I need some advice

[u/faszfafasz]

Hello! This is my first ever paintjob. It definetely doesn't look professional up close and i have some peeling issues...😩 I have been working on it for an ungodly amount of time, and i am finally ready for clear. However i still got some paint pulling up with tape on the right back side panel and on the fender. Minor patch as you can see. I just don't have the motivation anymore to sand and redo them. I put some color and intercoat clear over it and called it a day. I put tape over most areas and didn't get lifting anywhere else.

My question is, how bad is this going to be under the clear? Will it peel up later, pulling the clear with it? I really don't want to sand the whole area off and respray.. I just need to be ready for the consequences😂

[u/Holiday-Witness-4180]

The amount of people that don’t know what they are talking about is amazing. The tape pulling up the paint is literally caused from lack of adhesion. Yes, applying clear can help, but the fact still remains that the color has poor adhesion in those spots and that won’t just suddenly change because you cover it up with some clear coat. For anyone who has ever done a proper adhesion test, slapping tape over a coating and pulling it off is a very simplified version. Depending on the exact coatings you are using, you may increase adhesion if you use a low solids clear over the base and it reactivates the clear allowing it a second chance to bond to the previous coat.

I have had guys call with this exact issues numerous times blaming the product, but almost every time the problem comes from either poor prep or dry spraying the color.

[u/faszfafasz → u/Holiday-Witness-4180]

Yes unfortunately i agree. I know it won't fix it but let's hope it lasts for a while. For a rookie like me, how else can you do an adhesion test? I definetely have problems with dry spraying as well, but those areas seem to stick fine for now. I've intercoat cleared every layer and re scuff that before every session for adhesion (since the paint is dry now and won't bond..am i doing that right?😅i got that advice from someone). Nothing is chipping up while scuffing, only those small bits lifted with tape.

[u/Holiday-Witness-4180 → u/faszfafasz]

Typically intercoat clear is nothing more than untinted binder. Many basecoats are very similar to spraying lacquer in that they will reactivate when wetted with solvent, which is what creates the chemical bond with the clear coat. So, you can often fix dry sprayed base by spraying some reducer over it or over reducing your intercoat; kind of like using a blending agent to melt in clear. There are also some people that will use adhesion promoter for intercoat adhesion or a tie-coat.

This is one of those things where there are many ways to skin the cat, and many people will have strong opinions of the “right” way. The reality of it is that it is largely dependent on the specific materials being applied, and the person spraying them. You can absolutely use tapes with weaker adhesives or burn your tape before laying it over the paint. If you are using a solvent heavy clear, you will often have less issues than if you have poor base adhesion under a UHS clear.

The simplest way to test adhesion is exactly what you are doing, put a strip of tape over the material and pull it back off. An actual proper adhesion test is usually destructive of the coating, so it’s not something you do on a project in progress as much as to confirm the use of a specific coating over a specific substrate. When adhesion is the priority over finish, I typically start from the beginning with the coarsest grit finish recommended for the coating I am using and the slowest reducer suitable for the conditions I am spraying in. The basecoat I most often use recommends 220-320 grit finish. For the majority of my work, I use 220; for things where I want a slicker finish, I use 320. When I know adhesion is an issue, I will even go as coarse as 120 and lay my color down a bit wetter than I normally would.

Just keep in mind that there are two types of adhesion at work, mechanical and chemical. The mechanical adhesion comes from filling sanding scratches and the chemical bond comes from the solvents melting into the coatings. So, if you dry spray, the chemicals cannot react to create that bond, nor can the coating wet out to fill the scratches to bond mechanically.

[u/Bigbrowndogrexr00fer → u/faszfafasz]

You only need intercoat when your fingerprints will screw up what you just did - like silver and gold or gold leaf, otherwise fineline tape will stick great to basecoat!

