Painting acrylic over enamel

[Nev]

Just wondering if theres any product available thats like a primer that you can spray over enamel (rustkill) so you can respray with acrylic? Or do I have to resort to the old rub the enamel back fully and respray with acrylic?
Thanks John.

[broken80]

If you give it a good sanding first you can sometimes get away spraying acrylic primer over enamel paint if you mix it dry and dust it on, it still sometimes reacts. If you sand out the area that reacts and respray the primer you can usally get a covering.

[itchyvet]

Just wondering if theres any product available thats like a primer that you can spray over enamel (rustkill) so you can respray with acrylic? Or do I have to resort to the old rub the enamel back fully and respray with acrylic?
Thanks John.

John,

With my humble experience with the spray gun, I have found to my detriment, there's NOTHING you can spray onto ENAMEL BUT ENAMEL.
Remember, ACRYLIC contains acrylic thinner which will attack the enamel and your paint job will look like orange peel, :-( not nice.
However, I have heard a rumour, that TWO PACK ENAMEL can be painted onto enamel, haven't tried it myself though, so just passing on the rumour.
For my money, I'd rub the thing back and start over with acrylic, gives a better finish anyway.

[dirtyGQ]

lightly sand and start trying to wash down with turps or prepsol to remove the enamel.

[Nev]

thanks for the advice guys...ill let you know how it goes when i get a moment to work on it again.

[ratboy]

You can get sealer for this job try auto paint store

[ISUZUROVER]

How old is the enamel? I have only found that it works when the enamel is very old and hard. But by then you want to rub it back well anyway.

[Hekta]

Remember, ACRYLIC contains acrylic thinner which will attack the enamel and your paint job will look like orange peel, :-( not nice.

Unless you're painting it orange. Then it would look cool

[Nev]

You can get sealer for this job try auto paint store

Does the sealer just put a coating over the enamel and allow acrylic to be sprayed over it? If so that sounds like what i need

[Mick.]

The sealer people are talking about would be scan sealer (in PPG) but it wont seal over emamel. It's also worth a fortune.

The only reason some people have got away will painting over enamel is because it was probably enamel with hardener in it which basicly turns it into 2 pac.

If the enamel underneath wasn't hardened then you can not paint over it with anything but enamel.

Rustkill will definetly react with anything you try and paint over it so I would save youself some time and paint strip it first with either thinners on a rag (if it's a small area), paint stripper or sander.

Cheers Mick.

[ratboy]

the stuff i used was a water based sealer said on ther can was for sealing enamel worked for me.

Allows acrylic to be sprayed over it

I got it from paint right

Note... I know fu*kall about painting just worked for me

Good luck

[sudso]

You can get sealer for this job try auto paint store

Does the sealer just put a coating over the enamel and allow acrylic to be sprayed over it? If so that sounds like what i need

Stuff I have used in the past to save time is called Barcoat. You sand the surface to be painted 1st then spray on the barcoat. Thinning and clean up is with metholayted spirits (or white spirits). But you shouldn't have to thin it if it's fresh stuff.

Spray on your undercoat over the Barcoat soon after without sanding it or you risk the new paint getting through to the old paint. Seals any paint, paint over with any paint. Worked a treat for me.

Caution though, this stuff has a shelf life and dont put thinned paint or thinned barcoat back in the tin with unthinned stuff. Keep well sealed and cool.

cheers, sudso

[Pauwolf]

You need an enamel isolator, it is water or metho based and will stick to both enamel and acrylic. If you go to an auto paint supplier ask for an isolator to go over enamel to spray acrylic, he will sort you out. I hav had no problems buying it over the years and I live in north queensland.

Paul

[finners]

Pauwolf is dead right

Isolator is the go

Never used it but sold plenty of it over 12 years all with no problems

http://www.hichem.com.au/hicheminfo/PIDS/Misc/Iso.pdf

[Nev]

cheers guys..looks the stuff to use

[Kramer]

Hey while on the subject of enamel are all metallics enamel, as I want to spray acrylic over the old metallic on my commodore?

[ISUZUROVER]

Hey while on the subject of enamel are all metallics enamel, as I want to spray acrylic over the old metallic on my commodore?

No, metallic paint is available in most/all paint systems - acrylic, enamel, 2pack.

[Mick.]

You can not even metalic in enamel. It is only available in solid colours and clears.

Cheers Mick.

[ISUZUROVER]

You can not even metalic in enamel. It is only available in solid colours and clears.

Cheers Mick.

Oh REALLY???

http://www.rustoleum.com/product.asp?fr ... d=22&SBL=1

[finners]

You can not even metalic in enamel. It is only available in solid colours and clears.

Cheers Mick.

I'm not 100% sure you'd have to speak to an automotive spray painter but i think what Mick is saying is right.

Yes there are enamel metallics in industrial paints like numerous rust kill variaties as well as hammercoats just to name two but they are for industrial use, not to say you can't paint your car in them as I've seen a 40 Series painted in Grey Hammercoat.

To the best of my knowledge the vast majority of Automotive paints like your fast dry enamels and spraying enamels only come in solid (non metallic or pearl colours) there may be some exceptions to this, as new paint is being developed all the time.

Metallics and pearls are readily available in acrylic and I think 2 pak enamels as well.

The bottom line is I'm 99% sure your Commodore if it is metallic from the factory will be acrylic and if you are not sure lightly prep a section and try some acrylic on it, if it fries up then your car is enamel. If you are not sure and worried use an isolator and you'll have no probs. A spray painter can normally tell just by lookin at the paint if it is enamel or not.

What we need is an Auto spray painter to read this thread and it'll be cleared up in 5 seconds.

Until then I guess we can only share are experiences.

[Mick.]

I am an automotive painter by trade and no car is painted in acrylic anymore. In holden the last model from memory painted in acrylic was the VP.

That emamel in the cans above is not an automotive metalic which is what I was talking about. I wouldn't put that on a car. I'd almost garrentee thats a solid metalic which does require a clear.

These days even acyrlic metalics are becoming very rare and not used very often for the simple reason acylic in general is rubbish compared to todays 2 pack paints. These days you can get hardeners that will cure 2 pack in 10 minutes (rock hard) which you could never get acylic to dry that hard that quick.

Cheers Mick.

[finners]

Sorry Mick

As I said I only sold the stuff

Never took a greater interest

I said a pianter would set us straight

[Kramer]

Nice thanks guys, I will see what happens its a VL so it should be cool, and it dosen't have to be flash anyways as I am only going to turbo it and run it down the 1/4 for fun!

[mavzilla]

paint it in enamel problem solved

[bobtail]

You can not even metalic in enamel. It is only available in solid colours and clears.

Cheers Mick.

in your invaluble wisdom you were saying that they have never made metallic enamel, well i wonder what that stuff was that i sprayed all those years maybe it was my imagination It has been around before 2 pac