Lets try that again from the top with words this time! ... > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Allan Cazaly > Sent: 29 August 2007 22:40 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [canals-list] Re: NWF - can't go! ******** PAINT > SPRAYING CONVERSION ********* > > > --- In [email protected], "Bru Peckett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Allan Cazaly wrote ... > > > > <..> > > > > > 1) Procure an old working electric chip fryer. > > > 2) Procure a large paint kettle or similar to fit in the chip > fryer. > > > 3) Put some water in the bottom of the fryer. > > > 4) Fill the paint kettle with the enamel boat paint and heat up > the > > > paint until it is very hot - DON'T LET IT BOIL - > > > 5) Spray the paint hot. > > > > Bl**dy hell! I wouldn't try this at home :-0 > > ***********I WASN'T AT HOME!***
OK, DON'T TRY IT *** ANYWHERE *** (since we seem to be shouting :-) ) > > > > I'm amazed that you didn't at the very least set fire to the whole > Heath > > Robinson outfit and an outright explosion was very much on the > cards! > > ************* A TOTALLY UNJUSTFIED COMMENT SEEING THAT YOU WERE NOT > THERE TO SEE THE ARRANGEMENT *** A totally justified comment - I don't need to see the arrangement to know for a bleedin' fact that heating solvent based paints in a device which was not designed for the purpose and is capable of temperatures up to 190degF plus is bloody dangerous!!!!! > > ************RUBBISH - THE PAINT WAS IN THE WATER THAT WAS HEATED UP. > THERE WAS NO EXPOSED FLAMES OR SPARKS EVEN IF SOME OF THE SOLVENT WAS > EVAPORATING. I SHOULD HAVE MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WAS THE WATER THAT > WAS VERY HOT GIVING OFF WISPS OF STEAM? AND THE PAINT WAS BEING > MONITORED DURING THE HEATING PROCESS, UNTIL IT WAS *RIGHT* *** So what? Never heard of spontaneous combustion? (OK, very very unlikely I know but ...) Or, and *much* more to the point, sparks from electrical switchgear INCLUDING THE THERMOSTAT ON THE DEEP FAT FRYER!!!!!! Or the on/off switch for that matter. Or a lightbulb going 'pop'. It doesn't need some pillock to strike a match in the vicinity to ignite solvent fumes, somebody walks in and turns on, or off, the lights (possibly even after you've knocked off for the day) and KABOOM. Any electrical gear within the 'spray booth' ie; in this case the wet dock (and ideally there simply shouldn't be any - not even light fittings) needs to be ATEX certified for use in a potentially explosive atmosphere and you're fryer most certainly wouldn't be ... nor for that matter would any of the electrical equipment in the dock (lights, power points etc.) Sorry but NOTHING you can say will *ever* convince me that spray application of solvent based paints is a safe and viable option for amateur boat painters period and even for pros it ain't safe in ANYTHING other than a purpose built properly constructed spray booth with suitable explosion protected lighting, fume extraction and so on. And that's BEFORE you start doing something as incredibly dangerous as heating solvent based paints up to temperatures well above the flash point of the bleedin' solvent (which, if steam was coming off the water the paint was sitting in, you most certainly were doing) using electrical equipment designed for use in a kitchen rather than an explosive environment. Oh and I note you don't address the other 'minor' point about exceeding the paint manufacturers spec for application temperatures! (see below) <..> > ************YES I WAS WEARING A MASK AND WAS PROTECTED FROM OVERSPRAY > FROM HEAD TO FOOT, ESPECIALLY MY HAIR!*** That's a relief to an extent but what sort of mask? When I said a respirator I *meant* a *RESPIRATOR*. That's breathing apparatus with either a self contained air supply or an air supply drawn from outside the spray booth not just a mask. There isn't a mask on the market that will filter out the airborne particles from paint spraying and it's nasty stuff. In the bad old days, I used to know some old boys who were paint sprayers where I did my apprenticeship and back then all they had were face masks. They all wheezed like nobodies business and they mostly died young of lung disease. Oh and they were high as a kite a lot of the time too! (Oddly enough, at a time and in an environment where nearly everybody smoked cigarettes or a pipe, very few of the paint sprayers were smokers. The only one that was blew himself up when he lit up *outside* his spray booth! He wasn't, fortunately, badly hurt just slightly singed and scared out of several years growth. Spray booths weren't as sophisticated in those days and even though there was a 2' dia extractor fan on the back wall, enough fumes had snuck out of the door to create an explosive atmosphere just outside the booth). > > 'em, is that the ambient temp needs to be tightly controlled during > both > > application and drying. Not easy to achieve in your average wet > dock. > > > > The other problem, IMO, is