agreed we would have charged ya 55 to do your primary cover bud

 

looks great from that picture bro. nice job

 

good deal, i'll keep that in mind for the next thing i need blackened...

 

The amount of time needed to cure, is measured by the amount of heat that is constant. Like I said, If you bake it for 20-30 mins at 225, that will be more than enough for the paint to cure and attached to the surface. The other guys are correct you need to rough the surface up, then take it smooth with a finer grade paper, to take down the rougher spots and make it even all the way around. That way it will all look the same with no high, low, spots. Take your time makin sure to do the entire surface the same. It will pay off in the end and shouldnt chip if you do at least 3 coats with oven time. I suggest letting it sit for 24 hours between coats. Do one coat with heat, then let sit, then do another with heat, lightly sand before the last coat and heat, then sit for 24 hours, and you should be VERY PLEASED. Besides when you do something yourself, it makes you appreciate it more. Good Luck Bro, its gonna look good man.

 

Another thing that has always worked for me is I heat the metal up slightly (just to the point you don't want to hold it long) before painting, as well as baking after.

 

Im not sure baking it longer will help keep it from chipping, that's more of a surface prep issue not a curing issue, after all once paint is dry it is dry, you cant make it more dry, you know what I mean? If it chips it is for several reasons... Enamels are brittle and crack and chip easily. The paint wasn't bonded to the surface very well, increase the surface profile slightly and reapply the coating until you can no longer see the scratches, this should be done coat by coat as I posted yesterday. Getting in a hurry will only produce a finished product that looks like you hurried through it... Take your time and do it right and you will be happy with its looks. One more thing to remember is..Paint in spray cans is not designed for permanent long term fixes, its a temporary coating that is less durable, abrasion resistant, and will often lose it gloss or sheen faster than other coatings. For a more durable coating that will not chip as easily, will bond tighter, and look good longer then use automotive paints that are formulated specifically for what your trying to do.

Just my 2 cents....