Problems with Rust-Oleum clear coat

[JoeKerr]

So I'm working on the weather for my Korbanth K4, and I read on the RPF of a guy who uses a matte clear coat to give the saber a duller worn finish. I clean my part with alcohol, tape it off, and spray a few light coats. It looks great. A couple of days later I notice that as I'm tinkering with the part that my fingernail scrapes some of the clear coat off!! ARGH!!! None of it stuck!

So I'm asking, have other people had this problem? Should I try to find a different brand of clear coat? (That's what I found at my local Ace Hardware) Am I missing a step?

Thanks20171101_103717.jpg20171101_103722.jpg

[rlobrecht]

Aluminum usually needs to be sanded and primed before paint will stick.

[JoeKerr]

The emitter on the K4 is steel and if anyone is interested here's the RPF link, he did amazing job modding the K4 https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=275362&page=3 scroll down almost to the bottom

[darth_chasm]

I'm not a paint expert by any means so this may be totally of the mark, unrelated or whatever but... Darkmatter73 (and maybe he will chime in) recommended Testors Dulcote to me. You may want to look into that.

[Zzan]

This sticky might help shed some light on how to paint/bake to make it stick and last longer.

[jbkuma]

What was the temperature and humidity where your part was drying?

[Darkmatter73]

Hi JoeKerr!
So, Rustoleum clear should be fine, but as DC said I prefer Testors Dullcote for an off the shelf product. What you need is a primer, or adhesion promoter. Since you are shooting a clear, naturally you want your primer to be clear as well. I use Duplicolor adhesion promoter. You can find it at any car place, Napa, O'Reilly's or the like. It's clear, and works great I use it on every build I do, under any color.

A couple of other tidbits:
Rlobrecht is correct in that you need something to help the paint adhesion whether it's mechanical ( sanding ) or chemical ( primer ). Both are great, but you probably don't want to sand on your K4 =)

Also baking paint, unless it's a coating system that requires it, does nothing other than decrease your time to touch. I see threads about baking paint alot, all that is doing is flashing the solvents faster, and leaving the solids behind as your coating. If that's your goal, great. But it will not make it "harder" or anything like that. It will dry to the touch faster, but curing is a chemical process that cannot be sped up. It takes about a week to fully cure.
When you get on a plane, know that alot ( I mean alot ) of those parts inside and out never saw an oven. =)
I'll shut up now, enjoy your saber!
-Darkmatter73

[jbkuma]

The hardest part is definitely not touching your parts you are eager to work with for the next few days.

[JoeKerr]

Darkmatter73 thank you so much! I'll check my local auto parts store and see what I can find.