Frank

Well let me try to explain what happens when laquer is applied to it self. This is actually a melting process because of the solvent in the laquer. Thus each coat melts the following one to the last. When you let the laquer dry then apply the d2t there is no solvent to soften the surface and form a bond, Also the heat produced by the epoxy does no good for it at all. If you want it to stick real good you need a slow laquer thinner to soften the surface, then apply the d2t right after. We used to do this on cars in the 80's when urethane came out. Laquer's surface is also the finish thus not pourius and hard for anything that does not cantain solvent to adhere. The poeple that use water based or base coats on the other hand do have a very pourius surface for the finish to adhere to. As for epoxies that are not flexible ther are plenty out there if you want to look for them. Just to easy to get d2t.

Yes as long as the people reading this do understand that you can use a torch on some finishes but if you thin with solvent it is not a good idea. Years ago I was talking with Ralph O'quinn from U40 when he told me about the formulation thing. He was also the one that hates brushes,say that they are for paint not epoxy. Got me to use a spatula way back then. Try this one use your finger with a glove of coarse to apply finish on a one piece lure. It actually starts out smoother and thinner than a brush. Brushes hold air then release when the finish is applyed. On good brushes this is lessof a problem but who uses good brushes on finish. Havent found a good way to apply with my finger on a multi piece cause of build up between pieces. Hey Pizza,LB is a nice place to visit but im about done with the heat.

Now this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Did someone say to thin with laquer thinner and use a butane torch to level the d2t. If you do this I guess outside would be a good place and next to a fire extinguisher maybe. Alot of epoxys can be heated in this fashion but not when you thin with solvents. The beauty of most epoxys is the lack of solvents thus less shrinkage in the final product. There are products that are thin to start with and have a long working time. This give a beginner time to say take your time when applying the finish that makes your paint work shine. As for working times and epoxys the time that is on the label is almost always for about 65-70 deg. When you pass 85deg. the time multiplys fast to lessen work time. I know that there is alot of guys on this board that use d2t and It use to be easy to get but the work time is not very long. I know it does not have to turn for long if at all but it doesnt have time to flow either. Thus the wavy surface you have to deal with. I would try some thing that is more forgiving to start with so you can recoat to achieve the look you want. Ive been using epoxyies for many years and have talked to the guys whom manufacture it and if you have to alter the blend then there is another formula that is out there that you should use. I just hate to see posts like this because I know how much work you had to do just to fail at the finish.

Well just wondering what you will think of that paint when it is not available in your area any more. If that is Fort Bragg in Ca then it wont be long before your area is forced to go water bourne for autos also. Im about 2-3 hrs south of you and we have not had laquer for close to 20yrs. And we are at this time changing to water bourne base coat so soon there will be plenty of solvent base coat to go around,as it will be illegal for us to posess these products. From what I see already the water is not as bad as I thought it would be. When you see what the cost of some of the reducers that you will need the free paint wont seem as good of a deal as you might think. If it is dupont croma base that you got PM me and ill get you the info that you need for that product. Ive used that product till we had to change.

I am a auto body guy and going back to the shop is the best idea. Or go to the paint store that htey bought it from. Many products are not available in all areas.

Well said Bob . Just to many bench chemist out there for me. I let the paint manufactures do all the studying for me. That is what I pay them for(buy there product). A system is the best policy.

Doc If you want to use the HOK system you will need to have a place to spray with good ventilation. Also a resparater that is good for onganic compounds. This is a solvent based system which uses toxic reducers. For this system you will need a sealer then the base coat, then color coat, then the clear coat. The clear coat is the problem, to use this you will need to protect yourself with a chemical suit that covers even your head and a full faced mask to prevent chemicals getting in through your eyes. It was alot easier when I did not know better. Ive been using Auto Air lately Because the toxic levels went down about 99%. Ive yet to find a color that HOK has that Auto Air doesnt.Ive been using Hok products on cars since the late 70s so it is not strange to me. But at home I dont want the toxic levels that high. I also use prop and have not had a problem at all. Light coats is the key to using these products. Heavy coats will cause problems even in the same line.. I think it is great that you want to use a system thatis designed to use together instead of differant products. This is where you get the well it works for me type of answers. If you use a system and have a problem you have a good chance that there customer service can help you . Hope this helps you make your decision.

