I'm going to be shooting some paint at a couple of spots on my MGB tomorrow. It's car paint, but in a rattle can. What's a good cleaner solvent to use before I shoot the paint?
I'm going to be shooting some paint at a couple of spots on my MGB tomorrow. It's car paint, but in a rattle can. What's a good cleaner solvent to use before I shoot the paint?
In reply to LuxInterior: I like Acetone. Some solvents leave a film, but it doesn't seem to. Two warnings: use good ventilation, and put the cap back on the can. It's vaporization rate is crazy!
edit: I'm assuming that you're talking about bare metal. If it's paint, I don't use a solvent, unless there's oil that's worked its way in.
Real prep-sol is the same thing as lighter fluid which is in turn Coleman stove fuel. So, if you have some of that around you're set.
The point of prep solvent is to remove any traces of petroleum on the surface to prevent fisheyes in the paint you'll be laying down. Prep solvent ~doesn't~ soften, activate or react with anything that's under your topcoat, unlike acetone or lacquer thinner. So, it sort of depends on what you're spraying over; if it's an automotive finish acetone is fine as well.
A talented automotive painter taught me a trick that I always use now. I wipe with prep solvent, go over everything with a blue (light tack) tack cloth and immediately before spraying, real original blue formula Windex and a Kimwipe which is really lint-free.
"Prep-sol" is what many body guys use as a generic name for what you want, but it is actually a product name.
What you actually need is any good wax and grease remover. Be sure to follow the instructions!....but the soap and water part can probably be skipped. Failure to prep can lead to nasty runs and fish-eyes. Its always the last thing I do before painting.
Edit: motomoron beat me to it!
Just remember a tack cloth has beeswax on it. I like to try not to press against the prepped surface, just use it to catch any lint that I am blowing off using the air. These last few stages are when it is going to help to ground the vehicle being painted to reduce static charge buildup.
The blue Gerson tack cloths I mentioned above are not wax-bearing. Beeswax is fine under spar varnish, but not so much under urethane basecoat.
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