[Dave F]

Please do not laugh too hard if I am way off base here. I have a 75 TA and I have the grills out of the front and I am trying to fix them up due to some overspray from a previous paint job. I am not looking for show quality, but I do want them to look nice. I taped the areas that I did not want to get paint on and proceded to paint the areas that needed it with some enamal spray paint. Even though I used a "plastic primer", the paint will not stick in some places. It starts to bubble and looks like the desert floor during the middle of summer. Is this the wrong kind of paint? Do I need to do something else to prep the plastic? Will spray paint work or do I need to take these to a body shop to have them painted? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave F

[Dave F]

Please do not laugh too hard if I am way off base here. I have a 75 TA and I have the grills out of the front and I am trying to fix them up due to some overspray from a previous paint job. I am not looking for show quality, but I do want them to look nice. I taped the areas that I did not want to get paint on and proceded to paint the areas that needed it with some enamal spray paint. Even though I used a "plastic primer", the paint will not stick in some places. It starts to bubble and looks like the desert floor during the middle of summer. Is this the wrong kind of paint? Do I need to do something else to prep the plastic? Will spray paint work or do I need to take these to a body shop to have them painted? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave F

[Goin' Topless]

Sounds like a simple case of incompatibility between primer and paint. Check the labels and see if the primer is enamel or laquer based. Most off-the-shelf auto store spray can primers are laquer based. It should tell you on the label.

[Dave F]

I don't have the cans available at this moment, but I am pretty sure the primer was made to use with enamel paint. I'll have to check whin I get home.
Thanks

[Peter Serio]

Did you use pre-clean & scuff the primer?
Sometimes people use armor-all on painted parts like grills, if there is any silicone spray residue on the painted surfaces new paint will not stick.

[KVman389]

Sounds like foreign material of some kind not allowing the primer to adhere properly. If you have access to a high pressure sprayer, use it to stip the paint and primer that is no sticking. Use 1000 to 1500 grit sand paper to smooth any edges. (I am not that familiar with TA grills). Make sure all surfaces are clean usung warm h2o and soap. Rinse well, (no soap residue). Reprime, scuff with the 1000 grit paper, and repaint. You can use an enamel OVER laquer, but NOT laquer OVER enamel. Keep in mind laquer can melt some plastics. Good luck.

[freebird69]

Dave, it sounds to me like the primer went on OK but bubbled after you applied the enamal, right? If that's the case it most likely would be incompatability between the paints unless you contaminated the primer by wiping or sanding with used materials. One way to test without furthur messing up your grill is to paint something else first and see what happens.

[Dave F]

Thanks for the advice. I also had the same problem before I applied a primer coat. I tried to paint the plastic without using a primer at first and had the same problem. I then removed the paint I had applied after it dried and started over. It sounds like I may not have cleaned the parts enough.
Thanks,
Dave E