Spray Automotive clear coat?

fiolledapool

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi,

I saw today in a accesories car store a automotive clear coat but in Spray format (bottled), expecific for cars, I know that more cuemakers here apply automotive clear coat but in spray-gun,

some cuemaker tested spray atomotive clear coat (bottled)??


51EC6KXSANL._SL500_AA209_.gif
 

dave sutton

Banned
I know a guy that uses that for shafts... For the $$$ youd waste there id just buy a cheap touch up gun and a compressor and a gallon and be done... The "booth" would be the same youre still applying...
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
The big problem with the consumer stuff is that it is solvent based, one-part finish.

So, like Shellac from the by-gone era, the solvent evaporates leaving the solids behind.

The 'real' auto finishes are (typically) catalyzed acrylic urethanes that are essentially a two-part epoxy that is thinned to spray.

It still has solvent in it to thin it out; however the 'drying' is actually a 'curing' process wherein the 'epoxy' reacts and sets into a solid.

This is a superior finish in just about every way as compared to solvent-based finishes.

One-part finishes have to be applied in VERY thin coats, and allowed to dry thoroughly between coats. It can take a few weeks to apply a solvent finish (I did a lot of Nitrocellulose Lacquer finishes on guitars so I know this first-hand) as opposed to a few hours to apply a two-part finish. As an added time saver, the two-part finish can be blocked the following morning in most cases.
 

QMAKER

LIVE FREE OR DIE
Silver Member
Clear coat

hi,

I saw today in a accesories car store a automotive clear coat but in Spray format (bottled), expecific for cars, I know that more cuemakers here apply automotive clear coat but in spray-gun,

some cuemaker tested spray atomotive clear coat (bottled)??

I used some several years ago which I got from a friend of mine who owns a body shop specializing in Mercedes. It was approved by MBZ for touch-ups
and worked great on cues. The cost was $100 for 6 cans, probably enough to do 12 to 18 cues. I don't have any more of it but I think it was called Clearcoat #1. I stopped using it because of the health hazards as I do not have a spray booth.
 

fiolledapool

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi,

I used some several years ago which I got from a friend of mine who owns a body shop specializing in Mercedes. It was approved by MBZ for touch-ups
and worked great on cues. The cost was $100 for 6 cans, probably enough to do 12 to 18 cues. I don't have any more of it but I think it was called Clearcoat #1. I stopped using it because of the health hazards as I do not have a spray booth.

so if you dont have booth What Clear coat have in your cues? Epoxi? water borne?
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
Uggh.. That water-based finish (well, the one I tried anyway) was HORRIBLE! Slower than Lacquers to dry; very soft, not a good enough gloss (not for a guitar anyway) that was a big waste of money for us, but we did try it. (Couldn't get high from the fumers either!:mad:)

I think I'd rater do a super-glue finish than a water based one. (and I HATE super-glue finish!!)

I had a plastic-sheet "phone booth" with 12 muffin fans mounted in the window for a spray booth. Worked great!:grin-square:
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
Old spray booth is long gone! (along with the old guitar shop).

New booth is attached...

Basically, I took out a window, cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to fit the opening, and drilled a dozen holes in it. To this I mounted 12 muffin fans (computer cooling fans- get them used for FREE most of the time). They each move 100 CFM, so I had 1,200 CFM of air movement.

I built a 2X3 inch frame from floor to ceiling and wrapped it with plastic. Opposite the fans (which were near the ceiling) near the floor I duct taped in a big air duct filter (with that blue fuzzy crap in it) to filter the incoming air of saw dust.

On the ceiling I had a block of 3/4 inch pine with a deck screw and a washer on it. Around the screw and above the washer (poor man's bearing) I twisted a wire coat hangar to support my work and allow me the ability to spin it 360 degrees easily.

Outside the plastic I had several 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging, several on each wall for a flood of light in the area. Keep the electrical stuff outside the booth if you can...

Also outside the booth was my compressor and water separator for the air line. I used a VERY cheap 'door jam' gun for spraying. Now a days I have a beautiful SATA that I use for everything....

Basic, but effective!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4159.jpg
    IMG_4159.jpg
    93.3 KB · Views: 2,978

fiolledapool

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Old spray booth is long gone! (along with the old guitar shop).

New booth is attached...

Basically, I took out a window, cut a piece of 3/4 inch plywood to fit the opening, and drilled a dozen holes in it. To this I mounted 12 muffin fans (computer cooling fans- get them used for FREE most of the time). They each move 100 CFM, so I had 1,200 CFM of air movement.

I built a 2X3 inch frame from floor to ceiling and wrapped it with plastic. Opposite the fans (which were near the ceiling) near the floor I duct taped in a big air duct filter (with that blue fuzzy crap in it) to filter the incoming air of saw dust.

On the ceiling I had a block of 3/4 inch pine with a deck screw and a washer on it. Around the screw and above the washer (poor man's bearing) I twisted a wire coat hangar to support my work and allow me the ability to spin it 360 degrees easily.

Outside the plastic I had several 4 foot fluorescent shop lights hanging, several on each wall for a flood of light in the area. Keep the electrical stuff outside the booth if you can...

