Orange peel spray paint

[JackOfDiamonds]

Every time I paint a bike frame I get disappointed with the finish. Because there are so many tubes, it's impossible to paint a nice medium coat without getting over spray on the other tubes.

Is there any post-process way to wet sand this down, scotch Brite, steel wool, power tools, rubbing compound, etc that would make it better? Or is it just hopeless?

 

[unslow1]

Google color sand paint finish. Most nicer paint jobs have this done to them to improve the finish.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Most of those are for automotive paint and clear coat. Does it really work the same on spray paint?

 

[Zebedeewesty]

As long as you've got a thick enough coating of paint it'll work just the same for aerosol paint.
I painted this plastic model using cheap aerosols and the finish was terrible, but after a going over with 1500 then 2000 grit and giving it a hand polish using cutting compound it doesn't look too bad.

 

[Monza Harry]

I have been finding that issue lately as well at my last place of employment they bought "Quik Dry" paint, that meant the paint was dry very quickly and the result is a lot of dryspray what we painted didn't require a nice gloss but the finish bugged the **** out of me! Slower drying paint will absorb the overspray and level out with a nice(er) gloss. Lowering the Temps may help with that as well, 60° maybe to slow down the quick setting nature of the paint you have available (not so much our choice now). Harry

 

[Crowbarman55]

Where are you painting it? If you're painting outside, don't do it in direct sunlight. You need to work faster and keep everything wet while spraying. Use slow drying paint too..
I have used two cans at once. One can in each hand and spraying both at the same time on bigger projects.
Todd

 

[WoodsTruck]

I've shared this before.

Many layers of primer, wet sanded, then many layers of paint, wet sanded, clear, wet sanded, then buffed.
I intentionally added more layers at outside corners where there was a good chance of sanding through the layer and built up heavier if I started seeing orange peel to give me something to sand down to a smooth surface.

 

[djjsr]

I've had the best results using automotive touchup rattle cans, it seems to dry a bit slower. If you are outside, paint early in the morning when the temperature is cooler, which also slows drying. I've done some motorcycle tanks and fenders and have had almost no sanding to get a smooth finish. For your bike frame that is already painted, just lightly wet sand it with 1000 grit then polish. JMO.

 

[Showkey]

OP …….what brand and type of paint are you working with ? Assuming spray cans ?

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

This is rust oleum professional. Note that it's totally different from classic Rust-Oleum. It's better but the "2X-cover" formulations spray better. At the moment I'm wishing I went with the 2X. I will sand it down wet with 1500 grit or something, spray it again, sand it again, and try to polish it. I also have clear coat, but I don't see why the clear won't just be orange peeled too.

 

[Rgrigutis]

Consider a cheap airbrush. Comes in handy for touch up and detailing and for relatively small jobs like a bike frame

 

[freudianfloyd]

This is a timely thread. I just got done primarily, and wet sanding my Blackhawk torpedo toolbox, and when I thought I had prepped it perfectly, I added the red paint. Almost instantly an orange peel covered everywhere I applied paint. So after letting it sit for a few days, I'm going to attempt to color sand it, and apply more if needed before clearcoat. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

 

[WoodsTruck]

When wet sanding, I used a spray bottle (windex type thing) to keep a good film of water to act as a lubricant and to flush the debris away. If I didn't, it would gum up the paper and cause issues.

 

[Milton Shaw]

Auto paints let you choose a slow dry reducer. There is a choice of temp ranges that reducer comes in and the slower ones do not dry before you can finish and will melt the overspray into the finish. You may have to give up spray cans and use a spray gun to get the paint mix that will keep the overspray under control. Lower temp spraying will help but slower reducer is the trick.