posted
Okay, 28 years of signmaking and I just used 1Shot Hardener for the first time.
Questions:
Since it claims a pot life of 3 hours, does that mean that it is totally useless now? What about touch-up a week from now? How about using it as a mixing color 2 months from now?
Does each additional coat of paint need to have the hardener in it?
Any other unforseen problems I may encounter with it?
-------------------- Gene Golden Gettysburg Signs Gettysburg PA 17325 717-334-0200 genegolden@gettysburgsigns.com
"Art is knowing when to stop." Posts: 1578 | From: Gettysburg, PA | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I've just started using it this year so I'll give you my 2 cents. I think three hours is short for pot life. I spray it and I'll leave the left overs in the cup liner and it thickens up overnight but doesn't get hard. I have thinned and reused it but I try not to. Normally I only put hardener in the final coat. Try to mix about what you need and throw out the rest when your done.
-------------------- Eric PA Posts: 149 | From: Intercourse, PA | Registered: Jun 2004
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Gene..if it says a pot life of 3 hrs...it means 3 hours.
I made the mistake of ignoring that advice once when painting a car. I screwed up one panel and went back the next day, sanded out the run, and then poured the "thickening" leftover paint back into the gun and reduced it to sprayable consistency. It dried just great, except it was all cracked and sort of slightly shinier than primer!!
You CAN touch up without hardener at a later date, but would be wise to add hardener to the touch up paint too.
Since it has a pot life of 3 hours, about all it would be good for in a couple of months would be for use as a hockey puck!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
the biggest unforseen problem youre gonna have its that its gonna be hard. Once you use the hardener,to be safe use it in all subsequent coats...like dave just said,sometimes it may not cure up fully since its oil based,but you can just about bet $$ that its gonna look dry and crackif you rethin it and try to reuse it. No way is it gonna flow right. As far as saving it as a tint color,what happens alotta times if it does manage to remain liquid,when you dump a previously catalyzed product into a freshly catalyzed one is that it starts to kick about 5times as fast as it would have before and you wind up with a grand crappin gelled up mess. Using hardener in the last coat only is very much not a good idea..when the catalyzed material on top starts biting into the uncatalyzed layers underneath there's more than a real chance that its gonna lift or wrinkle whats under there....may not happen the first 2800 times,but eventually it will....when you deal with catalyzed materials a good rule of thumb to remember is that your job is only as strong as the bottom-most layer...catalyzed on top needs catalyzed on the bottom
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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Forgot to add...most times if you touch up a catalyzed product with an uncatalyzed one you will more than likely be able to tell the difference in gloss and later down the line it will probably be the spot where it starts to fail
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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LIKE GAVIN SAID I'D MAKE SURE TO CATALIZE THE BASECOAT FOR STARTERS.THEN CONTINUE TO CATALIZE THE TOP COATS OR GRADIANT FADES ETC.AS FAR AS POTLIFE I'VE NEVER BOTHERED TO SAVE MY MIXES I'D RATHER CLEAN THE POT OR AIRBRUSH BOTTLE AND MIX A FRESH BATCH IF I FEEL LIKE TOO MUCH TIME HAS LAPSED.IF I'M USING ALOT OF COLORS I WONT CATALIZE A REDUCED BATCH TILL THE LAST MINUTE BEFORE I USE IT.
Now how about a clear over top of this (1Shot UV Clear or Frog Juice)? Do they need the hardener in them too or can they be straight out of the can? Part of this job is hand painted pictorial.
-------------------- Gene Golden Gettysburg Signs Gettysburg PA 17325 717-334-0200 genegolden@gettysburgsigns.com
"Art is knowing when to stop." Posts: 1578 | From: Gettysburg, PA | Registered: Jun 2003
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Gene..If you are using hardener in the base colours, it would defeat their purpose to not use hardener (catalyst) in the final clear. A large part of the reason for using catylists is to create a tough finish. If the top layer of clear isn't catylised then it isn't as tough as the underlying paint and might not even adhere well.
As far as One-Shot UV clear vs. frog juice..I would think it would be most appropriate to use the same manufacturer for the clear as the base colours.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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