Tack Cloth?

[Jenny]

Hey guys!
So I'm a new to painting and am essentially learning as I go...one problem we seem to be having is getting small particulates in the color and/or clear. We wipe down between coats with degreaser, spray down the booth with water and still have the same problem. I thought maybe it was from the air filter, but as I was wiping down my frame the other day, I noticed little cotton pieces from the cloth were being left behind. Now maybe this is just a novice silly mistake, but I'm wondering if tack cloth would be the way to go. Would it be better to wipe down with degreaser and then tack cloth? I also noticed that blowing the frame down with compressed air helped as well....
Thanks!
-jenny

 

[fontgeek]

A tack cloth will help to a point, but you may find that using an antistatic gun, cloth or wipe will help eliminate the attraction.
I'm not saying this instead of a tack cloth but maybe do it as a step following it.
I know some painters that use the dryer sheets to achieve this.
You might also look at a better grade of cloth, maybe a good microfiber cloth to use as a tack rag. Having a cloth that sheds doesn't help you a whole lot.
If dust is really an issue then maybe having a good HEPA filter you can run in the spray booth while cleaning the surface will help.
I'd remove the filter prior to spraying or heavy sanding though, you'd pack up the filters so fast the massive amounts of overspray or super fine dust in a real hurry.

 

[TAZ]

Definitely use a tack cloth. Like fontgeek said, there are also different types.

You had mentioned that you used degreaser 'between' coats, don't do this, do this before you even start sanding. You want to use a pre-paint cleaner before you start painting, then NO other cleaners or degreasers from there.

Use the pre-paint cleaner (wipe on, wipe off with a good lint free towel. We use Krew 400)
blow off the surface along with using a tack rag.
final tack
spray your base
ONLY use your tack between coats if you think you need it
clearcoat

 

[TAZ]

Also be sure and see my tack rag tip in the Tips section :bigokay:

 

[Jenny]

Wow thank you so much!

Yeah the guy I'm working with likes to work with the frames with his bare hands between coats, especially while masking off and stenciling which is where the using of degreaser between coats comes in...
I tend to try and use gloves as much as possible to avoid fingerprinting and having to wipe down the frame anymore with anything. If there are fingerprints all over the frame, how would I get rid of them without having to use the degreaser? I totally understand why you wouldn't want to use it between coats!
Thanks Taz!

 

[Jenny]

oh!

And the tack rag has been suuuuuuuch a great thing to have around and tip of unfolding and loosely folding back up has been a life saver!!
So much great advice! I love it!!

:cheers:

 

[fontgeek]

I think it's time to get your partner to start wearing gloves, if not, then charge him for all of the materials and time to redo the work until the work is done, it won't take long for him or her to understand the damage they do to either your work or their wallet.
You can try wiping the areas down with rubbing alcohol to remove the body oils left behind by the culprit.

The reason most people try to avoid the use of a degreaser between coats of paint is that the layers of paint may be fragile or susceptible to damage by the degreaser in combination with the abrasive action of the rag used to wipe the surface down.
automotive urethanes are particularly fragile before they are clear coated. While an inter-coat clear may help some those paints are still easily scratched or abraded.

 

[Jenny]

thank you fontgeek!

Yeah, those are things I pretty much already figured and am glad to have someone else confirm that it's just poor practice. I wish I could implement that level of forced understanding but the culprit happens to be the owner of the shop. However, he's pretty much letting me take over the painting so I'm trying my hardest to get him to understand why some things are just costly bad ideas. I definitely see how wiping down with degreaser is just an unnecessary thing to have to do and more than likely affects the delicate new paint.
As soon as he comes in to look at a paint job from now on, I'll just hand him a pair of gloves :freak:

Thanks again! as a newbie who really needs it, all of the advice is so much appreciated
I hope to have a killer paint shop someday!