Spraying Duratex

[rec]

Will this get the job done?
http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/ ... 66103.html
or do you have a better recommendation
Thanks

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

That's what I use. Get a shut-off valve to place on the air line at the gun, as it's a constant air flow design.

[rec]

Thanks Bill

[DJ Higgumz]

I'm a noob to spraying, but we have a new gun kit and I bought the spray grade duratex. what does it take to spray? do I need to thin/mix it? also i bet I need to clean the guns when i'm done, do I just put thinner in the reservoir and spray it till its clean?

[Traijin]

I'm a noob to spraying, but we have a new gun kit and I bought the spray grade duratex. what does it take to spray? do I need to thin/mix it? also i bet I need to clean the guns when i'm done, do I just put thinner in the reservoir and spray it till its clean?

Duratex is waterbased, as long as it has not set up, water will get the basics clean. For a complete clean or dried on residue, paint thinner may work, but a stronger solvent might be needed. Something like lacquer thinner or xylene would work, neither of which do a body good. Don't breath the stuff. I spray applied two part catalyzed finish on my SLA's, I am glad I had a respirator, the cleaning was especially aromatic. The Duratex is not nearly as nasty as far as aromatics and VOC's. It does dry fast in the hopper. I do fill up my HVLP tank and spray the thinner through to clean my nozzle and fan, but your hopper will take some more work to get clean.

Don't hesitate to take it apart, when in doubt, a can of brake cleaner (the old school nasty VOC stuff, not the new green formulas) from the autoparts store will clean just about anything when used liberally. **Be careful though, the stronger the solvent, the more risk of eating up plastic parts, I don't know if your gun has anything plastic or not.

As far as thinning, if it is needed, water will work. Try a test shot on cardboard to see how if flows. Most spray guns have to be tested and their settings tuned to work with the viscosity of what you are shooting. Duratex is about a forgiving as it gets. I hope this helps a bit.

[DJ Higgumz]

alright thanks. i tried coating the mouth with cheap dollar spraypaint for a base coat, and 3 cans gets me halfway to the front of the visible mouth area... mainly because inside the mouth is the b side of the ply, and it just soaks it in like a sponge. i'm probably just going to forget about a base coat and just do plain duratex. since it should be thicker it shouldn't take so much to spray it.

[Bruce Weldy]

alright thanks. i tried coating the mouth with cheap dollar spraypaint for a base coat, and 3 cans gets me halfway to the front of the visible mouth area... mainly because inside the mouth is the b side of the ply, and it just soaks it in like a sponge. i'm probably just going to forget about a base coat and just do plain duratex. since it should be thicker it shouldn't take so much to spray it.

Spend 15 bucks for a gallon of flat black latex......It makes a great base coat for duratex and after several cabinets, you'll still have some left over. A four inch roller gets up in the mouth easily.

[DJ Higgumz]

Maybe for a t39, (I see you haven't built a t60 in your signature) but it is hard enough getting a spray can in the mouth. With the duratex or even spray grade paint I could just shoot it in the mouth. Whatever is seen will be sprayed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my prediction

[DaveK]

Maybe for a t39, (I see you haven't built a t60 in your signature) but it is hard enough getting a spray can in the mouth. With the duratex or even spray grade paint I could just shoot it in the mouth. Whatever is seen will be sprayed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my prediction

You are right, but you will not like the results. The problem is everything seen is sprayed ... but not evenly. The stuff up front gets a heavy coat and starts running long before you have satisfactory coverage in back. My solution is to hand paint the entire mouth with a primer coat, making sure I get all the nooks, crannies, and corners. Then spray a texture coat for appearance. You can't see the texture in the back so you don't need to get even coverage on that coat as long as you have total blackout from the primer coat.

[DJ Higgumz]

Alright that makes sense, I'll have at it before I put on the side to make life easier

[Grant Bunter]

Just a thought...
Would your spray "carry" further and more evenly with the access cover off and driver out?

I wouldn't know, just thinking the air driving the paint has somewhere to go...

[DJ Higgumz]

i wouldn't spray with the driver in anyways but yeah that would help.

[dave_clancey]

Hello. I use the same unit. I've added a small regulator at the gun.