Chris
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[quote=”Mal” post=33003][quote=”NFT5″ post=33001]$20 an hour? :huh:
Here that would barely get you a 4th year apprentice. Even average painters are asking $30/hour and a really good one over $50.
I’ve been looking for a decent painter for ages and offering an $80K annual package including open ended productivity bonus. Haven’t had any luck finding one that actually wants to work.[/quote]
80k! Where do I sign up lol :dnc[/quote]
Australian Embassy, mate.
“Speak English?”
“Oim Oirish”
“Close enough….Occupation?”
“Spray painter”
“You’re in”😆
When painting wheels with a full size gun the width of the fan will catch you out and you can very easily recover areas already done with resultant runs. You can wind the fan in and reduce fluid and air flow but that just chokes the gun up so it’s not working the way it should.
A smaller gun will allow you to get around all the spokes putting clear just where you want it and a 1.0mm tip will work fine with most clears. The little guns tend to atomise finely so you can get a wet coat but quite thin, which is what you want. It can also be a lot lighter which is good if you have a lot of wheels to paint – holding a full size gun with full pot out at arm’s length with all the movements needed to do a wheel can be quite painful.
$20 an hour? :huh:
Here that would barely get you a 4th year apprentice. Even average painters are asking $30/hour and a really good one over $50.
I’ve been looking for a decent painter for ages and offering an $80K annual package including open ended productivity bonus. Haven’t had any luck finding one that actually wants to work.
On the subject of contamination I noticed yellow dust on the cars today. So begins 3-4 weeks of hell as pine pollen covers everything in sight. Every jobs to be thoroughly washed immediately before going in to the booth, booth dors only opened for as long as it takes the get the job in/out, outer shop doors kept closed, double prepsol everything and still get tiny fisheyes all over the job. I can deal with the cold but there is no escaping this stuff. :unsure:
You guys don’t overthin your flowcoat?
Using a 2:1 clear I’d normally add 15% to 20% thinner. Bit trickier with the 4:1 clears but 10% seems to be OK..
Have to watch the runs, of course, but only need one coat.
[quote=”Andy T” post=32918][quote=”Ben” post=32917]
Why do people from Great Britian have to muddy up the English language? :lol[/quote]
Don’t even get me started on where you dreamt up some of the names for body panels :blink:
What’s wrong with bonnet, boot, sill, wing & bulkhead? :lol:[/quote]
Bonnet, boot, sill, [b]guard[/b] & bulkhead. Bulkhead? WTF is a bulkhead? 😆 😆 😆
Ships have bulkheads, planes have wings and basketball teams have (de)fenders. Cars have (mud)guards.
Just to muddy things up a bit more we use thinners almost universally too, but lacquer is something used in timber finishing and acrylic is the 1K paint used on cars (whether clear or base coat or solid).
No wonder confusion reigns here sometimes. :rofl
I once, by mistake, put 2K thinner in an activated solid paint that called for basecoat thinner. It turned in to something resembling soured milk. Since then I only use the thinner/reducer that is specified in the Technical Data Sheet.
[quote=”ScottB” post=32885] A threaded plastic lid is not as convenient to maintain. Can you clean it thoroughly after each use? Yes. Is it as easy and fast to clean as a better designed metal cup and lid? No. The gun paid for itself.[/quote]
Yes, agree on this. Could be better and I prefer metal cups, too.
Martin, one of today’s efforts with the AZ3 HTE2. Used Nason 496-00 Clear on this one which is brand new VW Tiguan due for delivery to the buyer tomorrow so looking for match to factory peel:
[IMG]http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss334/cprscc/Painting/Pic015_zps0eb154d6.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss334/cprscc/Painting/Pic021_zps8800a372.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss334/cprscc/Painting/Pic018_zps9f0a4071.jpg[/IMG]
[quote=”martinMK” post=32867]So..
I finally made my choice.. I will get AZ3 HTE Mk II in 1.3mm
http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product.php?tid=79&products_id=6096From other forums I had read that there is a problem with spare parts and repair kits.. kinda not available always..
