posted
Hey All, Does anyone else out there use the Ronan Aquacote paints? I've been using them as a coat-out paint (not to brush-letter with), for a few years and I actually love them. They have good coverage, no bad smell, dry quickly, good adhesion, etc.
I guess my main question is one of longevity. How long do they last outdoors? I moved away from the area where most of my signs are installed, so I haven't been able to study the effects of the weather on the paints.
Like I said, I really do love the stuff and I intend to continue using it. So... please let me know if there is something I should know about in the long run.
-------------------- 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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But I haven't been using them long enough to let you know about the durability. There is a learning curve. I've used them to letter banners, and I've used them for a lot of backgrounds, but I haven't done a lot of primary lettering with them yet.
I love that they dry quickly. Two sides of a board in one day -- even when its raining outside. Yeehah!
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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Gene, I lettered an home heating oil truck (stainless) the week after the Mars meet in 2002 with Ronan Aquacoat. I was out of white 1-Shot! It has held up fine on the truck, no chalking, still looks great. (altho how could ya tell if white faded?) Love....Jill
Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Gene, It's funny you should ask. My One shot supplier (pearl arts and craft in case One shot is listening)Located form Alexandria to A location 20 miles away. So, I go the the store to stock up. They were out of Reflex Blue, Primrose Yellow, Fire Red, and Black and White.
They did have 40 cans of Robin egg blue, 30 cans of Lemon yellow.
They had The auqa-coat. I bought it. I tried it. I loved it.
One shot should pull the rug from under this distributor and let someone else carry the product.
PS. none of the cans of paint had a price or a bar code. So I had to wait 30 minutes for the newbie teenie-bopper to look up in the catalog each price.
-------------------- Mike Duncan Lettercraft Signs Posts: 1328 | From: Centreville, VA | Registered: Oct 2000
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I use a thinner that is made for latex paints (not Floetrol) called "Wet Edge" Extender, available at Duron Paint. It is purple in color, but it doesn't affect the color of the paint - even white. It is a thinner, it dissipates well, it extends the "open time", and it doesn't add any of the "filler" or milky emulsifier stuff present in the Floetrol.
The Aquacote seems to take a good bit of this thinner without breaking down.
Still waiting to see if anyone else has durability/life expectancy information.
-------------------- 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 need inspiration to switch to using it for wall lettering and awnings again. I have some really old Deka sign enamel jobs which was basically the same as Ronan. The black wall lettering stood up so well you can't tell the difference from bulletin enamel really and it seems to hold the gloss longer. You can paint vinyl with the waterbourne. I did a truck job with painted vinyl (ivory) side by side with silver metallic vinyl. The painted looks just a little flat next to the totally fried silver, after ~7 or 8 years. I think the brighter type colors fade faster than oil though.
-------------------- Steve Vigeant Berkeley Signs Oakland, CA. Posts: 55 | From: Oakland, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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David would that be a lighter shade of pale?
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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Speaking of Deka paint (per Steve), I lettered a 4' x 24' vinyl banner, white bkrd., red 36" letters, double coated, and after 7 years facing south, this banner looked as good as the day it was installed. Only thing was that the white banner got discolored, propably road dirt. The lettering showed no fade or chalking.
-------------------- Curt Stenz Graphics 700 Squirrel Lane Marathon, WI 54448 Posts: 590 | From: Marathon, WI 54448 | Registered: Dec 1998
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I am absoultely surprised by how few people have actually tried the Aquacote paints! I hear everyone talking about latex and acrylics, and here we have a sign-industry quality paint that is virtually unknown? I'm still waiting for long-term info PLEASE.
-------------------- 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, about 90 percent of the guys who use paint here fall into four categories: 1. pinstripers. (they aint gonna be using Ronan any time soon.) 2. people painting HDU signs 3. Olde Skool lettering artists with a fistfull of quills that aren't suited for waterbased paint 4. people who only use paint with rollers, for backgrounds.
so, given all that, it takes a while for people to adopt "new" technolologies.
also, there is a learning curve to waterbased paints. i'm still at the lower end of that curve. i imagine a few people tried it, but weren't happy with the way it turned out and maybe they're embarassed to admit it.
-------------------- :: Scooter Marriner :: :: Coyote Signs :: :: Oakland, CA :: :: still a beginner :: :: Posts: 1356 | From: Oakland (and San Francisco) | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
I have been using Aquacote recently to topcoat panels etc. for window-promo jobs. I like the coverage as well as the colors. It dries fast and is not as expensive as it may appear based on the forementioned. I lettered a Race Car last week and was tempted to do it all with these paints, but had only a limited amount of colors on hand, so I relied on "old faithful" One-Shot(still my favorite). But the more I use the Aquacote, the more I buy. I really like the way it flows off of the tip of the brush, and I hope it proves to be durable as well. I did use Deka for awhile and did a couple of indoor wall jobs where it really excelled. It would set up fast without sags or drips and the lo/no odor factor was really important for those jobs. The stuff was hard to remove from skin and once you dropped some on your shoe or whatever that was it. I did have a couple of failures with it on some window work although. I know that the Deka-Air works well and fast on vinyl and can be masked right away too. I do hope that Aquacote expands there pallete.
-------------------- Rich Stebbing RichSigns Rohnert Park CA 707-795-5588 Posts: 755 | From: Rohnert Park, CA | Registered: Nov 1998
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