Andy Taylor
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Hi Mike. Welcome :welc
Yep, that’s it.
The differences are only small, but that’s the basic rule. Positive pressure will tend to blow out of any slight leaks in your booth, negative will tend to suck in (bringing the dust in with it!)
I still use the scuff pad & paste method now and again. I prefer it when doing a larger job or one that’s had a lot of filler work, as I find it helps to remove the dust better than the more modern dry prep methods. Not all will agree, but we all have our own little quirks 🙂
I use a grey Mirka ultrafine pad, and usually break them in first on a dark coloured job before I’ll use them on something like a silver. A fresh one straight out of the box is too rough I reckon. I use them with NEXA scuffing paste.
I’ll do a panel at a time to ensure it doesn’t dry on. I’ll then wipe the panel over with a wet microfibre cloth a few time rinsing in between to remove the residue, then dry with paper towel while blowing out the edges with an airline. I’ll then check I’ve got every area properly, then move on to the next panel.
When all of the panels are done, I’ll wipe down with a strong slow solvent degreaser / silicon remover (DeBeer 1-951) then it’s ready to mask. A final quick wipe with the same degreaser after masking to remove any finger prints or tape residue, and it’s off the the booth.
Who said rules & regs had to make sense 😆
Some years ago I worked in a Spraybake and that wasn’t adjustable either. It was bought second hand, and when they came to fit it we were told it had to be “upgraded” to include a pressure gauge, even though there was no form of adjustment if the pressure was wrong :huh:
Going on the few details you’ve given, it sounds like the base could be lifting the edge of the fill primer. How are you preparing the panel before priming? Particularly around the repair where the edge of your spot primer will be? I like to use a 240 or 320 DA disc as a minimum, to give the primer something to bite into.
You’re from the UK aren’t you reidy? In which case regulations say you have to run it at a slight negative pressure to keep the harmful fumes from escaping. Our booth even shuts down automatically if it strays into positive pressure for too long!
As Ben says though, slightly positive is a much better idea and I think that’s how most US booths run, but since the regulations here don’t allow it 0 is about the best you can do 😉
Thanks Ryan.
I was surprised how little it weighed too! I put a dozen or so bolts into a plastic bag for safe keeping, and the bag weighed more than the bolts 😆 The magnesium parts almost felt twice as heavy with primer and paint on.
Unfortunately the guy has contracted Glandular Fever, so may not be building the bike up just yet. It’s also ruined his chances for the job in Canada. Doctors have told him he can’t ride for 6 months 🙁
Well it’s been a while, but I finally received the bike frame the other day, along with a major change of direction – he wanted it satin black instead of lime green!
After chatting with Peter from DeBeer about my concerns of keeping the film build as low as possible, he suggested one coat of well reduced epoxy, left to sit for an hour, then two coats of 2K primer/sealer. I had planned to let this flash and go wet on wet with the (solvent) base, but ran out of time. The next morning I gave the primer a quick sand down and gave it two coats of black base, then my cocktail clearcoat.
From experiments in the past I’ve found I can get a great satin finish with good durability by mixing 10% of DeBeer 8-214 scratch resistant clear into their 1-105 matt clear. Two coats of that later and it was looking good.
For those of you into your MTB’s the bike itself is a Specialized Demo 8, 2012 model. Apparently £5k worth of bike, with just the aluminium and magnesium frame being £2.5k of that! Even though it was brand new he wanted it painting so it was unique. He’s sending me some photo’s when it’s built up, then he’s off over to Whistler with it to start his new job.
Some pics I took along the way:
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010706Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010709Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010710Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010712Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010714Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010715Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010716Large.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i321.photobucket.com/albums/nn385/Duluxdude/Work/Robs%20MTB/P1010717Large.jpg[/IMG]
Getting back onto topic somewhat 😉
It seems DeBeer heard about my little trial run with a different product and are coming in on Monday armed with some products for me to try :dnc Basically a faster hardener than I’m currently using, and what they call a taping additive (a catalyst/accelerator). It should give me much the same finish and longevity that I have now (it’s the same clear) but with the option to speed things up if I need to.
But to be fair, speeding up the process isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. I have the job down to a steady rhythm and flow, where the 30 minutes that one car is baking in the oven next door gives me plenty of time to mask, clean, paint & clear the next. As one comes out of the oven, the current job is painted and ready to slide across into it, and there’s one waiting outside the booth for me to do next. I’ve tried speeding things up, but I’m marginal on flash times for the base, the prep guys can’t always keep up, and the polish/de-prep guy certainly can’t!
