a new can of Rustoleum semi-gloss black.   I'll let the dry tonight and see how the finish holds up. More to come tomorrow.

[Chryco Psycho]

Don't ask me , I have a perfect record , everything I paint no matter what type of paint , primer or not , prep or temp the result is always the same , it comes out wrinkled or fisheyed 

[734406pk]

Looks like the primer/top coat is not compatible. Try using the recommended topcoat for your primer. Some of the quick dry topcoats are lacquer base and considered a "hot" paint.

[mrbill426]

Yep, prep is EVERYTHING with paint, and so is compatibility between all the chemicals used, and the ambient temperature and humidity.   Rustoleum is great stuff but does not play well with other brand paints; even some Rustoleum products do not mix with each other.   I have had very good results on parts using Martin Senour automotive rattle cans.  POR-15 makes good coatings too but READ the labels CAREFULLY!

 

[734406pk]

It sucks when you paint something and you get the curdled milk results. You have to bite the bullet and strip the part, then repaint with compatible products. Could be worse I guess.

[dakota]

A little bit of an update:  best I can tell now, I was dealing with 3 problems, all of which were tied together.

1. The Rustoleum primer and the Krylon topcoat do not like each other.  As another member suggested, using the same brand of primer and topcoat definitely led to better results.
2. This battle of the brands was particularly noticeable where I sprayed too heavy a layer of topcoat, which caused the soft blisters. Using multiple light coats (read and flow the instructions!) seemed to turn out well. 
3.  I handled the parts too early.  I let everything sit for a week instead of overnight.  I can no longer scratch anything off with my fingernail.

The parts all look better now.  Except they're sitting on my workbench and not on the car - that's a different problem.