1K rfu lacquer defects

[Edward Yemm]

I sprayed this in October 2016. Less than 3 years later this is how it looked.
Here’s what I did.
I flatted the whole door back.
I repaired a dent.
I sprayed the primer.
I then sprayed basecoat just over the primer area.
Then I sprayed a few coats of 1K ready for use lacquer over the entire door.
I had poor coverage because of the issue I’ve had with my spray gun.
I cut the uneven hazed paint out to a nice flat finish.
I did this less than 24 hours after painting it.
The car was then left out in cold weather.
From googling this, people have generally had a lot of issues with 1K. They’ve had loss of shine and cracking/crazing.
The cracking/crazing is only over the basecoat. The spotting/fading is everywhere else.
I’m considering using 1K again but I don’t want this happening down the line.

Did the cracks and spotting occur because?

1. 1K rfu is ONLY suitable for areas covered up when doors are closed (it doesn’t weather well)

2. I cut too far back into the layers of 1K. Too thin a layer of paint and not durable.

3. I cut through each raised lump of lacquer without realising it and that has caused break through spots.

4. If lacquer was cut through, has moisture crept across to area where basecoat is and caused cracks where it is starting to break away? (basecoat was never sanded because it is metallic)

5. I didn’t wait long enough for the base to flash off before spraying clear over it, thus causing the cracks.

6. I didn’t wait long enough before cutting back the paint.

7. The car should not have been exposed to cold temperatures. Should have used infrared heater or kept the car inside the garage out of the cold for days.

Do I use it again, if so, properly this time or do I use 2K instead?

Thoughts please. Thanks.

 

[steveo3002]

bit of everything , 1k isnt great , parking it in the cold wasnt a good idea , cutting and polishing straight away wasnt a good idea

yes if you can use 2k then do so , make sure its done in sensible temps etc as set out on the data sheet

 

[Edward Yemm]

bit of everything , 1k isnt great , parking it in the cold wasnt a good idea , cutting and polishing straight away wasnt a good idea

yes if you can use 2k then do so , make sure its done in sensible temps etc as set out on the data sheet

I read the data sheets on stuff now. If the temperature is below 20 or whatever is required I put the paint cans on top of an oil filled radiator to warm up. If needed I heat the general area with an infrared lamp 3ft or more away from panel until the thermometer (positioned away from the actual panel) shows the right temperature. Then the lamp goes off. Temperature raises by a further degree or two. I wait until lamp isn’t flammable heat source anymore and until temperature is right. Vacuum cleaner above panel gets switched on to suck up excess overspray and avoid it falling onto panel between coats. Then when overspray has died down lamp goes back on.

 

[Edward Yemm]

I have some 2K clear at home. I have used it twice. I don’t have air fed. I know the risks. I held my breath and once I was done spraying I was gone and the window in the utility room next to the garage was flung wide open. I already have asthma. I have recently had dizziness, shortness of breath, tight chest, chesty cough, hoarseness and excessive phlegm. I had various blood tests. Nothing wrong. Chest X-ray. Nothing wrong. Turns out it is side effects from my asthma inhaler and allergy medication. I’ve switched to a brown inhaler instead of a pink one. I also take don’t take chloraphenamine allergy tablets anymore because that gives you a bad chest.
I know, for now at least that the 2K hasn’t had an effect on me. That said, it isn’t something I want to take too many risks with. My cousins in law sprayed 2K lacquer over an entire car in Slovakia and none of them even wore a mask. They’re both ok. My dad worked in industries where dust was a factor and didn’t wear a dust mask very often because he got too hot. He died of pulmonary fibrosis. The doctors did a biopsy of his lungs and there was nowhere near enough industrial dust to have contributed to his death. It was more of a natural fibrosis instead.
The sellers of some of these non air fed masks tell you that they’re ok for occasional usage of 2K but with the fumes being smelt even through the mask and those fumes being the hazard, it’s not advisable for long.
I’d drive a bus up and down a road in Gloucester. I would smell paint fumes trip after trip when passing one area. For all I know that could’ve been isocyanates?

