A huge lesson learned for me - spray painting

[Richardgregory]

Ok, thought I'd share my 'stupid' mistake with you all in hopes that anyone doesn't make the same mistake that I did. 

I spray painted my acrylic bezel and it turned out nearly perfect and I was very happy to have it done, but being a bit of a perfectionist, I was off by 3 mm on one side, which bugged me enough to want to fix it. 

So what did I do?  Well, I masked it again with painters tape and resprayed the 3mm edge to cover the cap - BIG MISTAKE!  The respray of the paint somehow melted the existing finish and also create bumps, which ruined the entire finish for that area.  Now the piece is garbage

So now I have to repurchase the acrylic and tediously remask and buy another can of paint - spend the time and effort all over again.    Sigh..............I really feel dumb and so disappointed.  Just when I thought my Cab was done 

[Richardgregory]

I forgot to mention: the instructions says to recoat within 24 hours.  I had read that before I started and forgot about it, and now I know.  So being an Acrylic spray painter newbie, now I know what not to do.

[lilshawn]

spray painting plastic is a one time deal. even if it manages to go smooth, you would have still seen the line left by the difference in paint.

at least with glass, you can take a razor blade and scrape it off and try again.

[Richardgregory]

Yup......now that I made the mistake, definitely learned my lesson.  Oh well, if anything came out of this is just that knowledge.

[Xiaou2]

 Just as you have managed to get the paint to slide off with the initial solvents of the 2nd coat, you probably could remove all of the paint with a solvent.   Unless its a paint that chemically bonds to plastic,  it might not be too difficult to remove it.   Just let the solvent sit on it for a while, and let it work its magic.   

 Just may want to stay away from something like Acetone... as that will eat plastic.   Then again..  if you have buffing wheels and compound...  you could probably fix any hazing from harsh solvents anyways.   Just be careful, as plastics need to be buffed / polished at slower speeds, else they will can melt.

[Richardgregory]

Thought of that option, but for $10 a sheet I guess I'll redo it.

[retrocade]

There is something called preps-all that we use in the automotive industry.You can use it to safely remove the paint of plastic without melting it.There is also a paint made specefically for plastic.Step 1 clean the part with preps-all.Step 2 sand with a grey scuff pad lightly so the paint will bite.Step 3 clean the part with preps-all.Step 4 Lightly coat the part.Don't try to coat the part with one pass as it will cause the plastic to react in a negative way.Repeat step 4 until part is completely covered.If I have time later I'll make a video and show how its done correctly.By the way my name is Luis this is my first post.If there is anything I can help with in the paint department just ask.Thanks and you guys have a cool forum.