Ok, now that I have pin hole free parts I now have another what seems insurmountable problem.

No matter what I have done I cannot get the clear to laydown without small craters in the outer surface of the clear. I am talking very, very small ones.

Here is what I have done.(and by the way I have been spraying clearcoat for years so I know how to do it, its just carbon panels that give me the problems)

1. Wash with soap and water - scuff with 600 or 400 wet and dry paper - wipe with prime wash -  spray. (pits)

2. Wipe with alcohol -scotch brite with grey ultra fine - wipe with 99.9% pure alcohol. (pits)

3. Scuffed as above - eliminated my spray equipment and sprayed clear with a spray bomb. (pits) 

4. Heated the part and spray bomb - sprayed fog coats - let flash well- built up to shiney. (pits)

5. Scuffed with "OLD DUTCH CLEANER" - sprayed with rattle can. (pits)

What the is going on!!!!! This is the pits!

Are you guys not getting these surface bleamishes ???????? 

The only thing that I can think of is that the carbon fiber is conductive of electricity or I am dealing with electrostatic repulsion.

I know that you cannot spray a plastic bumper without eliminating the electrostic fields.

Thanks for any help on this. Hopefully the Easy Composites Staff can clear this up!     Get It?  Clear this up!

Fred

Before I read your post I was going to say, you probably have release agent residue on the part. I have limited experience in spraying, but I found it interesting that you commented on the static issue, and the static build up in plastic bumpers.

I saw you tried all sorts of methods to clean the part. Which is good. In the process you most likely charged it up, the rubbing will do that quickly. Earth the part and get the charge out and then try spraying it again. It cant hurt, since you seem to have tried everything else.

I'm sure people will chime in, I'm sure you're not the only one with these issues.

cheers

I've had this before.  I dont think its down to static or release agent, I think its down to the fabric.  If you flat the part and catch the fabric (dust comes off grey) the exposed cloth doesn't take lacquer like the cured resin.  Mix up some lacquer, thinned, as if to spray but brush it on making sure you work it well into the surface with the brush then allow it to fully dry.  Then spray it.  Works fine for me after that.  I did these with this method:

do you have access to 2pack  HS clearcoat ? .On repaired parts i usually have an area of new carbon next to an area with the original clearcoat 

Thanks for the tip. I tried the thinned out clear coat and stippled it in with a small brush. (I cut the bristles off so the brush was stiffer0

it makes sense that if you can get the clear down into the pits, it will get wicked up by the exposed carbon fibers.

After I did this a few times I sprayed many coats on in a different way. I used my touch up gun with the paint feed turned in almost all the way. I got the paint stream to look more like fog than what you normally do to spray.The clearcoat was also thinned down much more than normal.

As I sprayed the piece I just went over and over with this fog coat. Because of the extra thinner and greater atomization the clear flashed very quickly. So quickly that the crater making gremlins couldn't push the paint out as before. If you keep going and going long enough the clear will flow out but not shiney. That is OK. I let it flash real good, say 10 minutes. I then proceeded with another application in the same manner, and let it flash for 10 minutes again. I must of put on 6 coats this way and it flowed out in the end to a nice shine. I know this sounds like a lot of paint but it was not.

I wet sanded and polished out the piece today and it looks fantastic, pits are gone.

Thanks for your valuable suggestions that I used.

Fred     

Ok I have just got to a point that I can answer my own question.
Craters in the clear coat were still a problem. I spray a coat and wet sand down and then abrade each crater and fill in that crater with clear on a tooth pick then flat sand when cured in my over.
Now the surface is flat and crater free. Now when I spray the next layer I get the craters in different place??? I have degreased and cleaned with alcohol and craters still  happen.

Solution found!
 
I ran out of clear coat and this time I bought PPG $500.00 dollars a kit clear coat which has been tested to be able to use Fisheye eliminator. (any clearcoat that the manufacturer says fisheye eliminator can be used would be the same, PPG is not mandatory)
I sprayed and wait for it............................NO CRATERS!!!
Here's the deal. I talked to the paint supplier and they had found that many shops complained about suddenly having fisheye ( or craters) in their paint jobs where previously they had none. In this case it was tracked down to a Lance Armstrong silicone wrist band the painter was wearing. As he waved his arm with every pass microscopic silicone molecules were contaminating the surface. (I know it sounds like a wives tale but....) Wrist band gone and the fish eyes were gone as well.
I use silicone in my shop for making molds... go figure! The even crazier thing is that Fisheye eliminator is silicone. (so I have been told)
Armourall is also in my shop. Lots of silicone in it . So I unwittingly had set the stage for my own problems.

Hope this helps

Fred

 

I know my local paint shop next to my business is quite careful about silicone sprays etc.