It is not impossible to paint over silicone but the andesion is not as good as you get if it is not presant. Back in the day when we had a problem like that we would add silicone to the paint and turn it all into small fish eyes thus giving the illusion of problem sovled. Thus the turm "if you cant beat them join them". The real trick is light coats. Hard to do with some of the clear coats we use. Thats why the second coat comes out so good. If you are not having problems Ill bet you use real light coats . Think about it .

I know that the label does not say it but being in a trade that specificaly says not to use windex cause the silicone in it will not let the urathane adhere to the glass. That is also why they state in ads that it cleans and shines . The silicone is the shine part of that statement. Never use it.

Boy there has been some fisheyes lately. Maybe they came from something from the shop you are working in. Most people think you need to have direct contact with something to contaminate. Fisheyes come from silicone(silica). These can get air borne if you say, use WD40, Armor All,Windex on rags that just lay around after waiting for you to put finish on. I only use these examples cause they have a very high silica content and most come in spray form.If you didnt touch it, than this is just another idea. If the fisheyes are that bad that coat must be a very thick coat. I dont use etex but I would try another coat before removing all your work.Just a thought.Hope this helps.

Go to the tcp global website and search for a color wheel like previusly mentioned it will be the best spent 5 bucks as far as colors go. With this wheel you can figure out any opaque color you will ever need. It really works.

Your second coat will be fine.I wish I knew how to get the look im after in one coat but I just settle on doing two coats. Since I started using water based paint the crater problem has gotten worse. It seems worst on pearl than any other color. When I clear the lighter colors have more problems than the darker ones on the same bait. Another time it seems to get worst is when i use the reducer to thin some colors. In that case I just put on light coats. Not so easy with flex coat but it can be done.

I ve been using Flex Coat for years. The best way I ve been able to get a good finish is a two coat process. The first one is as thin as I can get it on, The second is sort of a medium coat. You do have to wait at least over night for the second coat but it seams to go on so much nicer than the first one did. When you recoat if you do it within 24 hrs you dont need to sand unless there is a piece of dirt or something. As for air bubbles just a little heat to break surface tension and they will pop. Hope this helps.

After reading this time and time again one thing rings a bell. That is I think that pete hit the problem on the head. The needle cap might have an air leak. This part must be sealed in order for the siphon action to work. If not once there is a heavy material that produce resistance the air passes through the cap instead of the fluid ,no matter how thick or thin. Try to take the air cap of and tighten the needle cap as much as you can . Most brushes come with a wrench for this part hopefully you still have it. Probably safer to remove the needle to prevent damage. Not that I have ever damaged a needle like that before. Most gravity feed guns don't have these kind of problems but they can just not as likely. Hope this helps

Try this company out,tcp global auto body depot. Go to the kustom shop page ,on the left there is another page of flakes. On this page you will find any type of flake you like. It also has a guide of sizes of flake and what it takes to spray it , includeing air brush. You can get a very small amount without breaking the bank. But if the bank is open check out the color change ones. When applyed over black you can get two differant colors at differant angles. These are dry so you can apply them in any system that is out there. Pretty cool stuff. Hope this stirs up some creative ideas.

Hey Snax Is 4011 the auto air reducer, that you are saying to use in the createx wicked colors? When i looked up Createx the only reducer was a 100 for the wicked colors. This water based is sure a differant animal than solvent based. But it just a matter of time before i get it.

Try TCP global it is in the can section about 1.00 each.

