Cleaning off chalk lines & tape residue

[dimtick]

first off a confession. I paint furniture. I've been trying to apply custom car painting techneques to furniture.
I have a piece that I've painted with a black and white pattern. the problem that i'm having is that i can get rid of chalk lines and tape masking tape residue. I've been working at it so much that I think that i'll have to repaint. I'm scared to do this because I don't know how to avoid having the same problem. If this were for my use I'd be happy with how it is, but I'm hoping to sell this and these kind of flaws will kill any kind of asking price.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[scapegoat]

If your using house paint , I don't have an answer . Automotive paint , wax and grease remover or stronger Dupont 3812 (pricey) .

 

[Wydir]

Did you Clearcoat these pieces if so the chalklines are under the clear and the only way to fix that is repaint, Tape residue if on the outside of the clear (if applied) Scapegoat hit it wax and grease remover will take it right off (again this is if you are using automotive paint only)if its house paint wait till its completely dry and you should be able to wash it with soap and water(the chalk lines should come off just by wiping them with your finger or damp rag).

 

[dimtick]

I did this piece with enamel spray paint over a thick coat of automotive filler primer (I'm hoping on selling it to get enough money to buy decent spray gun). I haven't clear cloated yet. I've tried using a degreaser (it wasn't one of the ones mentioned so I'll look into those), mineral spirits, diluted paint thinner, very fine steel wool (size 000), 1000 grit sand paper, magic eraser, rubber eraser, rubbing & polishing compound without any luck. All this was done by hand. I don't have a buffing/polishing machine but will get one tonight if i thought it would make a difference. The chalk I used was a construction chalk line and the tape I used was green frog tape. I was initially very happy with the results because I didn't have any bleads.
I actually documented this refinishing project (and 2 others), so you can see all the steps here.
Trash to Treasure, using spraypaint to refinish curb-find furniture
I've done a lot of pieces like this and this is the first time that i've had this problem. the difference here is that I was entering this into a contest and had a deadline looming and I think I rushed a little. ****er. What I now suspect has happened is that when I masked off the piece that I hadn't allowed the base color (white) to cure and so the chalk and the tape residue has become embedded into the paint. I had waited several hours before masking but it was the middle of July and was very hot and humid which I'm sure greatly effects the drying time. does that seem logical? if that's the case is there anything I can do?

 

[Wydir]

well I would have to say you need to back mask the black and respray the white to cover the chalk lines also you will have to test if your white paint will cover the chalk or what could happen is the chalk will bleed through .

My other sugestion is to paint a Pinstripe Line to cover the White to black line with like a Red , Charcoal, or what ever color you choose to hide it (I mean Customize it)
Custom painters do it all the time to hide tapelines

 

[dimtick]

thanks for the reply.
it's wierd, the tape lines are not along the black/white edge....and I am planning pinstripping for an extra level of detail. when you look at the white you can actually tell where the individual tape pieces were. it doesn't show up in any of the pictures. it's like a difference in the sheen of the paint. I'll try to take a better one tonight.
I have no problem with repainting, i'm just trying to learn so i can avoid the same situaion.

 

[TAZ]

If you are using an enamel, this type paint will stay soft for quite a while. It may seem cured and hard, but it really isn't. Especially if you don't have hardener in the paint.
It does seem like your chalk lines did embed into the paint. You might be able to sand them out, but you'll probably end up spraying.

A suggestion on the next piece of furniture, is to by ALL automotive related materials
i.e tape, paint, reducers....
The paint should be a true basecoat. This dries fairly quickly and allows you really to go ahead and tape up within an hour or two. You won't see where your tape was laid.

All basecoats dry fairly dull, so this will have to be clearcoated.
You'll find these are A LOT easier to work with versus the enamels.

For spraying basecoats, you may want to start with a small gun like an Iwata W100 or equiv.
You could even clear with this gun, but you'll just have to do tighter passes.

 

[flashtimes]

Here is a HUGE piece of the puzzle. Wood isn't steel! LOL Not trying to be funny...but solvent can only go one way when you paint a steel surface; up and out. When you paint wood, some of the solvent will evaporate out, but a LOT of the solvent will be soaked into the wood - which SLOWS everything down a LOT. As TAZ says, enamel will appear to be cured and hard, but it really isn't...and in my experience -that statement has to multiplied times ten when painting on wood. There are VERY FEW automotive primers out there that will work on wood, and you would want to read the TDS to make sure. (BTW...I would ONLY use a real high end urethane as a primer on wood, and I would apply each coat 1/2 the recommended film thickness so it drys quicker...not curing...drying...this is only if I were using automotive paints on wood) But keep in mind that no mater what you do on wood (with automotive paint) the drying times are extremely extended; and in some cases the solvent soaked up in the wood causes problems for a long time. Like tape marks.
Remember your respirator and gloves...maybe even fresh air!

 

[dimtick]

Thanks for your reply <TAZ>. Currently all the painting I do is with spray paint. Until this point I've been happy with the results I've gotten (20+ pieces). My plan is to sell this piece so I can get a spray gun. The primary reason I've wanted a spray gun is so I wouldn't be limited to the pathetic range of colors that spray paint offers.
Kind of a chicken/egg thing. I need a spray gun to finish, but can't get one until the piece is finished. story of my life.

 

[dimtick]

Thanks for your reply <flashtimes>. the primer I've been using is a Rustoleum automotive filler primer (spray can). I've always gotten good results with it before. looks like I'm repainting. I don't have a deadline this time so I can take my time. fingers crossed.
I actually documented the entire process I went thru. It would be cool to get some feedback from guys that know their stuff.
Trash to Treasure, using spraypaint to refinish curb-find furniture

 

[crotchrocket]

IMHO that Rustoleum Primer is garbage! Especially when putting an enamel over it. A friend used that stuff on his race bike and top coated with enamel. Three days later, the enamel was bubbling off. I started pulling off the top coat and the primer was gooey. So much so that I could not sand it and had to strip the whole bike and repaint it. Avoid that stuff like the plague.