I didn't even think about that! I'm using rustoleum appliance epoxy as prescribed and I bought it the day before my original failed attempt. I heated the can before I sprayed, it was spraying just fine.

 

+1 on advice given - you have alot of temp variations going on - warm paint, cool ambient, cold metal - generally speaking you want all three as close as possible and around 70 deg low humidity

 

yeah, I would guess the metal is just too damn cold. BTW Home Depot sells a six pack of 9'x12' plastic drop cloths for about 8 bucks. you could probably do the lowers inside the house without getting overspray on anything! Don't worry, just open up the house for a few hours the smell will go away. Epoxy ain't that strong(least not compared to the urethane I am using on my tins).
I remember in the cold of last year, I noticed a little paint had come off a small area of my engine. I grabbed my can of BBQ paint and went to touch it up. Sprayed it and all it did was fisheye and run. The engine was really cold from being in the cold garage all night. I learnt my lesson, so I cleaned the area off, ran the engine up to get warm, then touched up the spot and it came out smooth as butter.

 

Failz, I was having the same issues as you are. First time I did it they came out great, super glossy, except for one tiny speck of dust that got under the paint while I was spraying. I sanded and shot another coat, this time the temp in my garage was about 55 degrees, much colder than first time and much different results. I followed the advice I go here on the board that the temp may have been the issue. I re-sanded and sprayed under much warmer temps and...success. Stick with it man, If I could pull it off, you can too!

 

Failz, sprayed my lowers last week when it was nice out up here in MD. Did the same prep work you did, but i let the forks sit overnight and the next day while I was at work and just wiped them with alchohol right before I sprayed the rattle can. Force yourself to use a timer to spray no more than 5 minutes between coats, watch your distance from the forks. I would say at least 10-12 inches. Start up past the top and spray past the bottom by a couple of inches and keep the can moving smoothly. Only do no more than 5 coats (5 coats 5 minutes apart = 25 minutes) this gives you 5 minutes fudge factor. If you cant get the coverage you want you have to wait a couple of days for the first coats to cure before you clean it up. Hope this helps. Mine came out like liquid black glass. I also practiced on a few other pieces last year with this stuff, that might have helped me. Again I hope it helps.

 

Thanks everyone. In a week or so I'll have the results of my third try. Hopefully things will go better next time.

 

Why are you using a rattle can? Why not powder, it's easy, consistant and cheap to rent the equipment.

 

No disassembly required...MUCH cheaper... need I say more?

 

How much cheaper can you get than a rattle can?? All you need is practice, as with any painting.

 

Yeah I guess you're right on the price, but it sounded like alot of time and a poor job was the result. I just thought that you can rip off the lowers in a hour or so, do the prep, powder coat them and put it all back together in another couple of hours and it's a perfect job.

I guess I am biased since I owned an industrial paint business for 24 years and have done this stuff many times.