Hey-0,

I've been teaching myself how to paint over the past few months: effects pedals, helmets, vise, random stuff. So far things have gone well.

I started on my first bike this weekend:

etch prime
sandable primer
sealer
wet sand to remove orange peel (600 grit)
wash with oil/grease/tar remover
base coat x3 (didn't go on as well as I wanted it to but that's just me learning how to paint small round tubes)

after the last layer of base, I waited about 2 hours (@70*F with < 20% humidity), put a mask down and attempted the logos.
light dusting of metallic silver
3x medium coats

After the last coat I waited about 30 minutes and began to peel the mask off — peel back, not up . . . slowly. Unfortunately, I experienced something new: the silver paint peeled up in places bringing the base coat with it. Sucks mostly because I was hoping to get this done by Thursday but it's a great way to learn provided that I can figure out what I did wrong.

My 2 guesses are: 1. I should've wet sanded with < 600 grit; 2. The solvent in the silver loosened up the base coat (I should've waited longer before pulling)

Anyone have a thought on this?

Semi-Related: I'm using a touch-up gun to apply paint (1.2mm air cap) and am trying to dial in the fan width. I understand what to look for when spraying larger stuff but I'm unsure about tubing. Is there a general guideline (e.g. 1.5x tubing diameter)?

Thanks.