wrote in message
oups.com...
Mike:

I just wanted to give you a quick update on how much use I have gotten
out of your advice on spraying finishes.

Thanks for the update Robert - it really is good to see follow ups on things
that have been discussed.


First, in the "get to know your gun" department, I have now sprayed
about 4 gallons (yup, FOUR) of paint through my little Binks 115
knockoff. I have sprayed a lot of different items with it, but I am
proudest of the way my doors are now coming out. I actually know
enough now that I can diagnose what I am seeing on my piece of
sheetmetal (my gun setup/test medium) that I use to set the
pattern/flow and can now adjust and change the gun to what I need.

I'm feeling like a new papa. If there is one single thing that I think a
person really needs to know about spray painting, this is it. Every thing
else becomes so much easier afterwards. Problems can be figured out,
tweeked, etc. You can start to misuse your gun a bit too, to accomplish
things in different ways - narrow the pattern way down in order to get into
tight places where you really don't want to try to contort yourself to
reach, etc. Fog areas in that might otherwise result in runs - like the
aforementioned narrow pattern, and still end up with a wet edge so that you
don't have orange peel in the fog areas, etc.

I
have been having a blast with the Japan drier, and while I haven't
actually ruined a finish yet, I have made the gloss go to satin, which
is a sign of too much drier. So now I know my limits on that. I am at
about 1oz of Japan drier plus one oz of thinner per quart and it works
great on 70-75 degree days. I will certainly be toning that down for
our hot summer days.

This is the never ending experiment. Retarders, relative humidity,
temperature, the cycle of some female paint goddess somewhere in the ozone,
and a couple of lesser definable factors can provide countless hours of
entertainment. Sometimes ya do it all right and shazam(!), it don't flow
right. But that's for another time.


As for flow, pattern, viscosity, and pressure, I have the most well
protected piece of plywood you can imagine in my backyard by my shop.

Hey - I have one of those too.



After the last exchange here, I decided to buy some urethane and set
the gun up on my piece of plywood before getting on the doors for my
client. I called them and moved the date to refinish, and got busy
with the urethane. I used the Deftane Satin that I got from my local
paint supplier and then went onto the Deft site to get the info on
thinning. It couldn't have been easier. Still mixing in the gradient
marked cheap sports bottles I have, I was able to measure out and thin
exactly according to their specs. I was surprised when I started my
practice runs as I had to turn the pressure all the way down to about
35 lbs since I was getting fog at 45. I was thinking it would take a
little more air than that.

I use mixing sticks that are calibrated in parts versus quantity, but your
"cheap sports bottles" should be just fine. If you want to check into other
things, stop by a real automotive paint supplier (not the autozone type
places) and look at the couple of things they typically carry. Some are
sticks like I use, some are graduated containers. But they're generally
graduated in parts not volume, and are cleverly done to accomodate just
about any ratio of materials. Easier to say than to explain. It does take
the thinking out of it and that can be important since these things are
pretty sensative to mix ratios.



The instructions said they were looking for about 3 mil wet finish
(!!!) and that it would dry to 1.5 mil. To me, that seemed really
thick for one application (especially vertical application), but in the
end, it is their product. So I followed you cue and sprayed one coat,
then another about twenty minutes later, just when I could see the
material starting to change from looking really wet. Worked like a big
dog!

Isn't it cool when it comes together. I still get a gas and a half watching
final paint come together. It's like magic happening before your very eyes.



Next on the gun trials: lacquer. I have an amigo that swears by the
"Old Masters" brand, and I will try to coax some out of him. I can't
see spraying lacquer on one or two doors, though. I use Deft lacquer
for interior doors and just pad it on. I use a disposable pad, and
pitch it when I am through. Too easy to do it that way, and Deft
lacquer is so forgiving it is almost foolproof.

I agree. I posted in another thread recently that to me a spray job has to
be "big enough" (whatever that means...) to make it worth my time in prep
and clean up - especially clean up.


BTW, here is the gun I finally settled on to be a companion to the
little wannabe Binks:

http://tinyurl.com/44fd

This link wouldn't work for me. How about posting the HF model number. Is
it one of the guns we talked about way back when?


I just thought you might be interested to see how things went since you
were so generous with your time and suggestions. Both were a big help
to me. And for me, I always wonder what happened later when I have
taken the time and made some effort to help someone out. A follow up
seems like a simple courtesy to me, and certainly a sign of
appreciation for the help. This is mine.

Thanks again for that. It really does feel like you helped someone out when
they post a follow up like this. It's sorta like that old adage - "Build a
man a fire and you'll keep him warm for a while. Light a man on fire and
you'll keep him warm for his whole life".

I've really gotten a lot of good information from this group and it feels
good to be able to provide something of value in return.


So anyway, how you doin'?


Life is good. Started with a new band and it's a band that plays much more
modern music than I'm accustomed to. Stretching me some. I am having a lot
of fun with it though. Been out of work for a couple of months now so I've
had some time to catch up on some small projects that have gone unfinished
for a while around the house. Nothing significant enough to really talk
about. Plus - I'm feeling a little guilty because some of these projects
have not matured the required 12 years, so I feel like I'm letting down the
male gender to some degree. I'm not a man without a conscience though - I'm
dutifully putting off a touch up paint job on my daughter's Malibu in the
name of waiting for "better weather".

--

-Mike-