Paint tips needed


 
Joe - SmokinJoe

Joe - SmokinJoe

New member
I'm painting my Mini and have just put the primer coats on and I'm about to apply the color. My question is how long after I apply the color can I remove the the stencils. Also How long should I wait to apply the clear coat. I'm using VHT Primer, Color and Clear coat.

Thanks for the help

Joe
 
Mine pulled some color up the day after I painted it (about 20 hours after painting) my paint says to wait 3 to 4 days before applying additional coats (unless you do it in the first couple hours) I'm guessing you would want to wait the minimal 3 days. I did read that some folks put their mini's in the over at 250 to speed up the drying process. I can't point you to any specific thread, I read alot of threads, not so much to learn much, just because I was waiting for my mini to show up, and reading the threads past the time
 
VHT says to let each layer cure for 7 days and then heat to 200 for 20 minutes. I rushed my first coat and when I peeled the stencil it made a mess. Had to sand blast it and start over.
 
I waited the 7 days and had some lifting too. i used an x-acto knife to carefully separate the stencil.
 
Hi Joe, I'm at the exact same point on my twin mini builds. Just asked basically the same ? about 2 threads down today. I am going to go ahead and wait according to the directions. I'm building one for our Niece's husband whose name is Joe also. So I found a place online and was able to order a "Smokin Joe" decal! Hope it comes out good.
 
Thanks Chuck, after 1 day the Gloss Black looks really good not sure if I'm going to use the clear coat, if I do then I will do it after the curing process. I think I will wait 3-4 days before I peel the Decal/Stencil off.
 
You can pick up full sheet labels at Office Depot and run them through your printer to make your own design. You want as high resolution picture as possible to keep the lines crisp.

I would recommend trimming the outer edges of the sheet as much as possible before applying on paint so you have less of a chance of peeling the paint. I also suggest you don't try to get fine lines (narrow) because it's a bear to cut around them and if your paint does lift, it will really stand out.

If I had it to do over, I'd leave the stencil on for the full 7 days and then use a solvent to loosen the glue instead of a knife. un-du® is available at Wally World or you can buy a quart of Bestine ( the same stuff) from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B006SOK9YY/tvwb-20

Forget about all the home remedies you find online. Nothing works as well as the solvent in this. You can even use it to remove a sticker from paper without leaving any residue. Yes, it will even work on the %$&* label on the Vasconia pot. :)
 
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I can tell you a few things I would do differently now that I have already painted mine. 1, I would get the right decal. The decal I got looked right but when I peeled off the layer exposing the decal, it had a clear background. So had I painted it that way, I would have ended up with a silver square. I used Havalon skinning knife as an exacto knife to cut the entire thing out. What a pain that was. I wanted to give up early in the cutting but wanted to finish the project so bad that I kept cutting. 2, I would wait longer in the drying peroid to peel up the decal. I would wait about 2 days. 3 I wouldn't use any really fine lined decals. I love the Irish but the lines were to fine and it doesn't look as good as the cardinal does. I never saw where the paint said to wait 7 days between steps like some guys are saying. I could have swore it said only like a few h ours. Im probably wrong though because I agree it would have been better to wait a few days at least.
 
I used a decal on mine, I waited until the clear coat was one. The reason for this is I wanted the aluminum finish and I didnt want to clear coat it. If your using a color under the stencil or decal I would recommend removing it before clear coating that way your stencil gets clear coat on the color.
 
Nope I did not, I just used a utility knife to peel off my decal. Keep in mind I did this one after i painted on my clear coat. So my paint process went like the following.

Put on Decal (press firmly for about 15 mins)
Paint coat 1 black, wait 1 hour.
Paint coat 2 black wait one hour.
Paint coat 3 black wait one hour.
Paint clear coat wait 10 mins.
Paint clear coat wait 10 mins.
Realize I smudged paint LOL
Paint coat 4 black wait 1 hour.
Paint clear coat wait 10 mins.
Paint clear coat wait 30mins - 1 hour.
Peel of decal.

I then waited 7 days before I heated up the smoker to allow the paint to cure. Obviously without the messup it shouldnt take to long.
 
I painted mine, 4 or 5 coats of Rustoleum High Heat Paint, then thought about Clear, painted a little clear and was silverish, freaked out, painted over black.. Overall, I waited 5 days before taking off decals, looks Great, even the Raider Face is detailed enough. I got my decals on Amazon.



 
Matthew, looks great. I finally finished painting one of my builds yesterday after having to fix an area where some paint pulled up when I removed a decal. I used a coat of clear gloss on the whole thing and it went on kind of milky in spots but dried clear and turned out great. Have to set up photo bucket and will get some pics up in next few days.
 
Doug, I would love to see your pictures regarding your paint job. Mine too went on a milky color but dried clear, at first I was a little worried it would not. I am overall happy with the product I created.
 
I may do the clear coat, I have not cooked or done anything but spray hi heat paint on it and removed decals
 
It would be interesting to see how a clear coat would look on ur aluminum finish you have there over the raiders face.
 
I actually did a clear coat over the whole thing, it does look shinier, but not smoother, I am sure the rustoleom paint I used has a gritty residue to prevent rusting, and if I had to do it again, I would use Caliber Paint. I will do another coat today and take a pic, then let it cook in the sun for three days and be ready to cook in a week, I don't smoke alot, but that is the reason I built the mini... The 22.5" WSM is for competition and bigger cooks. Thanks for the info..
 
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