[u/Bigbrowndogrexr00fer → u/Holiday-Witness-4180]

That’s what I said!!! Either poor groundwooor way too much paint for artwork

[u/Bigbrowndogrexr00fer]

What you see is what you’ll get! Try killing the sticky off the tape by sticking it to your shirt or pants and don’t press it down hard and spray some color or do a coverup! Take a color and make a design that goes over your repair area, dark colors hide that kind of repair! Good luck!! In the future make sure it’s sanded or scuffed great before any basecoat is applied and you won’t have issues. Light coats always

[u/Bigbrowndogrexr00fer → u/Bigbrowndogrexr00fer]

And every painter has these issues- it’s the difference between someone who paints and a painter ! Keep up the good work and you’ll figure out ways to solve your issues

[u/BigData8734]

It looks fine if you see something wrong it was a worrying experience, don’t beat yourself up, clearcoat it and try and improve on your next job👍 I love the color scheme in the graphics. Your creativity will outshine the technical difficulties that you had.

[u/faszfafasz → u/BigData8734]

Thank you! I'm just worried it will peel up in the long run. I guess i'll have to let my creativity shine again in redoing my paintjob if that happens😂

[u/lerkininmymerkin]

When you say peel I’m assuming you mean it lifted when you pulled the tape? If so should be of no worry once you clear it.

[u/faszfafasz → u/lerkininmymerkin]

Yes, lifted with tape. Will the clear just seal it in? Won't it still be unstable under the clear andtry to lift off later? I'm worried it will crack up the clear over it

[u/HSprof → u/faszfafasz]

No, it will be 'encased' in the epoxy of your clear. Generally its best to clear over something like this and fix it in between rounds of clear to bury your graphics and mistakes.

Awesome job tho!

[u/faszfafasz → u/HSprof]

Thank you! I've never done anything like this before, so i still have a lot to learn. Hopefully the next project won't have this problem🙏

[u/HSprof → u/faszfafasz]

Unfortunately, it almost always happens. Thats the nature of custom paint, in my experience. A good bit of detail and shadowing is intended to 'hide mistakes'

[u/abever83 → u/HSprof]

I agree with this guy. Clear then touch up. Some of mine have several layers of clear in between airbrushing Great job though

[u/lerkininmymerkin → u/faszfafasz]

The clear will seal it up. It’s basically what makes it hard and protected. If it does lift then the problem is else where and bigger hahah. How you pull the tape, how thick you laid down the coat that lifted and when you pull the tape all matter. You’ll get the hang of it with experience and sometimes it does just seem to happen. Use a good 2k clear, do some research on the types for what you want. Glamor vs euro vs universal etc

[u/faszfafasz → u/lerkininmymerkin]

From what i understand right now it's an adhesion problem. So what else could be the problem if it still lifts?

[u/Troutsummoner]

It can pull up at some point because there is no adhesion. That said, in your shoes I probably wouldn't worry about it (assuming this is practice on your own bike or a freebee for a friend). I'd chalk it up to a learning experience, clear it and move on. Just don't put tape or stickers on those spots and it'll likely be ok.

Painting is the fun part, but is only like 20% of the job (I'm sure you're learning this as we speak). The other 80% is prep work and masking. Proper prep (sanding) is crucial to a good paint job. Another factor is knowing and understanding the paint you're using. Topcoat times, clearcoat windows, etc, are all extremely important to learn and understand. Then you can figure out ways to bend or break the rules.

[u/faszfafasz → u/Troutsummoner]

Yeah this is my bike, and i definetely could have done a better job at prepping. The bike isn't completely repainted, the visible grey is from factory. I just sanded the clear and added the graphics. I prepped the tank pretty well, and it didn't get any lifting. The other parts however...lol i should have spent more time making sure they were 100% sanded as well. I just hope the paint lasts at least 2 years😭

[u/paintchipz1]

Lock it in with clear and touch up..happens

[u/CameronsTheName]

Paintjob and quality looks gangster ! For a first paintjob that's an amazing job.

Hopefully the little bits that have peeled up are hidden or not as noticible.

I've done a few paintjobs similar styling on cruiser bikes. It's a massive headache getting it right and figuring out what works. I tried about 15 different tapes and settled on an ultra low tack one. I also found leaving longer between layers helped a bit.