Well I do understand the look you are trying to achieve here .I was not happy with my first atempts either. I use a ball end mill from metal working. They are available in any size you could imagine. I chuck it up in my drill press and put the part in my vice mounted to the drill press table. My table has a cross slide so when I mount the part it can slide from side to side. The result is very good slots that look like they were cast in the part. This may sound like it is hard but it is very easy. The cutters vary in price but for a carbide cutter you are looking at about 10 to 12 bucks. The 4 flute design seem to be the best for my application.These cutters plunge cut and will cut sideways. So once you drill in you move sideways and done. If I could figure out how to use you tube I would make a video. Maybe I'llcall my son this weekend To help with this. Hope this helps.

Agreed it is something you changed in the area you work in or the tools used for refinishing. Fish eyes came from silicone which is in many products. Go back to the time when you had no problems and see what changed and remove it. start with a clean area ,no old rags brushes cups stir sticks. To get rid of them let dry completely sand about half way out then clean with a good quality wax and grease remover found at an auto refinish store. This process is wipe on wet and dry completely with a new clean rag or lint free towel. Then throw them away they are no good for that purpose any more. Now you should be able to recoat with no problems. Remember the slower your finish cure the more chance of contomination. Silicone gets air borne easily so check your area well.

Sorry wrong word it is ammonia that is in windex .I had a bottle of alcohol on the desk when I posted. There is alot of house hold products have silicone in it. Remember one thing if you need to get rid of silicone you need silicone to remove silicone. Wipe on then wipe off.

Well here goes trouble. Windex has three main parts to it. Water ,alcohol and silicone to put a shine on a window. I have no problem with the first two but the third one I do. If you spray light enough coats you can do it but you are still applying silicone to the part which is not good for the final coat. This is where fish eyes come from. Many may use this but you may as well use just water and alcohol. The thinner I got with my order smelled like it may have had a hint of alcohol but not much. Distilled water with the iron removed is what I would use. Think about it if you get it on the bait without problems it is still under the finish and will not let the finish bite in as good as it could. There was a post earlier this week about a pearl coat that let the clear peel off,these problems are the ones you might encounter. Im not saying that was the problem in his case but those are the weird things that could happen. If you refinish any thing try to follow instructions from the manufacture they paid some one a lot of money to develope the product.

On my order the reducer is a 4011 for fast dry. Imagine that fast dry water. Will try it tommorrow.

Well said Not suggesting that people try any of the solvent based product without the proper safety equipment at all. You may get an answer from a local paint rep from one of the local auto paint stores.All paint manufactures have these people. One tip if you dont like the answer from one rep find another. You will probably have to tell them it is for an industrial use. Good luck. I believe that the urethane family is all sensative to moisture. Im guessing that you are refuring to humidity.

Well being new around here my opinion may not hold much water but as for as finish goes I have been in the automotive refinish trade for about 27 yrs. These finishes are used for many purposes other than just autos. Most new ones are not as hard as you might think because they need to be able to flex and absorb impact of small rocks. Most of them use a two part system which is toxic when mixed so I do not recomend these for home use. The epoxy family which is mostly a 1to1 mix seem to have the least amount of offending fumes because of the high solids and the absence of reducers. If you want to experiment with products let me help with a few that I have not seen mentioned on here lately if ever. 1 System three Mirror Coat /thin long pot life prone to comtamination 2 System three clear coat /same as above 3 U-40 perma gloss urethane rod finish/thin but very user friendly. 4 Thread master rod finish/ Just like flex coat but set up time is about one hour as opposed to four with flex coat. 5 Automotive clear [two part systems] Most can be dipped just watch for drips around eyes,corners. Most can be done in one sitting.Example Mix to the ratio from the manufacturer then dip and let flash off for recomended time then dip again,a third time may be needed to achieve the desired result.Dirt and other imperfections can be sanded out and polished. Draw back what you mixed is all going to be wasted. As for as product not made for this job I think that if it works for you don't be afraid to post it . The only way to learn is to try it and see. Most people dont believe that this is as good as it gets. We all can learn from trial and error. Sorry for the long post hope it might help at least one person. Frank