Spray paint question

[hannaugh]

I'm finishing a pedal kit from BYOC.  I primed, then sprayed white gloss, then sprayed a glittery silver in a very fine mist from a couple feet away.  I wanted to make a white pearl kind of look, and it worked great.  Then I drew on the box with Sharpie, and that also looks good. 

Here's the problem though - I want to clear coat it, but the clear coat I have (same type and brand as the paint, gloss clear) basically reactivated the silver paint when I tried it on a test piece.  If I spray the clear on some Sharpie on white, it doesn't bleed, but if it reactivates the silver, the silver will run and take the Sharpie with it.  Has anyone else had a problem like this?  I'm thinking maybe it's because it is such a thin coat of silver.  If I have to just skip clear coating it, I will, but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Cagey]

It's the solvent used as a vehicle that's killing you. It's melting the base. Change to a different finish type (shellac sticks to anything), or one that uses a different vehicle. For instance, if it's lacquer, switch to a water base vs. solvent base. Just be sure to give the existing finish plenty of time to cure before the change. Like maybe a month or so.

 

[hannaugh]

Thanks, I'll try that.  Though I did have a :sign13: moment today where I realized that workable fix might help.

 

[stratamania]

Although I doubt you would spray it for obvious reasons, perhaps some type of epoxy clear coat ?

That could be durable also for being on a pedal and so on.

 

[anorakDan]

If you want a very durable, very glossy, cheap AND very easy-to-use clear gloss finish, give Future Floor Finish a try. I've used it on a number of model cars and it's just great. It's an acrylic finish that's very self levelling, so you can apply it with brushes or sponge brushes or just pour it on and it levels out beautifully. It reacts with practically nothing, but I would test it out on an inconspicuous spot anyway, just in case.

My roomie who's into HO scale slot cars loves it for a hard, shiny finish. He just "slathers" it on (his term) with Q-tips. It's available practically everywhere, from grocery to hardware stores. Just use caution on getting too enthusiastic and put on too much at once, since it will run. It's designed to smooth out to cover floors, after all.

 

[hannaugh]

Awesome, I'll see if I can find some.  The first 2 pedals I did look cool, but they're already chipping and they're not even a year old yet.