The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Paint run advice needed

I decided today was the day to paint my Ididit steering column, but because it was raining out and because I have a new pup I can't be too far away from, I decided to do it in the basement instead of the garage...

The problem is that the basement's lighting is not as good as it could be and after a few coats I noticed a couple of runs in the paint that I had not spotted in the bad lighting... clearly I cannot leave it as it is...

My question is, what is the best method to sand out paint runs?

Is hand sanding better or would a pad sander be better? Also what grain of sandpaper would be best?

The paint I am using is pretty forgiving (charcoal colored hammered finish) but I want to make it as nice as possible so the runs have got to go... Your advice?

Thanks in advance...

~Trev

Trev,
I would prob just let it cure a few days and hit with 180 wet paper (by hand) & get the runs & whole column sanded smooth and reshoot it.
Being the Hammmered finish you will prob be best to smooth up the whole thing a bit before reshooting the second attempt, I tried spot sanding a pc of trim I used hammered finish on and repainted the pc. and I could tell were the texture was uneven at the spot I sanded and ended up re-sanding the whole pc and doing again.
Tim

You're going to have to do the whole thing over.

Hammer finish paints need to go on heavy to give you the proper appearance and if you try to spot paint, the edges of the spray are not going to be thick enough and the transition is going to stick out like a sore thumb.

Thanks radial and czech... I'm not shocked that I have to sand most of it and start all over again...

The worst part is that I know I am a crappy painter, yet for some reason thought I was gonna be able to pull this off in a confined space with a low ceiling in a poorly lit basement and still make it look good... <smacks forehead> In short, it's one of those "what was I thinking?" moments!

Oh well, live and learn... next time I'll do it out in the garage where the light and ventilation are better and get it right...

Thanks for the tips, guys...

~Trev

Sand the runs completely out. If you feather edge correctly and use some filling primer/surfacer on the spot, followed by a good sanding you should have no problem.

I have never tried it but on an episode of "trucks" they showed using a razor blades to gently scrape the top off of a run. The theory was that when trying to sand out the runs, you actually sanded thinner areas that naturally formed right around the run from the natural pulling of the paint as the run followed gravity. By scrapping with the blade, they only removed the high area of the run itself. Take it for what it's worth but it made sense to me.

I personally think I'm just gonna load up the pad sander, take it back down to the metal and start over...

It will probably be quicker in the long run and less screwing around with little details trying to make it look good...

Better to do it right than mickey mouse it now! Next time I'll paint it in a well lit area... lesson learned!

~Trev

We used that trick a lot reworking the runs that came out of the main booth when I was painting Cessnas. What they didn't show you were the nicks and gouges that result from the starting & stopping at the end of each stroke of the blade. No matter how careful you are you will get them. We scraped the runs since it's faster than sanding AND safer then sanding around all of the rivets. You are correct about the paint being thinner above and below the run. That is why I told him to completely sand out the run. If you don't it will still show.

You guys keep forgetting that he's dealing with Hammer Finish paint. All those ideas are good if you're fixing "normal" paint runs but Hammer Finish paint is not only textured but it comes out speckled in different colors, and you have to spray it on thick to get it to look right.

Unless you spray the entire object the edges of any repair to hammer finish is going to stand out.

Trust me on this one... strip it or sand it down and start over.

That's the plan, czechman...

If at first you don't succeed, curse and swear, sand it down to metal and start over!

~Trev

Don't feel bad, it took me a couple tries to get my fresh air heater right... that's why I'm so opinionated

Hey czechman...

I posted asking for opinions and advice... lol

How can I blame you for stating yours when you have done this and I haven't (yet)?

I was gonna start sanding it a bit earlier but the damned grass in the back yard was long and I didn't want to lose the new puppy in it... it being sunny and all I decided to take the plunge and cut it, but now the sanding job is ahead of me so I guess I'm gonna get to it and see how well it works on 3 day old paint... Hopefully ok!

I'll let you know later if and am not tearing my hair out with both hands and have one free to type!

~Trev

I don't see why you can't scrape the drip, scuff the thing down, and then repaint it. It's not House of Kolors Kandy, it's just rattle can paint.

You shouldn't gob it on, even if it's hammercoat. Your first coat should always be a light dusting. Then when it's tacky, go with multiple light coats to avoid runs, rather than one heavy thick coat.

What have you got to lose? If it still doesn't turn out nice, then you can take it all down to metal and redo it.
And perhaps go where the lighting's a lot better.

3 hours and 18 quarter sheets of sandpaper later, the column is stripped back to it's original bare metal condition again...

I couldn't believe how thick the hammered finish paint was! It clogged sandpaper like nothing I have ever seen and often felt like trying to sand a layer of tar!

I had to use a wire wheel to get in a couple spaces too small to get sandpaper in, but it's clean as a whistle again and ready to repaint...

This time I'll paint it out in the garage in excellent light and good conditions so I can actually see what I'm doing and really watch for runs before they happen...

I am NOT ever sanding that thing again after that experience, believe me!!!

~Trev

"Hammer Finish" paint is a mix of lacquer and enamel paints! make sure that you shake very VERY well and OFTEN or else your look will not be even at all! Multiple light coats in fairly rapid succession (while previous coat is still tacky, but not wet) will get you the best finish. also, the razor blade trick works great on flat surfaces, and not necessarily so well on something like a steering column! And it takes some practice, but using a blade and then scuffing the whole thing and re coating the whole thing might have worked here being as the lacquer and enamel paints don't mix and therefore look best on slightly uneven surfaces anyway!

By the way; Shouldn't this be in "Paint and Body"?

Laterz,
Gator
>|--|~

It's about an interior part, so I wouldn't think so Gator...

Annnnyway I am VERY pleased to say that today the weather cooperated and was warm enough to take the column outside and paint it properly this time...

It went perfectly and I put down several light coats of hammered finish on the column with lots of light and ventilation this time... NO runs, NO flaws and it's done the way it should have been done in the first place!

I got so caught up in the moment that I removed all the surface rust from my floor where the new seats will sit (that had previously been hidden by the seat pedestal) and did a full can of primer on it, then when that dried also coated the areas that will be visible with hammered finish just like the column and that looks great too...

All in all a GREAT day and I'm glad that it's done! Thanks for all the suggestions earlier in the thread for paint and run removal... it worked!

~Trev

A warm space always helps too. Ok thats my 2 cents.

Congrats Trev!

Nothing quite as satisfying as knowing it's been done right.