Spraying headlight washer cover

B

barnyg

Member
I recently picked up a primed headlight washer cover and rattle can after losing mine some time ago, still not got round to painting it. I have absolutely no experience with this kind of thing and looking online, i also don't have the facilities for doing this. It's either a cold garage or warm house, the latter really isn't an option to be spraying in. Has anyone got any advice on doing this, am not even sure how many coats it would need!

Thanks in advance :)
 
Spray a coat outside/in garage then bring in to dry, just put something over it to stop the dust. I've only done a few small things in the past but found 3 colour coats and 2 lacquer to come out ok.
 
Did mine in my garage with a mixed up rattle can, it came out lovely. Take your time, dont get too close with the can. Don't rush it, give it 3 coats of colour once primed. On the final coat, leave it for an hour to get tacky then apply the first coat of laquer. This will ensure it bonds properly and also means you dont have to flat the colour back before applying the laquer. Give it 2-3 coats of laquer, when dry enough to pick up (24hrs) bring it inside to the warm to harden up for a few days.
 
I warm up the paint / primer / laquer too. In a bucket of warm water (garage temp is cold). This helps mix and give more even coverage. Mind you, headlight washer cap isn't really enough coverage to warrant that.

Make sure you test spray on cardboard / newspaper to ensure paint is coming out smooth and even too.
 
Can't you warm the garage, I did this a few years ago when spraying my sons alloys. I had a heater on and warmed the wheels before spraying. They came out really well. :)
 
Here's what I did recently for the new washer cover on mine with good results:

1) Warm up the cans of paint in the house.
2) Attach the cover to a pair of mole grip type pliers for the duration of your painting (clamped by the bosses/ribs on the back of the cover).
3) Switch on your kitchen oven set to around 60 degrees C
4) Paint in the garage and immediately move the cover (still attached to the grips) to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes between coats.
5) Repeat with subsequent coats, applying the next before the cover has fully cooled down to the ambient conditions in the garage.

I also flatted the bare cover before starting, then passed a naked flame over it from a gas lighter to burn off any oils from the plastic before applying a couple of coats of grey primer that claimed to be suitable for use on plastics.

Chris
 
Thanks for the prompt responses, think i've got enough to go on to give it a go over the next few days. Unfortunately garage is more of just an outbuilding (so essentially just outside temperature conditions) and not too keen to invest in a heater on top of all the other little bits so far! I think i will go for the approach of spray outside and bring in between coats, low temp oven could be a good idea too so will consider that. Cans and cover have been kept indoors anyway so should be fine temperature wise to start with.

Its a small part so should be fine, would just like to get it right first time. Imagine i'll have lost it in a few months anyway going by how often this problem seems to happen...

Much appreciated as always! :)
 
So update on this. I finally got round to it, not perfect conditions so the odd minor defect but I was generally happy with the result, especially as the alternative was a hole in the bumper.

After I fitted it I realised the colour match was awful. It's too dark. I made sure to shake the rattle can for quite some time before use, and shaking before coats. I also put a good number of colour coats on, but I'm thinking they were very thin so the dark primer has affected the overall shade. I gave her a quick wash to make sure, and it still is a shade darker...
 
did you put lacquer on too or just paint? i found it didn't change the shade but as it was glossier it gave a better match. not perfect but you'd have to really look..
 
Yeah a few coats of lacquer on top of maybe 5 coats of base colour. I'm sure i tustve been too timid with the paint and left the layers too thin. Oh well, it covers the hole for now.
 
Should have worked out fine. Where did you get the paint? Maybe the colour match was a fraction off?

Is it really bad? (Pictures help :wink: )
 
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