Clear coat suggestions? (for pedals)

I'm working on a pedal right now and it looks great up to this point. It's sanded, primed, and painted. However, I'm hesitant about clear coats, as the last one I used sucked and resulted in a complete re-do on the entire project. SO - what would you all recommend?

The stuff I'm using is cheap, out of the can spray (I don't want to invest a ton on this project, nor do I feel it is completely necessary. I mean, after all, I did everything else on a budget and it looks great so far).

I feel like the coat I'm getting right now just isn't think enough. Should I just try several coats in spread out intervals? Or - maybe I'm just using a bad brand??

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Oh and I can't wait to upload pics of before and after (just as soon as I get this right!), ha.

I've always just used the clear spray enamel from Wal-Mart and had excellent results. The trick is to apply a number of light coats rather than just a couple of heavy passes over it. Bake in a toaster oven and you're good to go.

BTW, I feel honored to use my 100th post on a fellow Texan.

I wouldnt bake in the same toaster that you eat out of though

Exactly! I use my $7.00 toaster oven that I bought from Goodwill specifically for this purpose.

Ha, ok - this toaster stuff is new news to me... so, do I put it in a toaster after every coat? Or do I just wait until I'm through? And is this just for hardening purposes?

And how long to I bake it? Haha

Tahnks so far for the help, btw.

Lots of good info here. There's a section on finishing about halfway down the page. This is from the folks over at the DIY Stompboxes forum if you haven't checked them out yet. Lot of great info on that site.

Ok, so I've checked some more stuff out online (thanks, Craig) and think I'm up to giving this another shot today. I'll keep you all posted!

Oh this is quite intriguing! I never thought of doing that. Time to hit Goodwill or go yard sailing next weekend. I've known guys who have bought old ovens or bought a new one for the kitchen and moved the old one to the garage to use for baking on powder coating for small parts, but this is much more portable.

Crap. It's giving me ideas now. It's you guys' fault. Seriously.

Where in the state are you, AndThinkOfTexas? I'm just north of the Travis County line and south of Cedar Park (lil' ol' burg named Jollyville).

So... I'm getting discouraged.

Here's what I've done so far:

First, I sanded the pedal. Not all the way to the metal in all places, but certainly enough to hold primer.

Second, I cleaned it. Then I put on a primer coat.

Next, I cleaned again and put on the top coat. Still looking good.

Then, after a nearly 24 hour dry process, I place on my lettering.

NOW - I get to the clear coating (again). I go to the auto shop and pick up a can of their most expensive clear coat... mind you, however, it's still in a spray-can. I follow the directions exactly... "clean, then mist on two light coats, followed by a medium coat - all in 10 minute intervals" After waiting for it to completely dry over 24 hours, I did what many sites recommend...

I sanded lightly using 2000 grit sandpaper... and, immediately, I started to feel like it was a bad idea (literally, I just had that feeling)).

As I was sanding, I began to notice a portion of the clear coat begin to peel up. So, at this point... I'm starting to get kind of frustrated, as this is the second time I've gotten to the clear stage and been let down. BUT - instead of heading staight back to stripping to start over, I decided that since one side of the pedal was still fine, that I would lay a thick coat of clear on it, to see if I could tell a difference in the quality and thickness of the coat. After all, maybe my idea of "light mist" and "medium coat" is different from that of the guy who wrote the directions for this crap. But - in the end, I'll start over, as I'm a perfectionist. Hopefully this will be a good test sample, though.

Anyway - we'll see. I've worked on another pedal in my spare time this weekend and I've gotten it to the point of being prepped for clear, but I'm not heading into that process again until I know what's going on. I hope I figure it out.

I'm right south of Dallas, actually. I'm near the city of Waxahachie, a town called Red Oak.

What primer are you using? Make sure to ask the auto body shop what kind of primer/paint they are using with their clearcoat..

Sometimes certain brands of paint etc dont like to work together, try and stay with the same brand if you can..

Got any pics?

This. I forget the rule, but basically, enamel and lacquer don't mix. You can use one over the other, but not the other way around. I *think* it's enamel over lacquer but don't hold me to that. Someone needs to come up with a saying that's easy to remember, like that red on yellow/red on black thing for coral snake/king snake thing.

I know where Red Oak is. I've been to the quarter mile up that way a few times (I used to race air-cooled VWs).

I used colored and clear spray paint from the same manufacturer, same type, applied as recommended. The clear caused the colored paint to wrinkle and come right off. I was sure pissed until I realized it looked pretty cool. So I waited for it to dry, then peeled off the raised up parts and have an orange pedal that looks like it has an amoeba on it. I pretend that I did it on purpose.

But the next pedal, I did multiple very light coats of the clear and had no issues.

Wrinkling and cracking can be caused by temperature differences. That's why when you paint outside in the summer it's good to soak the can in some warm water before spraying.

But you said it wrinkled and came off, which to me, usually means incompatible types (lacquer versus enamel).

What brand paint did you use?

brand was Krylon from the local TrueValue hardware store. Did my best to make sure they were compatible. You could be right about the temperature, as I was spraying outside to avoid killing myself with the fumes. However, I've had problems like before and I think it's because I get 'greedy' and apply to thick a coat of clear; I think the solvent starts to dissolve the underlying coats of paint before it has a chance to evaporate. don't seem to have the problem if I'm more patient and apply several thin coats; just more difficult to get a good gloss.

Ok, so I mentioned that I used one side of the ruined pedal as a "test" side. This was a good idea. I feel it's as good as I can possibly do it, considering the materials I'm using (spray-cans).

So, instead of starting over on that pedal, yet again, I proceeded to spray the other pedal that I mentioned that I had prepped. I'm pleased so far. I've been very patient with this clear coat and I hope to post pics tonight, possibly in a new thread, that way I can detail exactly what I did without any confsusion as to what I didn't do, considering how much a trial and error process this all was. Can't wait to share.

I actually really like the Krylon paints (they look great), though I did not favor their "clear" too much. Because, as you mentioned, it's difficult to get that gloss look.

It's easy to overdo it with Krylon clear. Also, if the colour coat isn't fully dry, the clear can cause problems. For doing something like a stomp box, I'd try to get as thin of coats as possible and let them dry at least a day between applications, depending on the temperature where I let it dry. That's one benefit of Texas summers - you can lay down a few good coats and get good curing time by putting something in the shade and let the heat do a good job.