I’ve been looking into air fed.
For that I believe I would need,
Coalescence filter fitted next to my water trap at compressor end to catch contaminates.
Air fed mask with carbon filter on the belt to catch oil, paint vapours.
Short airline from belt to gun.
Industrial curtain to seal off compressor from the area I am spraying in.

Either I can spend £300+ on that setup or

I can use some of the non isocyanate 2K hardener. It’s supposed to be compatible with a wide variety of 2K paints and lacquers. I’m considering just buying that but I don’t know for sure if my 2K clear coat and 2K thinners would like being mixed with it. Also I don’t know if it would be as hard wearing. Still, having a hardener should make it better than 1K. Less likely to fade or fail, surely, shouldn’t it?

 

[mr haynes]

Do not touch 1k for at least a week.
Always seems to crack/react if you try polishing next day. Very few can resist the temptation
Would suggest haze is temp related

 

[steveo3002]

never tried the non iso hardners , has a bad reputation on here for staying soft

2nd best use a decent brand 1k clear , use it in suitable temps etc it should be reasonble enough , prob what the local smart repair man uses , then accept it for what it is

 

[mr haynes]

If you are that worried about 2k paint you should be giving the job to a professional painter.
1k can work but have to follow data sheet and give it a chance to cure

 

[Edward Yemm]

Do not touch 1k for at least a week.
Always seems to crack/react if you try polishing next day. Very few can resist the temptation
Would suggest haze is temp related

This time the car will be staying in the garage for days, weeks after it’s all finished. When I finally get my water trap connected directly to my compressor tank and spray though my new devilbiss gun, I hopefully will get a nice low orange peel finish that I won’t need to cut and polish. After final paint I’ll be using infrared lamps no closer than 2ft away from panels from now on.

 

[Edward Yemm]

never tried the non iso hardners , has a bad reputation on here for staying soft

2nd best use a decent brand 1k clear , use it in suitable temps etc it should be reasonble enough , prob what the local smart repair man uses , then accept it for what it is

Yes. I did think that all these people doing mobile smart repairs surely can’t be using 2k.

 

[Edward Yemm]

If you are that worried about 2k paint you should be giving the job to a professional painter.
1k can work but have to follow data sheet and give it a chance to cure

I’m not worried about using it occasionally. Area will be warmed up with a infrared lamp and the car will stay in the garage for days, weeks until the paint is cured.

 

[steveo3002]

Yes. I did think that all these people doing mobile smart repairs surely can’t be using 2k.

some use 2k , i guess any that does good work would refer a whole door to a bodyshop

 

[Edward Yemm]

some use 2k , i guess any that does good work would refer a whole door to a bodyshop

I always wonder how the hell they would keep the repair so localised to such small areas of a panel, if that’s how they do it? I had a go once on the sill below that door. I flatted to past where I wanted to spray basecoat. I then sprayed lacquer up to just before the edge of the flatted area. Then I used pro blend spray over the area. Or I used the pro bend before the lacquer. I can’t remember? Either way, I ended up with a halo between the old and new lacquer. Since then I flat and re lacquer the whole panel and you can’t see the edge of the new basecoat. I’ve seen videos of people using this fade out thinner you can buy. They seem to be doing it across the whole panel up to where there is a body line. Like a fold on an arch. They then use this j tape or soft edge tape so you can’t see the line between the old and new lacquer.

 

[steveo3002]

alot of them just do bodge work , wouldnt stand up to expert examination , the type that book a paintjob in the driveway in winter aint that fussy

 

[keithski122]

I had a smart repair done recently to a newly fitted bath, the repairer used 2 pack paint for the repair, didn't use an air fed mask as far as I noticed so its possible that car smart repairers use 2 pack.