that if you get a spray paint job right > the > > finish is far too good! That may sound daft but a high gloss coach > > finish a la Rolls Royce is the last thing you want on your average > > narrowboat 'cos it tends to show up every little imperfection in the > > steelwork. > > ************ FORTUNATELY MY STEELWORK HOLDS UP VERY WELL WITH A HIGH > GLOSS FINISH*** THE PURPOSE MADE SHELL WAS A SUPERB JOB*** Fine if that's your thing, not to my tastes though and never looks, to my eye, right on a narrowboat And you say youself that your finish has problems - I quote: "my finished product, although an excellent finish, suffered from ending up very hard. The downside of this is that my finish tends to "chip" if knocked on corners". That's almost certainly a consequence of exceeding the upper application and/or drying temperature spec of the paint (and in any case coach paints for spray application tend to suffer from chipping at the best of times - front edge of car bonnet anyone?!). Not what *I'd* call the ideal finish for a canal boat but each to their own. > Personally, I find a well applied brush finish much more > > suitable and with a little practice a good hand with a paintbrush > can > > achieve a very nice finish indeed (it's all in the laying off) > > > > <..> > > > ************* WHAT ABOUT THE INSECTS THEN? *** What about 'em? If you wait until the paint has dried and then gently cut back the the final coat with T-Cut or similar you won't be able to tell where the insects were unless you inspect the paint with a magnifying glass. The mistake most people make is trying to remove the smaller insects when the paint is still tacky! Once you've laid off the paint (with the brush) leave well alone for several days after which any little insects (and there *will* be some!) which have got stuck to the surface will simply brush off leaving only the almost microscopic tips of their feet behind in most cases. Larger insects that would leave a significant blemish don't usually get stuck to tacky paint, only wet stuff, and are removed when you lay off. If there are any bad blemishes they can be retouched if you're really fussy but, when all's said and done, it's a narrowboat not a flamin' Roller! > > > > I could no do tis, so I hired a road compressor and made up a > > > conversion piece from the coarse bayonet road compressor fitting > to a > > > snap together garage air line fitting. <..> > > You can get, and really should use, proper commercially made > adaptors > > ************** A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ADAPTOR IS NOT (AS FAR AS I > KNOW) AVAILABLE. What? To adapt from standard construction to standard industrial fittings? I think you'll find they're readily available! Unless it was some esoteric non-standard fitting you needed????? It's an everyday bit of kit, we had a big bin of the buggers at the hire firm where I used to work! Dixon Europe Ltd. part number STD801! (See below ...) I've delivered road tow compressors with industrial airline adapators more times than I can remember (we even had one trailer compressor, a BIG one at that, which had an industrial airline output built in - it was usually used as a standby compressor when a garage or factory compressor was down for repair or servicing). I agree that a single phase portable electric compressor won't run an industrial spray gun though but the hire industry has off the shelf solutions to that 'cos it's a not uncommon hire request <..> > ***********NO ONE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER THE MADE UP FITTING *A BODGE* > IN FACT IT WAS VERY PROFFESSIONAL USING CORRECT BRASS AIR LINE > FITTINGS!*** Fair enough, the original text gave me the erroneous impression that it was something mackled together in some way. From the above I suspect you made up the usual arrangement of a standard small bore Euro Hose Coupling (3/8" or 1/2") to a stock 'N' series coupling with a short length of hose. Perfectly acceptable arrangement (provided, as I assume was the case) all hose and couplings were rated above the maximum output of the compressor or the adaptor was installed after a suitable regulator). Oh and as for the road towed site compressor being regulated at 114psi .... don't you believe it! Yep, they have 'regulators' but they're crude, crap and quite often inoperative!! The standard method of repair is to give 'em a belt with a lump hammer until they give in and give up (I kid you not). The exception was the big jobby I mentioned earlier which, because it was intended for use as a standby compressor as well as a large capacity construction site machine, had a decent quality industrial pressure regulator on the industrial airline output (but still only had the crude job on the three construction bayonet fitting outputs - probably to avoid the Paddys belting the decent regulator with the aforesaid lump hammer when not enough air was coming out!) Bru PS. Apologies for the reply with no reply! Not sure how that happened
