Clear coat cracked like dried mud @_@

I'm in the process of repainting my tank. I had an issue (#8 below) and would appreciate any insight.

Here was my steps, starting with a bare metal tank:
1) Bondo'd the logo attachment; wait 24 hours
2) Krylon Grey Primer; wait 12 hours
3) Dry Sand 300 grit over the Bondo'd areas
4) Krylon Black Primer; wait 12 hours
5) Green Rust-oleum Painters Touch Glossy; wait 24 hours
6) Taped and made Black Stripes of Rust-oleum Semi-Gloss Protective Enamel
7) Spot wet-sand some black marks, 400 grit (oops, bad taping job).
Towel dried, then blow dried, then waited 10 minutes
8] Here was the issue:
Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear Gloss
When I applied this, spots of the green paint combined with the clear coat and cracked like dry mud.

 

- I read on one site that I should wait a full week before applying the clear coat.
- Another site said that it could be caused by the clear coat not getting any grip on the paint (it was glossy green paint, and I didn't sand everywhere).
- Mostly I just want to know how to paint the tank without this happening; I'm curious about why it happened but if I never found out it's fine as long as I find out how Not to get those cracks.

Thanks for you help

 

NOOOOOO!!!!!!! Rustoleum isnt really compatible with anything. Especially not krylon-rustoleum-krylon.

You know, these kind of paints should not be used on anything automotive really. I understand wanting to do it cheap and such, but sometimes you just cant cheat the process. There are no short cuts on these motorcycles when it comes to anything really.

You seem to know a bit about painting, enough to probably shoot it. You can get good quality paint (probably a polyurethane or an acrylic enamel if you want to go a little cheaper) that is well worth it. Pretty much for under $50. A $15 dollar HVLP gun from harborfreight and and pancake compressor can get nice results.

With a urethane clear coat, you would me much happier with the shine. And if you want to go the extra mile, wet sand it and make it realllly nice.

Chances are though, no matter what you choose to do, that paint is gone and will all need to be removed in order to have a good surface for any other paint.

Rustoleum is oil based, any paint that goes on top of it that is not rustoleum will react as if you had some WD40 on it or something.

I have done some Rally 2 rims for my Pontiac with rustoleum. They came out great, but I never was able to clear coat it. It always reacted for some reason. Rustoleum ended up refunding me twice for it. So if you do choose to do it, I would say go krylon all the way or consider VHT. Ive heard good things about VHT but never tried it. A darker green would probably be a cooler look (just an opinion).

Sorry it didnt work out, I love painting and hate it. Too many things can go wrong and spoil your hard work and a few days.

This site has helped me wonders

http://www.carpaintdepot.com/docs/basf/ ... efects.pdf

 

Raven nailed it, be careful mixing brands...... it can cause interesting reactions... discovered clear coating a guitar body once.... watched the pait crawl before my eyes, and it patches yet, had it bee fairly uniform it would've been a nice effect.

 

Been there, done that....
Raven hit it on the head. ALWAYS make sure your paints are the same base (oil, enamel, poly ur.)and if possible the same brand. Individual brands are made to give a superior chemical bond layer to layer...but as long as you're staying with the same type of paint, the bond will be sufficient.
From you're description it sounds like the clear coat and last coat of paint had an adverse chemical reaction. Not sanding a glossy surface wouldn't create that type of reaction. You may never know what the exact cause was. I had the same thing happen between the primer and first base coat of color once and I was using the same lineup of primer and paint I have used before with no problem. Never figured out what caused it but I took everything right back to bare metal and started over....used everything the same way and had no problems.
If you are using a clear-coat method, don't worry about using glossy base coats for color, your gloss will come from the clear coat and as has been mentioned, you never want to paint a shiny surface b/c the paint has nothing to 'bite' into. If you do go non-rattle can for paint, you are going to want to let each coat of paint dry to the touch, then lay down the next coat. (usually about 5-10 minutes) That way the layer of paint form a chemical bond so they don't separate. This Forum was sooper helpful in getting me started painting and getting great results the first time out...
this was my first paint job..

and of course the bikes

Good luck and stick to it...it can be frustrating at times but the end result is worth it!!

 

Wooo!!! Thats some good looking paint jobs. Did you use decals or is that paint for the color change on the car and bike? The car almost seems like two colors with a decal to separate the two.... or some awesome paint work lol.

My first paintjob on a vehicle was a 82 F150 I painted with semi-gloss rustoleum. Came out pretty nice, but I still sold it.

 

Krylon and Rustoleum aren't going to be able to give you a great looking paint job.

Those Brands are "Cover and Concealment" types of paint.
Not anything that is going to look fantastic when your done.

You were going in the right direction and then took a shortcut and got lost.
Begin with a Tank you sanded every little blemish out of.
The OUTCOME depends on the Quality of the Prep.

Blow on PRIMER.
Two Coats.
Sand the Primer smooth with DRY 380
Have someone "Look it over" and mark any Blemish. No matter how small.
Use Glazing Putty to Fill the Blems. Sand 'em out.
Prep for Paint. 400 Wet sand.
Create a perfectly smooth surface to shoot with Color.

Hang the Tank.
Use Automotive Paints.

NEVER >> "Start" to spray ON the Work.
NEVER >> "End" the Spraying ON the Work.

Start flow OFF work ... Bring Flow ON to Work ... Cover ... Take Flow OFF the Work ... Stop Flow.
Never POINT and SHOOT

Use Vinyl Electric Tape to MASK ---> "LINES"
Use Masking Tape and Paper taped to the Vinyl Tape.
(( Vinyl Tape won't Under Bleed ))

 

I had a problem hanging the tank last time I did it. Since I was doing black, it was hard to do it from a place that was being hung with. If you do hang it, make sure you do it with adequate lighting. What I did, was take two buckets, a long board between the two, and place the tank on the board like it is the backbone of the motorcycle. It worked out really well for me. Just make sure EVERYTHING is clean.

Rick, the electrical tape is pretty safe to use? Wont mar up the paint or anything? I have never thought to use electrical tape, but painters tape has always been a disappointment really.

 

Nope...no decals on anything. It's paint Thanks

Check out the post on cheap paint stands...

 

Ya. I really wish I had seen that before. It would have helped me immensely!

Those are some incredible paint jobs.