Painting Progress (was Painting question)

[Guest FrankyG]

Hi

anyone know if its ok to use an enamel primer under an acrylic top coat? I'm assured it is but any one beg to differ!?

i'm not sure using primer is worth it but cant do any harm...can it...

FrankyG

[Guest nobznss]

I used an enamel paint and an acrylic clear coat and it BIG TIME messed up my phone. I had to use some stuff to get it all off. I'm not sure whether the same goes for primer or not, but it really messed up my phone so I would recommend not doing it. (Of course I could have been doing something wrong with it so who knows. :wink: )

[Guest FrankyG]

I took the plunge anyway and got the first coat of primer on...with a fingerprint mark included...SO annoying :!: Now I need to fix the fingerprint mark before proceeding so it's off to the model shop for paint remover. I'm tempted to use some solvent cleaner on a cloth, try to soften up the primer that way, but have no idea whether that will work.

Apparently you can use acrylic paint on top of enamel, observing drying times. You shouldn't do it the other way round however, although some manage it successfully. I'll find out soon anyway!

FrankyG

[Guest nobznss]

Ya, keep us posted on how it goes. If it works for you then I must be doing something wrong. I know when I messed up the WHOLE phone, I used something called "goof off." I'm not sure if it exists outside of the states, but it's worth a try. It's mostly used for cars and what not, but it works GREAT on smartphones. :wink:

[Guest FrankyG]

Ok, the enamel primer was left to dry overnight (there were no guidelines on the can) and the following day I put the first coat of acrylic on. Worth mentioning at this point that the acrylic paint adhered very well where it was on top of the primer. The little bit that didn't have primer (where i had to remove my fingerprint) clearly didn't hold the paint as well, so I would say that primer is definately worth using.

On with the second coat 3 hours later (the can said 2 hrs), no problems with crazing or the like. Tonight it gets the third and final coat. I reckon that my spray technique wasn't that good on the first coat, so maybe 2 coats would be enough if you're good at spraying.

I painted all the parts using a cut away cardboard box, but found that it was sometimes a bit tricky to get all the angles properly. I then cut up a wire coathanger and painted the back of the phone hanging from this; much better. Easy to get even and thorough coverage, I also was in the garden so no overspray problems either. I'll get some pics up soon, my £50 mini digital cam is crap for close ups though!

Bottom line is...Patience. I'm sure this will look great when it's ready, long term durability remains to be seen...

FrankyG