Also outside the booth was my compressor and water separator for the air line. I used a VERY cheap 'door jam' gun for spraying. Now a days I have a beautiful SATA that I use for everything....

Basic, but effective!

thanks for sharing
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
You might consider trying KTM-9 from Luthiers Mercantile.

Thanks for the info, but no-thanks. I'll stick with the highly toxic stuff!

I will mention that the newer finishes are WORSE than the older ones to apply. I recently painted a Unimog and that paint was abysmal!!!
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
Cue Guru , what is your clear coat methond?


What exactly are you asking? The specific materials I use, or the procedure, both?

Anyway, I sand to a very smooth finish- but not glossy... around 400 I stop sanding.

On guitars I used a sanding sealer; I think it was from the maker of my Nitrocellulose lacquer but I'm not 100% on that. Then the clear. On the first cue I just piled on the automotive clear. (free tip: flexible parts additive to the clear can reduce cracking a lot!!!)

Once set (the next day) I begin the blocking process. On guitars it began with 400 wet, 600 wet, 1000 wet, 1500 wet and then the buffing process.

Coarse buff, fine buff. Then (once smell is completely gone) glaze, then finally wax (One Grand wax).

On the cue I did my sanding dry on the lathe with full sheets of paper as the cue spun. This has the same effect as wet sanding with a block- it gets the finish totally level, which is absolutely required to get a high gloss (reflectivity) from it. It takes a while but it's worth it. You can clearly see every little (and big) imperfection in my cue now!:wink:
 

Arnot Wadsworth

Senior Cuemaker
Silver Member
Thanks for the info, but no-thanks. I'll stick with the highly toxic stuff!

I will mention that the newer finishes are WORSE than the older ones to apply. I recently painted a Unimog and that paint was abysmal!!!

This forum is entitled "Ask The Cuemaker" for a reason; that being so that a person can ask a question and get an answer from someone who knows what they are talking about. You Sir Are Not A Cuemaker yet you keep on implying that you are.

Nobody here cares about guitar making (there is probably a forum for that) so please take that information to the forum it would be appreciated.

As to water based finished - I have been using them for a few years and as my experience grew with them the finishes became better and better. Now I use the "Finish Cure 20 minute epoxy (includes resin & hardener)" from Prather Cue and a couple coats of water based finish from General Finishes. The finish on my cues is fine. It is clear and hard yet not brittle.

Please don't mislead thase inexperienced cuemakers with your wrong information.
 

scdiveteam

Rick Geschrey
Silver Member
Nice Booth

Hey Cue Guru,

Love your booth. Very professional!!! :)

Thanks for the great post.

Buy the way I like the fact that you share info from your guitar experience. I have been wet sanding only after spraying my cues. On my next finish I am going to try dry flat sanding before wet sanding and buffing.

I ran into a cue maker in Vegas last month who told me he does the same thing and his final finish was awesome.

When it comes down to finishing there is always something you can try that might produce a better result.

"A mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open. ":wink:

Rick Geschrey
 

Cue Guru

Close, but no roll...
Silver Member
Mr. Wadsworth:

I understand your position, and I have been patient until now to not disrespect you, in spite of your constant disrespect and attacks on me personally because I am not a full-time cue maker.

Yes, the forum section is entitled "ask the cue maker" I do not argue that point. Please also note the name of the specific thread entitled "Spray Automotive Clear Coat?" Maybe if the exact same topic was in the general forum you would be OK with my answer to the question? (Which, by the way, would have been exactly the same.)

I have a great deal of experience spraying Automotive Clear Coats on cars, trucks, motorcycles, guitars, bicycles and even a cue. That is what was asked and I felt that the forum could benefit from my experience in this area.

I am merely passing on that experience with the product directly related to the topic at hand- I am not jumping down the throat of another poster do discredit them and let the world know their opinion on the true subject at hand is invalid because "You Sir Are Not A Cue maker yet you keep on implying that you are." I am someone who has made a cue, and in process of another which I have posted here step-by-step for the world to see.

Water based clear coats was a derailment of the thread that you embraced in an attempt to discredit me. And my experience with water based clear, when I used it, was not a positive one, and I therefore relayed that information to the forum. I am pleased you have had good results with the product(s) you have chosen to use on your cues. Both pieces of information are an opinion, and the wise reader will collect all the comments and opinions and move forward on their own accord.

I respect you as a cue maker, and I also have respect for the quality of the work you do. However, do not use the fact that I am not an established, full-time cue maker to discredit the useful information I provide to the other members of this forum. You also had a first and second cue. Just like everyone else who has ever made, or currently makes, cues full time or otherwise.

I think I have been tolerant to your attacks and respectful to you and the other members of this forum throughout this but enough is enough. If you do not appreciate my replies to questions then do not read them. You can put me on your ignore list as well if you prefer. Or, PM me any time for my e-mail and phone number and we can discuss this like proper gentlemen.

Thank you Mr. Wadsworth for taking the time to read this, and my deepest apologies to other members of this forum for this outburst. I sincerely hope this is the first and last time this happens.
 
Top