So, my boss sent me an email “We want you to write a paint blog”.
My reaction was “What is a blog?” You see I am a 60-year-old man who just about manages with
Excel, but one thing I have learnt over the past 37 years in paint is your
never too old to learn! I turned to my son and he told me to be amusing, informative
and interesting. The term “it’s as much fun as watching paint dry suddenly came
to mind” Funny thing is I like watching paint dry it is when it does not, I get
worried!! Regardless of all that here we go! I have spent all my life in the paint industry, I have sold
paint, made paint, spilt paint, and even made proper messes with paint! So, who might be interested in this “sort of blog?” If you regard painting as something that must be done at the
end of a job and if it stays on the job that is a bonus, then do not waste the
next 20 minutes of your life reading my waffle. However, if you are the sort of person who wants to find out
why paint seems to have a mind of its own, one day it goes on like a dream,
next day it looks like an early cave painting applied with a twig, then this
might be the blog for you. I can show you how with a small amount of expense on some
very basic ancillary items combined with some new disciplines, you can turn the
cave art into a premium finish time after time. The biggest challenge in my job is when I visit a customer
who has contacted me about a paint job that has gone wrong. The customers and
professional then often get anxious about the cost of the rework so, with these
tips hopefully you only have to do it the once! Now I’ll not try and pretend that every job I have looked at
over the past 37 years is down to application rather than a material problem,
but I would estimate 90% could have been avoided using my top 10 tips below! My Top 10 Tips! 1.Before you paint anything read the technical
data sheet – this will give you information about the performance and
characteristics of the product. 2.Read the label on the can – As simple as this
one sounds it’s often overlooked. ‘’It only does what it says on the can” (If it
is the right thing in the can.) 3.Bring the paint, any activators, and thinners into
the paint shop environment well before it is mixed. Good idea to have an
internal paint cabinet in a dedicated mixing area to store the next day’s paint
overnight and stabilise temperature. 4.Stir all the paint and hardeners well before mixing.
Do not use a bit of old round rod as this has no effect other than giving you
bigger biceps. Paint needs to be stirred with a flat edge to mix it so buy
yourself some metal stirring sticks a small investment, but you’ll see the
difference! Or if you want to take the work out of it, we sell air paint
shakers that will do the job effortlessly. I have lost count of the times I
have visited a customer on a colour complaint who is using the rod, then stands
awkwardly by while I use a proper stirring stick and a kaleidoscope of colours
suddenly appears from the bottom of the tin. 5.Next get some clear graduated mixing cups, far
better than an old coffee jar. With a clear plastic mixing cup, you can control
the amount of hardener and thinners more accurately with the different mixing
ratios shown on the side. Why guess when you can be accurate? 6.Now to the mixing, ensure you know the correct
ratios (they matter) someone has spent hours locked in a cupboard somewhere
working out the best mixes for your paint. Incorrect mixing causes drying
problems and sheen level variations. Always add the hardener to the base and mix
well before adding the thinners. Doing it the other way round gives a false
mixing ratio. Once mixed, leave the paint to stand for a few minutes to allow
everything to react. 7.When mixed use a fine cone paper strainer just
in case crumbs from your biscuit or sausage roll fell in it while mixing or
even some pieces of dried paint. At this stage do a trial spray out to see how
the paint is spraying, too thick and it could spit out the gun or look like
orange peel on the surface or even look like strings of candy floss floating in
the air (pretty but to find a use for it). Too thin and it may not cover and be
runny. This is a good opportunity to check the colour and sheen is as it should
be. We supply black and white coverage cards and Q panels that you can retain
sprayed out samples on for future reference, super handy! 8.Once the paint is spraying and giving the
quality of finish, it’s time to set the future standard. You will need a
Viscosity cup (commonly referred to as a flow cup) to measure the viscosity of
the paint. These are low-cost reusable cups with a fill level indicator at the
top and a hole at the base which is a recognised diameter i.e. No4 Cup. Place
your finger over the hole and fill the cup with the mixed paint to the level.
Holding the cup over the mixing cup remove your figure and time how long the
paint takes to draining out of the cup. The time is measured until the first
break in the flow and is normally recorded in seconds i.e., 35 seconds flow cup
No 4. Next time you mix the paint the aim is to get the same reading. If the
time is longer you need to thin more, if its faster you need to thicken the mix
– Simples! 9.I often hear customers say, “I don’t understand,
I used the same tin yesterday and it came out with a lower sheen and slightly
different colour -nothing’s changed!!” One of the most common reasons for
differences in finishes is the thickness the paint is applied at. As a rule,
the thicker the paint the more the gloss level goes up and the stronger the
colour gets. So here is my next tip, we sell reusable wet film paint gauges
that are low cost and so easy to use. If you measure the thickness with a dry
film, gauge after the paint is dry the deed is already done and you are into
rework if it’s wrong. With a wet film, gauge guess what you measure the wet
paint so you can apply more coats straight away if your low on paint. The gauge
will leave a small impression in the paint so choose somewhere on the job that does
not show. Start low as its easier to add than take away. It is also easy to
calculate the dry film you will get from the wet film, remember that data sheet
at the beginning, look for the solids content of the paint. Say it says 60%
solids and your wet film reading is 100 microns, once the paint has dried the
thickness will be approx. 60 microns, if its 50% and your wet film is 120
microns you got it, the dry film will be approximately 60 microns. 10.Final
tip – if you are using a paint that needs to go in an oven to cure, under or
over curing will change the colour and gloss level. The stoving temperatures
quoted are not oven temperature they are object temperature. Think of it like
cooking a chicken on the BBQ, the coals are glowing bright red, and your
eyebrows burn when leaning over it, but if you do not leave the chicken on long
enough to cook through its bad times ahead. We can supply a simple laser
temperature gun that will measure the surface temperature when aimed at the object
in the oven, you can then calculate how long you need to leave items in for. So,
if you see a stoving schedule on your data sheet of 20 mins @120c that means
the object must reach 120c and then be timed for 20 mins. So now we can stop the paint having a mind of its own,
record and set a std for everything, follow some basic procedures and repeat
each time. It might seem time consuming the first time but will save you a world
of trouble in the future! HMG Coatings South can supply all the items mentioned from
our online shop and we are happy to offer more advice and even source products
for you! I hope you found this blog useful, I guess there will be a
“Like Button” If there are other areas you would like me to blog about let me know. “Is that ok boss?”
