What caused paint to wrinkle on steering column?

[72farmer]

I tried to paint my van tilt column yesterday and something was wrong?I cleaned it up w/ lacur thinner sanded it w/600 grit and then wiped it down w/ mineral spirits an painted it with the spray can shown and immediately it started wrinkleing and pitting.Now i will have to let it cure,sand it again and try to spray it again.What do you think caused it to do this?

[PT'S 70 CST]

How cold was it and how old it the paint. You my get better results using a good primer then paint.


PT

[67swb72klb]

u need to wipe down with wax & grease remover before paint those are called fish eyes from oil /contaniments

[cdowns]

would have had better results using lots of laquer thinner again to clean rather than mineral spirits

[72farmer]

The temp was in the mid 60's and the paint is not old.I used the same can of Rustelom to paint some of my interior metal inside my cab with good results so i think paint is good.When i was wiping down column before sanding w/laquer thinner alot of black paint got on my rag.

[black_sheep454]

It's caused by a reaction between the two different types of paint. For example if you try to spray base coat/clear coat over enamel that will happen. You can either strip it bare and use whatever paint you want, sand the enamel paint of and try a lauqer paint, or if your lucky sand it down and respray using very light coats. The heavier the coat the worse it will wrinkle.
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[LakeAnna]

Sand it flat again and prime it with light coats to seal it. Clean it several times with final wash (wax and grease remover). Once it's sealed you should have no more issues.

[72farmer]

It just hit me i did not use mineral spirits as a final wipe down.I used rubbing alcohol.

[PanelDeland]

Mineral spirits has an oily residue.It will always cause fish eyes in my experience.I use paint thinner or brake cleaner and let it dry thoroughly.Mine is finally starting to wear thru after 10 years.Also,watch the humidity.It can cause slow drying at the least and even prevent paint from drying fully.Use a light coat then a heavier cover coat.You can also warm the paint in a contaiiner of hot water(not boiling on the stove) just enough to bring the temp up.Make sure you have temps of at least 50 and below about 85.The humidity levels are on the label.

[black_sheep454]

I just looked closer at your pics and looks more like a fish eye reaction than a wrinkle. As I posted before a wrinkle or raise is a reaction between two materials that dont agree. The wrinkle or raise looks like cracks in the paint. Fish eyes come from contamination from oil. If there is oil anywhere around the area you are painting the oil residue in the air can cause this. I would sand it down and use some heat like a heat gun to try and bake out any oil that may be in the underlying surface. Then you can clean very well with a wax and grease remover. The trick with any cleaner is to wipe it off when it's still wet. If you just take a wet rag with cleaner and wipe over it it will leave the residue on the surface. You want to wipe it down with a wet cleaner rag then wipe that off when it's wet with a dry cloth. Then give it another shot with your paint in a small spot, no need to have to sand the whole thing again if it still has problems.
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[SactoJim]

That is contamination for sure. A column that's 40 years old or so has probably seen it's fair share of some type of silicone based detailing products (Armorall) over the years. If that were a reaction to the substrate (old surface), it would have a more "wrinkly" look. Did you start sanding it before you cleaned it real well.....if so, you may have just worked the contaminates into the surface making them even harder to remove. I'd wipe all that paint off with lacquer thinner and prep the surface again. Take a hair dryer and get the column nice and warm (not hot) and start spraying again....light coats.

[lap15]

Always use a good quality Surface Prep (or liquid sandpaper) before painting anything!

[PAWS 72]

Get the wd-40 or whatever else stuff like that away from the area where you are painting.
Resand the surface that looks like that and use a good wax and grease remover and you should be ok.

[eightbanger]

Always wipe it down with some kind of paint thinner or spirt bassed product to kill any oily/waxy deposits.

[Katrina/10]

It's almost impossible to get rid of the residue left over from those dash protectants, no matter how much you clean and sand. The only thing I have ever seen that works is fisheye preventer added to paint shot with a spray gun.

[davepl]

I've never used fisheye preventer, but I've had good luck with PPG "Wax and Grease Remover". I don't know what's in it, but its a lot more effective than even straight lacquer thinner. Any autobody supply that carries PPG will have it, and it's worth the trip.

I typically media blast first, though you're supposed to use it before AND after, so you don't just push grease into the metal during blasting. I also use rubber gloves not just to protect me but to prevent getting my own skin oils on the piece once I get to the clean stage.

So, in your case, get it clean first. Then degrease. Then sand it and then degrease it again. And while I can't prove it, a coat of metal primer might help (though your sanding step might make it unnecessary.

I know it sounds like a lot of extra work, but if you think about it, if you got rid of 99% of those blemishes you'd still have a dozen, so its worth the extra dilligence.

[cdowns]

you need to remove all that new paint then sand and clean the heck out of it multipule times with wax and grease remover then wash with a very strong soap and water solution then again multipule times with laquer thinner then wax and grease remover blow off with air clean again with wax and grease remover then try again with the paint