In the light of Pats passing, here's a (paint) Tech tip thread. Place yours here!
Need to store small quantities of one shot? Use small baby food jars and store them CAP DOWN and the paint will be ready to go when you are.
Need a nice light Mahl stick? A nice aluminum or graphite arrow shaft (archery) makes a nice light stick!
Posted by W. R. Pickett (Member # 3842) on :
..Poke a few holes in the (top) edge of gallon cans, wet paint can drip back into the can.
Posted by ScooterX (Member # 2023) on :
line your roller trays with transfer tape. make's clean-up a breeze.
(on a side note, i've found that learning to paint wasn't that hard. it took me a LOT longer to learn how to handle the paint containers, clean up, brush washing, removing the skinned paint, and all that stuff without covering myself in paint. THAT's the difference between the pro's and the dabblers.)
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
I don't have any personal tips from Pat . .
But here's a couple of my personal gems that have helped me out of a lot of tights, or for everyday convenience:
PREVAL Airless spray unit A glass jar with a 'freon-like' propellant sprayer. Sprays up to 16oz. For smaller things where you want a custom colour you can't beat these things. I use them with any oil-base paint including automotive paints. Also great as 'airbrushes' on larger work where the paint gun would be too big and airbrush too small. Also great for on-site work, like putting a nice, custom finish on a sign frame or something. Pick one up at automotive paint supplier. Refills available for glass jars.
DUPONT Mid-Coat Adehsion Promoter (think the number is S-22) Dupont rep says: "Ya can't scrape it off glass with a razor blade." Perfect for anything you fear paint won't stick to: Hard hats, IMRON, any plstic thing...whatever you have a 'doubt' about paint sticking to, this will end the question. Goes on clear - over-spray virtually invisible. Use a preval unit to spray it.
Hope this helps.
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
Scooter...that is a good one for the roller tray.
Another one like that . . .
~You know those cheap smaller plastic garbage bags that are worthless for holding garbage? Slide one over the roller tray. Remove inside out & toss into a 'real' trash bag when done.
Also, right after rolling oil-base paint when you know your going to apply a second or 3rd coats....stick the roller (with it still on the handle), in one of those cheap garbage bags or a plastic wal-mart bag and twist it around the handle-base where it meets the roller cover and chunk it in the freezer. You may re-use it as soon as you take it out...no thawing required. (lol)
*Note: Some people feel this is a disasterous invitation for some sort fo food contamination... I have been doin' this for right at 15 years, (with only one bag) and have never tasted any paint from this procedure.
HOWEVER, if you have this fear...use common sense:
~Wrap it with two bags...
~Don't lay it on top of any raw open food or ice trays in the freezer or even on top of closed sealed packages in there.
~Do not try to cook it and eat it, or use it to chill a drink. Posted by Rovelle W. Gratz (Member # 4404) on :
A friend used to spray his paint bench and roller trays with GRIP-MASK.
Posted by Michael Boone (Member # 308) on :
some DONT tips...
Dont touch paint to see if it's dry.. . Do not substitute paint for beverage....
Do not let customer prep a background unless you own an all terrain brush
Dont let the dog in the kitchen after you had a brainstorm and decided to learn to letter there and forgot a quart of oneshot was on the counter when you moved the board
Dont hold a thinner-laiden size 20 mop in yer mouth facing into the wind and try to fire up a Camel shortie with a big wicked zippo.
Dont find any humor at all in wise-ass customer dunking your favorite 22 brown Langnickel in your can of cheap rot gut beer that he bought for you when you turn your back to letter his boat..
Dont stand on the top step of a tripod fruit pickin ladder with no cord to keep the tongue from sliding out while installing a sign for your insurance agent as he watches
Dont letter a sail boat in the hot sun on the weekend with lots of wave makers trying to buzz byand watch ....while trying to lay on your side ina canoe.....with a hangover from Hell
Dont letter a shuffleboard under a grove of giantoak trees in nut-falling season,especially if you forgot your knee pads..
Dont letter a truck that has been de greased by a customer all the time thinking he did it properly
Dont be the only sign kid on the block that neverstuffed a xylene soaked rag in his back pocket
Dont be so foolish as to think a half full can ofrubbing compound sitting on a swim platform of a cruiser doesnt enjoy a swim on a hot day..just like we do..(lids also have a fettish for water)
Dont be afraid to get at least1/2 your paint back from a high falootin blowhard that didnt get to the bank to make his deposit...all summmer...even if it means using an ice pick and some 24 grit sand paper on the transom of his 1938 all wood 30 foot sailboat...word travels fast around a marina.. you may even get some money up front the following spring!!!