What I am trying to do is cut down on energy bills. Gas prices have risen hugely here over the past couple of years, and it’s a real issue. As Ryan says we can be baking 80+ cars a week when we’re busy, which is a whole lot of gas. What I’d like is to keep to my 30 minutes cycle, baking as normal for the 3+ panel jobs that are unsuitable for a really fast clear, but then the many smaller jobs can get sprayed with the quick stuff and left to air dry in the booth without the burners on. There’ll always be some residual heat in there from previous bakes so it’s much warmer than out in the shop. Plus there’s less chance of someone brushing past an un-cured job in the organised chaos that is my small but busy workplace!
That’s why I’m looking forward to trying what DeBeer has to offer. Rather than flipping clears and gun set ups for the different types of job, I simply put in some additive for the little jobs, and leave it out for the big ones. Plus it gives me the option of baking with the additive if I really need something out quick, which happens once in a while (usually just before we leave work on a Friday night!)
I’ll let you know how it goes….
A bit of a mixed bag then.
I assumed that such a fast cure time would come at a price, with die back being it, which is why I thought I’d better check. I’ll keep an eye on both cars and see how they go, providing they hang around on the sales lot long enough!
Smooth – I did have a brief trial of a similar Nexa clear, and have also used the DeBeer Speed Clear. I liked the performance of both and the jobs seemed to last well, but the price of each was pretty high . Maybe I need a sit down with the bean counters to work out if the higher product cost would be offset by the other savings to be had.
[quote=”Ben” post=26085]Blending into 1 adjacent panel doesn’t use a whole lot of material. Doing that would be cheaper than redoing jobs and pissing off the customer, would it not?[/quote]
If there was a “like” button on this forum I’d have just clicked it.
For me it’s generally more bother NOT to blend. As you say Ben, materials (and time) aren’t really an issue compared to reworking a job.
I’ll only go edge to edge with colours I have sprayed many times before and am absolutely sure will match.
If in doubt, blend it out….
[quote=”Paintwerks” post=25870]
When painting whites and silvers, I ALWAYS use a brand new disposable spray suit (Tyvek) for the job.[/quote]
Wow! I’d be out of a job if I did that. That’s at least half a dozen suits a day for me 😆
To be honest I very rarly wear a suit at all. I had my 2 year old DeBeer one on the other day as I was doing a larger than normal job (full paint bar the roof on a Sovereign Silver Astra), but with our normal stuff (between 1 and 6 panels) I don’t bother. I know I should, but I just don’t like em.
Didn’t get any less crap than normal in the Astra either. A few nibs here and there, but the suit didn’t make any difference except to make me sweat like a pig :rofl
I used to work with guy that had the motto – “always rely on your buff”. There are plenty of them out there :wak
Another thing I always wonder when watching these kind of shows is how do the cars look a few months down the line? They have so much product thrown on them in such a short space of time, it’s got to be a recipe for some world class shrinkage…
[quote=”bondomerchant” post=25788]sometimes i swear its a mind over matter or…..black bits thing ever notice if ya dont give a crap ya never get em :wak[/quote]
Agreed 😆
For some jobs I’ll really take my time and do everything by the book, but they often come out with more bits in them than the ones where I just throw the paint on in between sanding the filler down on another job outside! :rofl
Harry – I can’t see much wrong with your general outline, but I think you’re right about the LPH80 being just a bit small for this job. It’ll manage, but bigger would be better.
By the time you’ve feathered out that scratched and primed up, you might be too close to the front edge of the door to blend the colour out, so I’d consider doing the front wing/fender panel. It’s only tiny so you might as well if there’s any doubt. A dark primer will help coverage on that colour.
I don’t know how much you plan to strip that down, but the mirrors come off very easily from the outside with a hex/allen key (just don’t drop the wiring plug inside the door!), the chrome trims come off pretty easily too, just watch for the little finishing piece at the front end of the rear quarter trim. It slides out forwards before removing the rest of the trim. If you remove the plastic arch cover expect to break a few clips. As for the door handle – I usually mask them up as they are such a pain to remove :blush: but if you have the time it’s worth the extra effort.