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Hints & Tips

Winter Driving

Monday, 13th December 2010

Winter - Respect the elements Weather during Winter is unpredictable. Bad weather can strike suddenly, so the best advice when severe weather hits is to stay off the road. If you must drive, make sure you are prepared for the conditions. Plan...
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Painting Tips

Wednesday, 7th December 2011

Before attempting to coach paint a vehicle the paintwork or bodywork must be inspected closely to see what kind of repair method may be necessary. Assessment is the first task to undertake before commencing any repair as the repairer or coach painte...
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Coach Paint

Thursday, 8th December 2011

In the old days, the art of coachpainting was a much slower affair than it is now. Back then the painting of carriages or motor vehicles took a month or so to complete, from start to finish, using synthetic enamels. Nowadays, however, the process is ...
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Primers

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Primers: The term primer has become a much misused name to describe a primer coating, Primer is a primary or foundation coat offering the first layer of protection prior to building up subsequent paint layers. There are many different kinds of prime...
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Rubbing Down

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Rubbing down: Do not confuse the term rubbing down with polishing. Rubbing down means the surface is literally rubbed down to a matt finish using coarse abrasives with a view to paint. Polishing means polishing the surface with ultra-fine abrasives,...
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Application of Undercoats & Colours

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Application of undercoats and colours: The application is probably the most important quality because the material has to spread evenly and hold up without forming runs or sags. Adding about 10% of linseed oil to gloss or about 20% gloss to an under...
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Runs or Sags

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Runs or Sags: These are caused by too much paint material being applied. Temperature can also affect drying times which can lead to runs or sags because the paint is allowed to stay wet too long and will start to slip off the surface. The paint cons...
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Sinkages

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Sinkages: Sinkages usually occur after a few months have elapsed and may be due to the whole paint system failing as a result of continued shrinking, To avoid shrinkage the paint system layers should be left for an extra week allowing each applied c...
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Blistering or Peeling

Thursday, 8th December 2011

This is usually caused by trapped moisture which when heated by sunlight will expand and burst through the substrate in the form of blisters. Peeling is generally caused by moisture where sufficient time has not beenallowed for the surface to dry tho...
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Cleanliness

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Cleanliness: Do not brush the floor prior to painting final gloss or varnish as dust will be introduced into the atmosphere which will settle on paintwork and spoil the finish. A good idea is to soak the floor just prior to painting or varnishing be...
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Varnishing

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Varnishing: Varnish should be applied with a Namel-Var brush designed specifically for applying varnish and the task of varnishing should be carried out on a warm, dry, still day with no wind. The Hamilton traditional oval shape Namel-Var brush is ...
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Polishing with Rottenstone or Pumice

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Polishing with rottenstone or pumice: Use moderate pressure when rubbing with the felt pad in straight strokes, checking frequently as you go to avoid rub through. Continue rubbing until you obtain the level of gloss required: this can range between...
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Driers

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Driers: Too much drier can spoil the paint or varnish. It is strongly recommended to only apply the correct percentage of drier when adding to paint material. An overdose of driers can undermine adhesion and damage the finish. Oil-based paint dries ...
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Turpentine

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Turpentine: Turpentine is a commonly known dilutent for synthetic oil based paint but should also be noted for its other lesser-known properties. Turpentine is obtained from the pine tree and the sap extracted by steam distillation. After the steam ...
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Paintbrushes

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Paintbrushes: It is false economy to buy a cheap brush-especially when you have spent a considerable amount of time on preparation only to have it spoilt by the poor performance of a brush. It is always best to purchase the most expensive brush, lea...
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Brush Cleaning

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Brush cleaning: Usually paint brushes are cleaned in turpentine or white spirit if oil-based and warm water if emulsion. Either way they should also be washed out in soap and water allowed to dry thoroughly. A brush should be stored in its original ...
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Skin Drying

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Skin drying: Gloss and varnish finishes form a continuous solid film when dry but are liable to skin dry, which means the outer exposed surface has dried but the surface underneath remains soft. Skin drying prevents oxygen from reaching the inner la...
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Discolouration

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Discolouration: Colours can alter on their own even if kept in dark places and when a colour is varnished it might tint a little towards yellow. White is more noticeable with regard to discolouration. If an object is placed on a white painted window...
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Cellulose

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Cellulose: Cellulose is a completely different material from the conventional air-drying synthetic oil-base materials. Cellulose or nitro-cellulose dries by evaporation of a spirit solvent, not by the oxidation process (as do synthetic oil-based pai...
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Paint

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Paint: Paint has been used for thousands of years and has been recognised for the following three purposes: Decoration, preservation and sanitation. Decoration goes back as far as the stone age with evidence of cave painting. Preservation was part...
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Preparation

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Preparation: Flatting down can often expose inner paint layers or bare metal, particularly if the paint area has been repaired or simply through removing rust. These areas will require extra attention prior to repainting by flatting or feathering ba...
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Wet Flatting