Dont be afraid to break into a racers shop and steal his $500 floor jack ..if doesnt pay..that makes them change their mind FAST!
Dont ask the customer what color his lettering job requires...just bring em all!
Dont give anybody a good deal pricewise... EVERBODY you work for has friends...
Dont trust lawyers...
Dont give realtors a good price
The Do list comes later.....
Posted by Bobbie Rochow (Member # 3341) on :
Use your nose oil on your finger to catch a mistake while you are painting.
Never stick your wet brush behind your ear like a pencil!
Posted by Linda Silver Eagle (Member # 274) on :
Do not try to hand letter any signs that contain phone numbers when you are tryin to teach your young'un how to count. I did and had to keep redoin it all afternoon cuz I kept paintin the digits in "order" LOL.
I do Sheila's bag trick with the tray/roller set up.
Used to hand letter a crap load of paper banners for a drugstore chain back in the day. I would lay the first one out and paint with 1-Shot bulletin colors, dried in time to lay the next one down and was able to see through the top one and paint it without having to draw it out again. 12 of everything, LOL...whoosh!
Always keep a spare set of clothes in your vehicle in case of an accidental spill...you may never need them but if you ever do, you'll be real glad they're there instead of having to decide on gettin a massive amount of red paint on your beige car seat or riding home nekkid to prevent it lol!
Posted by Alicia B. Jennings (Member # 1272) on :
Measure twice, paint once!
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
LOL Mikey!! Posted by Sonny Franks (Member # 588) on :
Michael, your list had me rolling (and worse, remembering)
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Sheila, the bag in the freezer didn't work for me- I put it in one day (having used enamels) & sort of forgot about it, then got married, & totally forgot about it. Many months later, I couldn't figure out what this peculiar taint was that all the meat in the freezer had, and even a loaf of bread would pick it up after half a day in the freezer. Joan did a big defrost 6 months later & answered all our queries. I'm still suspicious of anything coming out of our freezer- it was an awful taste!
Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :
When they get low, exhale into cans of oil based paint as you seal it, its supposed to help expel the O2 that causes paint to skin. This trick seems to work rasonably well for me, perhaps because I have more volatiles in my exhaust God only knows what your particular expectorants will add. Why use app tape to line your roller tray when you can use shopping bags? Why use shopping bags when you can let the buildup form into a .25" skin that can be peeled off and disposed of as a solid or sold as a work of modern art...
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
A possible paint tip I've been playing with.... Everywhere I go I see signs with paint failing down to the MDO surface in places where there was white. Twenty years ago you'd see the enamel peeling off the primer, but today's primers seem to be the failure. I've been adding pigment to the primer giving it color thinking that perhaps I might stop the UV penetration that goes through white. Benn doing this for the past year, and it'll take a few more to find out if it works or not.
Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
Never go up on a swing stage, or any high scaffolding, and attempt tp paint anything.....if you have diharrea. Posted by Rovelle W. Gratz (Member # 4404) on :
When lettering the bottom of a skateboard, its easier if you turn it over.
Posted by Darryl Gomes (Member # 98) on :
That "nose oil" mentioned above.. comes from the "outside" of your nose.
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
When preparing to coat out any sign surface... For a smooth as possible finish.... Perpare a closed spot, clean it wet it down if needed and leave it for a while to let the dust or debris settle..... To prepare the roller for being lint or dust free, layout some transfer tape, upside down, sticky side up, roll the roller a few times for cleaning it off...... (This is especially good for the candy striped roller covers with short nap) Go to contained area, (Paint strained?) and roll on the paint....... It has always worked for me like magic! Also add a little Penetrol, to the paint before straining......... Like GLASS!
CrazyJack
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
Gee Ian . . .I dis-claimered all I could on that post . . . I hope I did not mislead you by seeming to insinuate that I re-used the SAME roller cover for 15 years!
I seldom leave 'em in there for over a month, although . . . I actually once left two rollers wrapped up (separately) this way for about 6 months . . .people would come over...go in the shop fridge for ice and say; Hey!...Ya know you got paint rollers in here?" (lol) I go, "OH! I been lookin' for those! So THAT'S where I left 'em..."
BTW: Freinds have never commented that the ice tastes funny from that freezer . . . it's my old, really old, shop fridge and there are worse things about it for funny feelings concerning consuming anything from it . . .(lol)
PS: Paint tip #39: Do not 'stand back' to study your work while standing on a scaffold . . . . . .
