Newbie needs help on plastic snowmobile hood

[half a can]

So - with the lack of snow this year in the Sierras, a buddy and I got this great idea that since we couldn't ride, we would paint his snowmobile hood. It is an 09 sled, and the hood is red plastic. I took the hood to a local shop and they recommended the following:

1. Scuff and wash the hood with some prep paste (seemed really similar to Comet)
2. Nason 1k rattlecan primer
3. Select Seal 1k sealer
4. Nason Ful Base
5. Nason Select Clear

Last Friday, we prepped the hood, primed, sealed, and 3 coats of base. Once I started the clear, i effed up and splattered clear on the first two passes. While I was trying to fix my gun, a moth flew into my makeshift paint boot and landed in the splattered clear. I tried to remove it but made it worse and decided to quit and get another beer. I let it cure for 3 days and Monday, sanded down the splattered clear, sanded out the moth, scuffed everything and laid down one coat of sealer and one coat of base. When I went to put on the second coat of base, I noticed wrinkling and alligatoring of the first coat, so I stopped again. I found a pic of some wheels on this forum that did the exact same thing that my hood did and I am assuming that the previous paint coats did not fully cure and the new coats caused lifting. I let it cure all week and tonight sanded all the wrinkles flat and scuffed the entire hood agian. My question is - how do you tell if the previous coats are cured enough to repaint over them safely? And, what should be my next step? Can I just start with the base or do I need to start with a primer again?

Great forum by the way - I now know how to set up my gun and test the pattern with clear so this fiasco might not happen again! I have also learned a lot from up here trying to figure this out. Thanks again!

[style]

So - with the lack of snow this year in the Sierras, a buddy and I got this great idea that since we couldn't ride, we would paint his snowmobile hood. It is an 09 sled, and the hood is red plastic. I took the hood to a local shop and they recommended the following:

1. Scuff and wash the hood with some prep paste (seemed really similar to Comet)
2. Nason 1k rattlecan primer
3. Select Seal 1k sealer
4. Nason Ful Base
5. Nason Select Clear

Last Friday, we prepped the hood, primed, sealed, and 3 coats of base. Once I started the clear, i effed up and splattered clear on the first two passes. While I was trying to fix my gun, a moth flew into my makeshift paint boot and landed in the splattered clear. I tried to remove it but made it worse and decided to quit and get another beer. I let it cure for 3 days and Monday, sanded down the splattered clear, sanded out the moth, scuffed everything and laid down one coat of sealer and one coat of base. When I went to put on the second coat of base, I noticed wrinkling and alligatoring of the first coat, so I stopped again. I found a pic of some wheels on this forum that did the exact same thing that my hood did and I am assuming that the previous paint coats did not fully cure and the new coats caused lifting. I let it cure all week and tonight sanded all the wrinkles flat and scuffed the entire hood agian. My question is - how do you tell if the previous coats are cured enough to repaint over them safely? And, what should be my next step? Can I just start with the base or do I need to start with a primer again?

Great forum by the way - I now know how to set up my gun and test the pattern with clear so this fiasco might not happen again! I have also learned a lot from up here trying to figure this out. Thanks again!

what a nightmare,first problem is your nason rep mislead you you have to remember they are not there to help you they are there to sell you stuff..

selling you nason non sandable bead up on your paper type primers help them to sell you more sand paper..

sand it all off,scuff it with 800 then shoot bulldog adhesion promotor just lightly mist it on let it sit 15 mins then do it again light to med coat again let it sit 15to20min then shoot your base then youre clear keep in mind thinner is better as your plastic is flexable why didnt you just vinyl wrap it with something from alsa corp ..id hate to be in your shoes..that really sucks..

btw welcome!!

[half a can]

That's the answer I didn't want! So there is really no way to salvage what I have thus far? We are installing a wrap on it, just the black at the wrap seams will look a lot better than the red. But I also don't want to ruin a $300 wrap because i used a crappy primer.

Looks like I had better stock up on more beer for tonight. What grit is best to remove the existing paint without being too aggressive on the plastic? Thanks for the help.

[style]

That's the answer I didn't want! So there is really no way to salvage what I have thus far? We are installing a wrap on it, just the black at the wrap seams will look a lot better than the red. But I also don't want to ruin a $300 wrap because i used a crappy primer.

Looks like I had better stock up on more beer for tonight. What grit is best to remove the existing paint without being too aggressive on the plastic? Thanks for the help.

I know nason doesnt sand well and you really wanna use a courser grit but dont keep it at 600 and you should be fine...

[half a can]

Thanks again. I do a lot of epoxy floors, and this reminds me of them - nothing is ever quick and easy!

One more question - will I need a flex agent in the base and clear? The rep told me that the system is already flexable and the flex agent is not required. But everything else I have read about plastics says to use a flex agent?

[style]

Thanks again. I do a lot of epoxy floors, and this reminds me of them - nothing is ever quick and easy!

One more question - will I need a flex agent in the base and clear? The rep told me that the system is already flexable and the flex agent is not required. But everything else I have read about plastics says to use a flex agent?

I personally wouldn't I think the bulldog adhesion promoter is the most important part..