Wrong paint?

[JudgeRob]

I painted my control panel with what I guess is non-sandable paint.  I can't sand it.  When I try with any kind of power sander it just seems to melt and smear.  It's hard to get anywhere by hand and it is really orange-peeled, so I have to cut it back a lot.  I wish I could just take it all off and start over. 

The wood is MDF.  Do I have any other options? 

[jennifer]

     Most likely that needed a catalyst and what you have there will never dry,  cotton rags soaked in reducer should wipe it off.... Get it wet, and wipe it dry with the other hand (wax on wax off kinda thing) and work across the piece in small areas always working a new area.... It will be a sticky mess but just move on. get to the end start over on the top, around the 3rd time it start to clean off without soaking into the MDF, let dry and one more final clean, don't let the reducer saturate anywhere for very long, It will stink use ventilation, and will require many rags and around 1 gal, of thinner.

[JudgeRob]

Yeah, it's almost like it's not completely dry.  It's kind of sticky to the touch.  The can doesn't say anything about needing a catalyst and is just marketed as a primer paint. 

Do you think Acetone would be strong enough to remove it?

Hmmm, maybe I'll try a heat gun to melt it off...

[Slippyblade]

Post a pic of the can so we know what you are talking about.

[jennifer]

   Acetone is more of a cleaner,  for fiberglass and prep for say Rinocoat, interesting fact however it does reduce orange-peel in solvent based paint but only a little bit is needed, the reducer is what thins it, Acetone is also wetter than water which means it will absorb into your skin and consequently your bloodstream ultimately causing liver damage for long term exposure. You should nitrile gloves while working with it. A heat gun wont do anything other than get it hot....Reducer on the other hand if used like stated above wont soak into the mdf enough to melting the resins that its actually comprised of , is least harsh as far as alternatives go, and most likely is compatible with the topcoat you will ultimately put on there should it soak in a bit somewhere....In any case good luck with that.    

[JudgeRob]

I am happy to report that with 20 min of heat gun and scraper, I got about 85-90% of it off.  Whew!  At least it is a lot smoother.

I'll probably try some sanding and use a little reducer if necessary. Thanks for all the feedback! 

[JudgeRob]

Oh yeah, here is a pic of the paint:

[michelevit]

instead of removing it, just spray over it with sandable primer.

[JudgeRob]

Sure, if it was nice and flat and smooth.  It was too uneven, streaky and peely.  It would have taken 15 coats on top just to level it out. Melting it off worked pretty good. The bondo shrunk up a little from the heat, but patched up easily.  I was stoked I didn't have to rebuild it.  I got a pretty decent finish out of it.  I'll post a pic of it over on my Web of Wonder project page tonight.

Stay away from this paint! It grips and seals very well but is not sandable!

[lamprey]

I don't know if this helps, but someone from KLOV gave good marks to PPG Water-Borne Acrylic paint. You can thin it with water and it dries fast and hard like automotive paint. I haven't used it myself, but if I need to paint an entire cab, I'm going to try it.

http://www.ppgpaints.com/products/breakthrough-50-interiorexterior-satin-waterborne-acrylic

 

[Guywiththegun]

I feel your pain. My primer was great but I went with whatever Home Depot gave me for black paint and it was a disaster. Wouldn't dry. Very uneven. Roller marks all over the place. Like, glaring, impossible not to see roller marks. After multiple coats of Sherwin Williams paint I think I can still see the uneven areas of that first paint. Should have stripped it and started over. Ugh.

What kind of crap are they selling these days? Very disheartening to do everything (mostly right) and still ave flaws because of the paint you mistakenly chose (or were handed by people you think know better).