[ October 12, 2001: Message edited by: ray hill ]

Since AKZO (Sikkens) was the parent company for Chromatic before it was sold to 1Shot, I attended many company seminars about all products they manufacture. They do not use silicone in their products due to adhesion issues for multiple coating. Parafin oils are compatible with most alkyd enamels which is why I always reccomend their use as a brush oil. Parafin waxes were used in pre-1960 spar floor varnishes to enhance the top gloss and compatability with subsequent wax applicaitons. The tail solvent which floats on the top of the 1shot enamel should be thoroughly mixed back in to the paint. It is primarily a flow agent and carrier which is a significant component for ease of application and can retard the drying if too much is in that which is applied. The use of mieral spirits can often add top oil to the mix which will strongly retard dry time. Baby powder contains a trace amount of baby oil (mineral oil) and zinc oxide, both of which will retard drying of paint. Note that you may have three additional retarders added to this mix. While rapid prep is a valid cleaning agent, some surface contaminants which are a result of the outgassing properties generated durng the cure process of two component urethane coatings must be removed using a strong solvent. We have always had the best results with high-temp reducer as it drys slowly enough to continue to cut through the contaminants so they can be wiped away before they are redeposited as the solvent dries. When a clear coat has been applied, one should test a small area for adhesion by wiping on enamel and wiping it off to a thin layer. This will dry in a few minutes and can be tested for adhesion with the fingernail or magic mending tape applied over it. If it still lifts, then the surface must be physically abraided using any number of preparations from bon ami to scothchbrite pads to sandpaper. Paint relies upon a physical bond to the surface, not a chemical bond so there must be tooth to the surface. Many paints and primers have enough tooth to their surface naturally but some of the more sophisticated gloss products such as the clear top coats are so smooth that nothing will adhere to them.

The funny part is... I'd venture to say everyone here would have solved the problem and not known anymore about whats wrong than any of us do now.

But it has been a good excercise in futility don't you think?

My best guess of why the paint scratched off so easily is the humidity factor. The second coat of paint dried much quicker. So I think it felt dry, but was not cured.

Now a funny side point, a bird had **** all over the top of the cab, and I had to scrub very hard to get that off. So why does bird **** stick better than paint? I didn't even prep that part of the turck!

Dateline Maui, Hawaii
Roger announces a new product:

Rapid Prep II

This product will solve any adhesion problem you ever had in life. It will remove humidity from the air in your shop to increase drying time. This product comes with its own sterile rags for wiping down the surface. It will even clean up bird Poop. Heck it will even cause paint to stick to liquid silicone.

Sign painters were heard at a recent splatter jam in Alabama saying that this stuff was so good they couldnt get their hands on it.

One sign painter said, "Its so powerful, the taliban is afriad it may rub them out."

DISCLAIMER TIME!

This was meant as a joke and not meant to offend anyone dead or undead.

Im sure that the double coat is going to save my butt on this job. I'm leaning towards a triple coat of white.

Its now Saturday, and it is raining again! Since when did Illinois become a rain forrest? It has been raining on and off all week.

Now as for laying under the truck.....

I grew up watching guys paint this way. They did use an automotive floor creepers sometimes, and I realize now it would have been a smart idea.

Vinyl really spoils a guy, ya know. You take for granted how easy it is to slap letters on a surface in a hard to get to area on a truck. After 14 years of vinyl work, I can still hand paint, but I really have forgotten a lot of little time saving tricks.

While doing this job, I kept remembering those little tricks AFTER the task was completed!

The paint/prep angles have been pretty much covered, so I wont add to them. With the truck, a floor jack under the frame on the side you are working on works well, or two short ramps on the same side, assuming they will fit without crunching bodywork. If you are still too high with a stool, throw down a piece of cardboard.

The sit-down angle-- if you can find one, an old wooden soft drink box-- the 24 bottle kind-- works as a 3 height stool. It is just a little narrow, and will once in a while tip over backwards, but then who ever said sitting down was easy?! Drawback with these is that the corners will start to loosen up after a while. I just cut some MDO to fit the open side and fastened around the edges. No more loose corners, but it didn't cure the tipping over.