Newly painted tank

Ask your painter if he used a polyurethane clear with a isocyanate catalyst? Should be tape track free in 8 hrs and ready to recoat or 2 tone. Bake booth at 125 degrees for 1 1/2 hrs and natural cool down. Should be rock hard in 24 hrs.
 
Ask your painter if he used a polyurethane clear with a isocyanate catalyst? Should be tape track free in 8 hrs and ready to recoat or 2 tone. Bake booth at 125 degrees for 1 1/2 hrs and natural cool down. Should be rock hard in 24 hrs.
I've had clears that in cool damp weather when abused (too much piled on to bury stripes or decals) not want to get hard. I never had a heated shop or booth so it can happen. My understanding is that when the temperature drops below about 50F, the chemicals in the hardener quit working and all "curing" stops. So there's a lot going on here, solvent needs to escape AND it needs to be warm and dry, which is kinda' rare in the U.K. this time of year I've been told.
 
light bulb(s) and thermometer placed near the tank, dry heat............... Used to do this under paint sags to stop the sag and cure the paint so it could be wet sanded and buffed quicker than waiting for the sag to cure on it's own.

I thought the same thing. I used to use a light bulb with a reflector positioned over fiberglass work in the winter to get it it to cure.
 
I did fill in for a few weeks for a guy that painted in a MACO shop. Usually 8 but sometimes 12 cars-trucks a day. That particular MACO used Nason 2K. Not a bad paint at all. Cars went directly from the paint booth into a infrared bake booth. Busier than a one legged man in a ass kicking contest.:yikes: This was during the summer so the paint set up quick. The shop did keep the cars overnight before delivery the next day. All I had to do was clean my equipment between cars and walk in the booth and spray, again and again and again and again and again.:shrug:
 
I did fill in for a few weeks for a guy that painted in a MACO shop. Usually 8 but sometimes 12 cars-trucks a day. That particular MACO used Nason 2K. Not a bad paint at all. Cars went directly from the paint booth into a infrared bake booth. Busier than a one legged man in a ass kicking contest.:yikes: This was during the summer so the paint set up quick. The shop did keep the cars overnight before delivery the next day. All I had to do was clean my equipment between cars and walk in the booth and spray, again and again and again and again and again.:shrug:
Nason is not a bad product, especially Ful-Thane. The only problem with Nason is that it is for all overs as the colors don't match well.
 
Does “interesting” translate ugly where you’re from?? Haha.

They don’t seem to be a looker, at least not in my eyes.
Interesting brutes - brute suggests muscular? With a cafe racer, looks follow form and if the bike has the right attributes - handling, speed, stopping - I expect an owner would forgive the brutal appearance? Buell Lightnings divide opinion in similar fashion.
 
Something else I just thought of. Talk to your painter first, but sometimes you can wet sand it with 1500 or finer paper which will allow the paint to "open Up". In other words sometimes it will get a slightly hard "shell" that keeps the solvents underneath from escaping, therefore slowing the cure. It has many coats of clear and when you do that this can happen. If you do this AND get it someplace warm and dry ( try shipping it to Italy so it can get that well deserved Mediterranean holiday), it should cure after a few days. All that's left if to buff it. But, talk to your painter first!
Don't temp me! South of France Spain would be my choice, I've been trying to decide whether we can afford a family holiday this year...you tipped the balance!
 
Speed, speed, speed, that's what went wrong with your paint job. I've had my fill of "speed" lately. I'm doing some drywall finishing lately, drawing on what I did 50 years ago. Decided to go to YouTube anyways to watch some videos, "speed" was the emphasis on almost every video. That was no help to me, I would have benefited more with something like "Drywall Finishing For Slow Folk". Best drywall corners I ever made anyways. Then it came time to prime and paint the drywall. Primer and paints that dry in one hour? My nice paint tools, one hour paint, not a good combination at all. Speed, just not my thing.
 
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One thing I've noticed when I began cleaning up around the petrol tap mounting points on the tank, the primer seems very thick and chalky, very crumbly
 
It's been two weeks since I collected my tank, I've had it in the warmest place in my house possible without it getting too hot for the majority of that time. Where as I think it's hardening up its far from durable and I've noticed a few tiny bubbles appear under one of the decals, I can't decide if I'm being too picky or if I should return it to be done again, what do you all think?
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It's been two weeks since I collected my tank, I've had it in the warmest place in my house possible without it getting too hot for the majority of that time. Where as I think it's hardening up its far from durable and I've noticed a few tiny bubbles appear under one of the decals, I can't decide if I'm being too picky or if I should return it to be done again, what do you all think?View attachment 238985
Return it. That is unacceptable in my opinion. Everyone screws up once in a while. Just looking at your photo's I think it needs to be completely redone including the side covers. BTW, I've been doing this kind of work for about 50 years, and I've had my share of re-do's.
 
Return it. That is unacceptable in my opinion. Everyone screws up once in a while. Just looking at your photo's I think it needs to be completely redone including the side covers. BTW, I've been doing this kind of work for about 50 years, and I've had my share of re-do's.
Agree. Properly squeegeed decals shouldn't have bubbles pop up a few weeks after shooting.
 
Return it. That is unacceptable in my opinion. Everyone screws up once in a while. Just looking at your photo's I think it needs to be completely redone including the side covers. BTW, I've been doing this kind of work for about 50 years, and I've had my share of re-do's.
And one more thing, those bubbles under the decal ain't gonna' get better, only bigger.
 
Ya'll thinkin' there's still some out-gassing going on with the decals?
 
Ya'll thinkin' there's still some out-gassing going on with the decals?
In my opinion, it's not the decals, it's the paint underneath that is gassing off. Remember this started with a curing problem with the paint. I believe it's soft all the way down. Why? could be bad catalyst, could be a bad ingredient in the base, hard to tell.
 
Those bubbles are mostly where there was a light dent so I'm wondering if it is exactly that jp, filler that wasn't fully cured?

I'm pretty annoyed about it all now, I'm not sure where the responsibility lies with supplying new decals as I sent these with all the parts to be painted.
 
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