Disaster :(

[jano11]

Started building this model almost 2 years ago and because it was a rebuilt that lacked some parts I didn't work on it since last spring.
I thought I'll try to finish it in order for the 2008 MOTY and pulled it of it's box only to see this disaster:





The surface is smooth but thousands of very think cracks are visible under certain angles!

I used duplicolor automotive primer, followed by an automotive lacquer and than by Duplicolor Rallyelack Clear!

I'm afraid that the Alpine I started building a few months ago will have the same problems cause I used the smae technique and the same paints.

This one will get a lengthy IPA bath for sure!

Any idea what this is and why happened?

[stevenoble]

I have had this problem on a few occasions myself. I am pretty sure it's one of two things, the primer is not fully cured before the top coats are applied and over time (after the top coats are on) it cures properly and shrinks causing the top coats to crack. Or the lacquer shrinks and cracks.
I've tried many times to fix it by wet flatting and polishing the cracks away but they always return after a small length of time.I've also tried to bury the cracks by re-clearing with a few layers of 2K clear, same result the cracks come back again after a few days.I think the only way is to strip and re-paint, unfortunately, best of luck..

I also found this by using 'Google' May be of some help

Paint spraying problems questions and answers

Q: The paint finish has a crackling effect almost like it has paint stripper on it.
A: This is caused by the original paint finish not being compatible with the paint you have just applied, a very common problem when over coating Synthetic paints with Cellulose or some 2 pack products..

Q: The paint finish has cracks at random almost like an earthquake.
A: This is called Crazing, the most probable cause is too many paint applications, normally found on bonnets and roofs of cars. Crazing can also be caused by incompatible paint products or incorrect re coating times.

Hope this helps...??

[jano11]

Thanks Steve.
It might be the primer problem you are describing, even though I did wait a couple of days before the first paint coat.

Well, it will certainly be stripped, the only problem is that the paint I used is already off and I loved that color.

Here's a picture of it approximately one year ago:
]

[ddtham]

That's too bad, that Alpina Bimmer looks beautiful too. If you waited long enough for the primer to dry, the only thing I can think of might be the incompatibility between the base coat and clear. Sorry, I can't be of any help.

On the other hand, maybe you can repaint it in Mauritius Blue Metallic (the most beautiful color for E36, IMO)

[360spider]

http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/30

[MPWR]

It is from using incompatible components. Some portion of something disagrees with some portion of something else. There is no way to fix it. Even if it could be hidden with more clearcoat, it would reappear with more time. Unfortunately incompatibilities can take months or years to show. This is a very classic example.

Giving the primer more time to cure would not have helped.

Shame, it looks like it would have been a fun entry. But I'm pretty confident we'll try MOTY again next year also.

And Avus Blau was the best color on the E36.

[jano11]

Originally Posted by 360spider

http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/30

Thanks Alex!

[jano11]

Originally Posted by MPWR

It is from using incompatible components. Some portion of something disagrees with some portion of something else. There is no way to fix it. Even if it could be hidden with more clearcoat, it would reappear with more time. Unfortunately incompatibilities can take months or years to show. This is a very classic example.

That is a bit of a problem as all the primer I have is Duplicolor, all the base coats are Auto K (Peter Kwasny) lacquers and the clear coats are all Duplicolor.

I wish I knew which one is at fault.

Originally Posted by MPWR

Giving the primer more time to cure would not have helped.

Good to now, as I was planing to use the same primers in the future.

Originally Posted by MPWR

Shame, it looks like it would have been a fun entry. But I'm pretty confident we'll try MOTY again next year also.

I was happy with it before this paint problem. Not sure if I'll manage to rebuild it in 1 years time.

Originally Posted by MPWR

And Avus Blau was the best color on the E36.

Almost 18 months ago Alex convinced me to go with the metallic yellow, and I think I'll do it yellow again if I find the right color.
But Avus Blau looks excellent too.

[360spider]

Originally Posted by jano11

Almost 18 months ago Alex convinced me to go with the metallic yellow, and I think I'll do it yellow again if I find the right color.
But Avus Blau looks excellent too.

You can see if Steve (Hiroboy) will mix you some Phoenix Yellow (which looks very close to your yellow).