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Wet flatting:This is simply a way to flat down an area with wet-or-dry abrasive paper. Water lubricates the paper and eliminates dust. Rust is a prime concern on panels whether it be surface or ingrained. Sand blasting is an ideal method of removing...
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Guide Coat

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Guide coat: This is a method of applying a contrasting colour to the substrate very lightly to use as a guide when flatting, very useful for showing low spots or other paint defects that may require further rectification or stopping. A guide coat al...
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Primary Colours

Sunday, 1st January 2006

Primary Colours Theoretically there are only three colours : Red, Yellow and Blue, all other colours are made from these three. Two primary colours mixed together will produce a secondary colour: Orange, Green and Purple.Primary colours cannot be cr...
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Secondary Colours

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Secondary colours Produced by mixing two primary colours. The secondary colour is halfway between the two primaries. Mixing Red with Yellow will produce Orange, Mixing Yellow with Blue will produce Green and mixing Red with Blue will produce Purple....
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Tertiary Colours

Thursday, 8th December 2011

Tertiary colours Colours produced by mixing a primary colour with one of its secondary colours. Mixing Red with Orange produces a Red Orange. Mixing Blue with Green produces a Blue Green. Mixing Yellow with Orange produces a Yellow Orange. A greate...
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Application Techniques

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Various application methods are available to coat metal, the most common being spray painting and electrodeposition (EPAb, p. 20). Coatings also can be applied by dipping parts into tanks filled with paint and then allowing the excess paint to drain ...
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General Description of Spray Systems

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Paints and coatings can be applied to surfaces in a number of ways. Industrial coatings often are applied on a production line using spray application techniques. Curing is done usually by an accelerated curing operation involving heat, surface catal...
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General Description of Spray Systems

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Paints and coatings can be applied to surfaces in a number of ways. Industrial coatings often are applied on a production line using spray application techniques. Curing is done usually by an accelerated curing operation involving heat, surface catal...
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Pollution Problem

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

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General P2 Options

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Emissions of VOCs from coatings application can be significantly reduced by substituting a paint with a lower solvent content (e.g., high-solids, waterborne or powder), and by increasing transfer efficiency. The type of coating and the application me...
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Transfer Efficiency and Paint Application

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Improvements in transfer efficiency can lead to less paint waste and lower emissions of VOCs. Transfer efficiency depends on a large number of parameters. Some of these parameters are under the control of the operator, while others are not. Important...
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Strategies to Improve Transfer Efficiency

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Following are methods that facilities can use to increase their transfer efficiencies: Stand closer to the workpiece. A typical gun-target distance is 8 to 12 inches. In general, as the distance increases, transfer efficiency diminishes. As the dist...
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Set Application Standards

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

The monitoring of applied film thickness is critical to ensure that a uniform and consistent coating of paint is being applied. Too thin a coat will result in premature failure in the field, while too thick a coat represents excess cost and waste. Ot...
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Adopt Proper Manual Spray Techniques

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Untrained and hurried workers using poorly maintained equipment can contribute to the need to rework products and to clean up and dispose of wasted coatings, thereby increasing costs. A well-trained operator is far more important than the type of gun...
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Improve Current Operating Practices

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

Improving operating practices is another cost-effective pollution prevention method for reducing the amount of wastes generated. The following methods require minimal capital outlays, and can be very effective (KSBEAP, p. 21): Segregate waste stream...
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Conventional Air Spray (LVHP)

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

General DescriptionConventional air spray technology, which has been the standard for the past 40 years, uses a specially designed gun and air at high pressures (i.e., 40 to 90 psi) to atomize a liquid stream of paint into a fine spray. This technolo...
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High-Volume/Low-Pressure (HVLP) Air Spray

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

General DescriptionAs the name suggests, this technology uses a high-volume of air at low pressures (i.e., 0.1 to 10 psi) to atomize paint. This technology reduces overspray and improves transfer efficiency. HVLP guns have nozzles with larger diamete...
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Low-Pressure/Low-Volume

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

General DescriptionLow-pressure/low-volume paint spraying, which is similar to air-assisted airless, is a relatively new development. Paint and air separately exit through the spray nozzle into a secondary fluid tip assembly. The exiting paint stream...
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Airless Spray

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

General DescriptionAirless spray does not use compressed air. Instead, paint is pumped at increased fluid pressures (500 to 6,500 psi) through a small opening at the tip of the spray gun to achieve atomization. Pressure is generally supplied to the g...
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Electrostatic Spray

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

General DescriptionThis spray method is based on the principle that negatively charged objects are attracted to positively charged objects. Atomized paint droplets are charged at the tip of the spray gun by a charged eletrode; the electrode runs 30 t...
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Other Methods

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

This section presents brief descriptions of a variety of other paint application methods, including electrodeposition, various dip processes, and direct application methods such as roller and flow coating. Electrodeposition/Electrocoating (E-coat). ...
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Paint Booths

Wednesday, 21st December 2011

A paint booth is an enclosure that directs overspray and solvent emissions from painting operations away from the painter and toward an entrainment device. Spray booths are designed to capture particulate matter that is released into the air during c...
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