flames not sticking??

hi all, this is my first post on this forum i have been around for a while but have never posted so here is a quick paint question. I have been working on my traditional flame job, but am having problems with the licks of the flame peeling up when i remove the fineline tape. I am using all HOK paint and have tried waiting anywhere from an hour to a day to remove the tape and it dosent really seem to make a difference. i think it has something to do with surface prep but i am unsure. Any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Before masking for your flames, with HOK, you should not wet sand any finer than 400 grit- then you should unmask as soon as you paint, and then clear.

thanks jim, thats kinda what i thought, but i assumed anything coarser than 400 would be too abrasive. i will give it a try tomorrow and see how it does.

First you should have washed the surface with precleaner. Then tape out the design, and thoroughly sand inside with gray scotchbrite pads. That gets closer to the tape than sandpaper. blow off, tack and shoot. I first spray a coat of Dupont 222S adhesion promotor, wait 30 minutes, and shoot color. keep the film thickness to a minimum. If you aren't going to sand and buff the clear before removing the masking, try to get it off as soon as possible, before the film starts getting too tough. You still will need a lot of time, and an Xacto knife.

If you are just shooting color coats on the flames, without clear, and then clearing the whole panel, sand it before masking, then proceed, and let dry overnight before pulling the flame masking. Shoot with 222S 30 minutes before final clear. Good luck.

crash4fun, if you continue to have trouble let me know and I'll pm you John Halls # @ HOK. He's the top tech there and he will be glad to help you.

i did what jim suggested in his first post and it worked great on a test panel. but will give hotrodpaint's method a try on my next one and see what gives me the best results. however i had always heard not to mix paint brands is it ok to use dupont 222s with HOK paint? thanks for all your input it is greatly appreciated.

It will work- but if you have a problem with the paint reacting then HOK won't stand behind it. I would trust Hotrodpaint to do mine, his work is top notch.

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Originally Posted by crashforfun

i did what jim suggested in his first post and it worked great on a test panel. but will give hotrodpaint's method a try on my next one and see what gives me the best results. however i had always heard not to mix paint brands is it ok to use dupont 222s with HOK paint? thanks for all your input it is greatly appreciated.

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Sorry I didn't answer sooner. I intermix HOK, X-otic, Sherwin Williams and R-M daily, with no problems. The technology is pretty much the same for most companies.

If you are in doubt about adhesion, just mist a light coat of 222S. It is very watery, and runs easily! I use it whenever I am painting over old well-cured surfaces. I scotchbrite them first.

I don't worry too much about the paint companies standing behind their paint. The guarantee isn't worth much, because the most they will ever do is give you a can of paint, but they won't pay for all of your prior labor, or the time to redo it all, which is worth a hell of a lot more!

I realized this when I had a black paintjob go bad many years ago, due to bad catalyst. I was sitting there looking at the box of paint, and then realized I had several days of work ahead of me, that I would not be paid for.