[Golden_Cross]

This one will get a lengthy IPA bath for sure!

It looks as though you have all the wisdom you need on the causes of this disaster I can't add anything to that..As for the lengthy IPA bath..Have you tried the product called Strip-A-Kit ?..It works GREAT I stripped a model that was painted for 4 years ,with Lacquer, in less than an Hour..Very easy to use brush it on set it in a plastic (or your choice) of container ,no lid needed, and let it do its thing..Use a old scrubbrush(toothbrush worked for me)put it under running water and the old paint washes off with very little effort..It works GREAT on chrome parts also as fast as you can brush it on and rinse it off they will be ready for Alclad,painting,etc..This product has NO affect on plastic at all..NONE..It will look as if you just pulled it from the box..You can find this product on e-bay under username...hangar3arlee...$8 a bottle plus a little shipping...It is enough to do 3 or 4 kits easy...Hope you try it..Take Care & God Bless!!!

[rockinanko]

yes, i remembered seeing this myself years ago...

i thought it was a case of primer & paint 'carriers' reacting with each other.
carrier means the base of the solvent. i can't remember which base type can't be used with another (lacquer, acrylic, enamel etc)

if one can put on a study on the properties of each carrier, this issue will be avoidable.

anyway, you can try to salvage the loved paint as much as you can but i don't think it will get any better because it's the base that's giving this problem & covering it over with a new paintwork may or may not solve the problem. moreover can you remembered what carrier based paint did you use durig that time?

look around to see if there's another ready mixed option on the color...

hope this helps.

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by rockinanko

i can't remember which base type can't be used with another (lacquer, acrylic, enamel etc)

Unfortunately, lacquers are often perfectly happy to react with other lacquers. Using incompatible reducer (with primer, paint, or clearcoat) will also do this. And of course if the reducer you use for the paint is incompatible with the clearcoat-well, you get the idea.

[jano11]

Originally Posted by 360spider

You can see if Steve (Hiroboy) will mix you some Phoenix Yellow (which looks very close to your yellow).

You are right, he will probably do it.
This, however, means it's time for me to buy an airbrush and a compressor.

[jano11]

Originally Posted by Golden_Cross

This one will get a lengthy IPA bath for sure!

It looks as though you have all the wisdom you need on the causes of this disaster I can't add anything to that..As for the lengthy IPA bath..Have you tried the product called Strip-A-Kit ?..It works GREAT I stripped a model that was painted for 4 years ,with Lacquer, in less than an Hour..Very easy to use brush it on set it in a plastic (or your choice) of container ,no lid needed, and let it do its thing..Use a old scrubbrush(toothbrush worked for me)put it under running water and the old paint washes off with very little effort..It works GREAT on chrome parts also as fast as you can brush it on and rinse it off they will be ready for Alclad,painting,etc..This product has NO affect on plastic at all..NONE..It will look as if you just pulled it from the box..You can find this product on e-bay under username...hangar3arlee...$8 a bottle plus a little shipping...It is enough to do 3 or 4 kits easy...Hope you try it..Take Care & God Bless!!!

Thanks for the excellent info! I didn't knew about the existence of this product.

[jano11]

Originally Posted by rockinanko

yes, i remembered seeing this myself years ago...

i thought it was a case of primer & paint 'carriers' reacting with each other.
carrier means the base of the solvent. i can't remember which base type can't be used with another (lacquer, acrylic, enamel etc)

if one can put on a study on the properties of each carrier, this issue will be avoidable.

anyway, you can try to salvage the loved paint as much as you can but i don't think it will get any better because it's the base that's giving this problem & covering it over with a new paintwork may or may not solve the problem. moreover can you remembered what carrier based paint did you use durig that time?

look around to see if there's another ready mixed option on the color...

hope this helps.

Thanks Marc.

There will be no tries to salvage this one. It will go straight into a bath of IPA, but first I'll have to mold the engine lid cause it was scratchbuilt (I bought the kit already built and with lots of missing parts: engine lid, mirrors, engine parts, exhaust system.), it was made using Revell Plasto putty and I'm not sure it will resist the isopropyl alcohol bath.