Since I am on a tight budget and the gun does not come with a wrench, the additional cost of $80 for a wrench is crazy.. is there another way / substitute wrench.. [/quote]
I have one which I use for clear on smaller panels. Too good for just primer and TBH I have other guns that do a better job given that the AZ3 is 1.3mm.
It does need to be set up correctly and kept scrupulously clean. Using MS clear it lays down beautifully. Flat as glass in 1.5 or 2 coats.
Star gun spanners will fit perfectly (I have a stack of spares if you want one :p ) or just use a 17mm ring spanner for the fluid nozzle.
[quote=”ScottB” post=32872]
I bought an AZ3 three years ago for primer. It’s still working fine and I use it weekly. Plastic cup is not designed for longevity. It’s not worth buying a replacement metal cup when the plastic one is too tired to use. I’ve spoken with Iwata about this gun and they consider it disposable and not worth rebuilding. That’s why rebuild kits and parts are limited and their cost won’t justify a rebuild. You don’t need a special wrench for it.[/quote]Funny, I looked at parts supply before I bought mine and they’re readily available here. Maybe just a support decision by Iwata US?
Mine gets daily use and cup is as good as new. What kind of issues are you having with it?
Good choice, I think.
Just go for the better mid-range stuff. Some of the big brands have guns that they sell at lower prices but are near the quality of their top range products. FinishLine 5 from Devilbiss (better than the FinishLine 4 IMO), AZ3 HTE2 from Iwata are two examples.
I had a look at their range on the web site and it’s quite extensive. Some very old designs there too that may be their own. It’s not just Sata and Devilbiss that appear to have been copied. They’ve copied Star guns as well and some others there that I recognise.
I have seen their copy of the Star 710. Interested because I have two of them. Medium fan guns, HP but atomise well and good for base on smaller jobs. Mine are about 12 years old and, like most Star products, as reliable as the day is long. Saw the copy in a tool shop and had a good look at it. Looks the same but casting quality is poor, finish is very ordinary and trigger feel is nothing like the original. They even gave it the same model number which I thought a bit cheeky. If this is representative of the rest of their products I wouldn’t bother wasting money.
That said I had a StartingLine kit a while back and it fairly quickly made its’ way to the bin. Devilbiss should be ashamed to put their name on such junk. There are much better options out there for the same money.
I didn’t take this pic for quite this purpose but, if you look in the reflection you can see how we do exhaust flues here. That’s the back of a big panel shop across the road from mine and each of the tall flues is a booth or convertible prep bay, plus two more out of sight in this photo. Basic rule is that exhaust be 3m above roof level or any intake and the logic for this is that any isocyanates will dissipate sufficiently to be of no danger if released at that height. Might be worth thought in your plans…
I thought that I studied the rules fairly well before we built our booth and don’t recall any restriction on power points (could be wrong). At any rate, there are two doubles in my booth and they’re worth their weight in gold. I can run extra lights, heat lamps, IRs or even use them for other things while maintaining, including a vacuum cleaner. They are the external type with covered socket.
Obviously any local regulations you have would take precedence on both these points.
[IMG]http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss334/cprscc/Painting/Picture005_zps5ff808ff.jpg[/IMG]
Yep, wash your microfibre towels in hot water using liquid, not powder, washing detergent. Only use a brand that looks clear, not milky like some because these have the same fine grit that powders have. Makes your clothes feel like they’ve been starched but stays in the towels and will scratch the paint. Finish the microfibre towels off in the dryer for super softness but never use fabric softener.
We wash the car after compounding and are then really fussy about cleanliness. Fold microfibre towels in quarters and keep changing the face you use, then change towels often.
All straight off the gun? Nice work.
Have to love red fire engines, way better than the greenish yellow we have here. That red looks a lot lighter in the daylight. Not quite a real “fire engine red”?
Good news, Andy. Nothing wrong with a SMART repair, but doing it out in the weather has hairs on it.
I quite often do my painting at night. It’s far more efficient – no phones, no customers. Just get on with it.