[ January 30, 2005, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Sheila Ferrell ]
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
When doing exterior paint work in the winter, (or any time you need to work around the weather), use One Shot hardener.
I just finished a corrugated metal wall job, I'd stop 1.5 hours before sunset, the wall was facing the setting sun, that helped,also the color was dark on light wall. Every day I returned to work, the first thing I checked was if the night air and dew point messed up the paint. Not once, the paint was always dry and glossy.
Posted by Mark Stokes (Member # 5351) on :
I store my enamel paints in a 1 litre sauce bottle like container its great no skin on top.
Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :
Just a thought to any paint company owners reading... Why not sell paint in cardboard casks like cheap wine? No skinning inside, skin at the tap could be either peeled away or cleaned off with a bit of solvent. It would make life easier when colour matching because you can add small amounts with ease. The only down side I can see is the inadvertant skulling of a nice glass of rhodamine. Paint benches may never be the same. Please send royalty cheques to the address on the signature of the post.
Posted by Bill Diaz (Member # 2549) on :
If your a painter -- have a wall to paint on that tilts forward at the top -- 1" for 8' is fine. Drips will fall away from your work area, and you will easily get used to the tilt. If you save a few drips per each job, this will easily pay for itself in labor saved.
Posted by Gene Golden (Member # 3934) on :
Rovelle, Where were you before I bought my skateboard lift and mini-dolly? Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
Hey, welcome aboard to Mark Stokes! Are they the tomato-sauce kind of bottle?
Sheila, it must have been a poor grade of plastic bag that couldn't hold the fumes in for a couple of years in the freezer- I'll have to make a complaint somewhere!
Cordless drills- the great labour saver, although they can encourage some contortionism on ladders, just try not to swallow the screws.
Old hacksaw blades make good paint stirrers. Break them into the length you need.
Ultrasonic cleaners ARE good.
Clean your brushes & guns immediately or you'll regret it & take longer to remedy the mess than if you'd done it sooner.
Posted by jack wills (Member # 521) on :
Yea, Hey Bill Diaz, I remember that we used to build our Billboard racks with a 2-3 degree tilt at the top.
CrazyJack
Hmm, I guess it don't matter with vinyl?
Posted by Artisan Signs (Member # 3146) on :
I never use a roller pan.
I lay a nice flat piece of cardboard on the floor (18" x 24"), and pour a puddle on it.
I only pour a 10" diameter puddle at a time, and when I am done, I "roll out" the little left over, and I can use it over, and over again.
I haven't cleaned a roller tray in years.
When i am done rollering, I lay a piece of Saran Wrap on the work bench, and "roll" the roller up in it. Twist the ends, and in the fridge it goes. Lasts for months.
Posted by ScooterX (Member # 2023) on :
Bob's post reminds me of the puddle and roll method i use-- i put down a patch of tape (12" by 12" or bigger) on the work bench for small roller jobs and use it as my palate. the roller tray is only for 4x8 sheets or for when i'm out at a job site. (I have a tote bag I use for groceries, so I don't have extra bags lying around... but i bought a whole roll of 15" transfer tape from a brand i found out i don't like to use, so i use it up that way.)
Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
For those of you who buy windshield washer anti- freeze for your vehicles, the jugs that it's sold in can be quite handy. When empty, these can be used as roller trays if you're using a smaller roller. Simply cut away one side panel, but keep the pouring spout intact. Lay the jug on it's side, pour in your paint, and roll away. When finished, uncap the spout and tilt the jug to return any unused paint to it's container. You have the option of throwing away the jug, or letting the paint dry in it and re-using it again when the paint's dryed out. The type of plastic that these jugs are made from tends to prevent the paint from sticking to it. When a thicker layer builds up, it can simply be peeled off and properly disposed of. This makes those jugs re-useable, many times over.
Posted by William Bass (Member # 4929) on :
When my dad owned his shop, I didn't do much but prep 4x8's:
Good quality but disposable foam rollers...throw em away after you're done!
Poured paint right on the 4x8 (put on too little? add a bit more. put on too much? if you're prepping two boards roller a bit on that--on the BACK of the panel, tho--or roller a bit on a scrap or a big piece of cardboard) Usually not a problem, tho. After a few times you can pour what you need.
We mainly used roller trays (or scraps of wood or pieces of cardboard or whatever) for small jobs, like a reversed panel on a sign.
Not saying these are the best ways...just the way I did it when I was little in Dad's shop.
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