Lil more work done, despite the high winds out here today and cloudy conditions... actually remarkably warm today (got up to about 73 or so-- unheard of for January!-- makes me shudder to think what things will be like in a couple months or so!
) Having to run the A/C in the house just to keep it from getting too stuffy... it's too early for this crap...
Anyway, I picked up some Valspar "Metallic" 85052 Silver yesterday at Lowe's, and shot the rocket with two coats... well, first I did a compatibility test with the paint on the Rustoleum primered bit of spare BT-60 I installed above the Atlas to keep paint out of the rocket body itself (and nosecone shoulder area). This new paint says "recoat anytime" and "quick drying" and the contents on the back list "acetone, ethylbenzene, xylene, petroleum distillates, aluminum, and psuedocumene." Nowhere on the can does it say what the formulation is, whether it's an enamel or a lacquer... but the "quick drying" and "recoat anytime" tells me that either it's a lacquer or it's a HOT enamel... So, rather risking alligatoring the whole rocket, I decided I better do a compatibility test firsthand... after a thick first coat on one side and lighter on the other, and then a pretty heavy second coat (I figured the heavy first coat would be the most likely to attack the underlying primer, and that a light coat might actually work, so I tested both, THEN put a pretty heavy coat on again just to see if it would cause problems with the first coat or underlying primer then-- spaced about 15 minutes apart.) Both coats went on well with no real problems, and dried pretty smooth and even. I have to say, I LOVE the paint, but I DESPISE the stupid "locking can nozzle"... it's innovative, in a way-- you twist the "trigger guard" part surrounding the nozzle to "unlock" the can trigger, and twist it back when you're done to "lock" it again and prevent something from unexpectedly mashing the button... The nozzle itself seems to be the problem-- it's VERY crappy-- it sorta "sputters" or "spits" the paint out, in a mish-mash of VERY coarse almost globule-like droplets, but also a lot of "fines" and mist which the wind of course whipped everywhere today, despite be going behind the house out of the wind to spray... I put a coat on the rocket and thought it REALLY looked crappy-- globby and messy looking, and went over it again because it looked somewhat pebbly or sorta like "dry spray"... Then I thought it was on TOO thick and likely to run, so I was pretty disgusted. I have an old motor casing firmly taped to an old curtain rod I use for a spray handle, and I figured I'd have to "rotisserie" the rocket for a half hour like I did the last Atlas I did, when spraying it with the dreaded Krylon "Chrome in a Can" which turned out to be an absolute nightmare... that stuff went on kinda sloppy and too heavy, but it was VERY runny and it took some VERY careful manuevering of the rocket to keep it from running! Well, I have to say, I was VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED when, over the next couple minutes, the stuff seemed to lay down and flow out quite nicely, eliminating the pebbly globby-looking surface when it was first shot, and after about a minute of rolling the rocket on the paint stick it looked like it was well set-- and safe to stand up to dry. I put the rod into a box on the porch to stand out in the wind and dry, while I returned to doing laundry. By the time I got another set of clothes hung on the line, I checked on it and it looked REALLY good... Almost decided not to give it a second coat, but then I thought about it and figured I should just to ensure everything was well covered, so I took it behind the house and shot it again. Same story-- looks too dry and pebbly, then the second pass makes it look to wet and globby, looks like it's thick enough to run, but it doesn't... rolled it 30 seconds or so and stuck it back out to dry, and went in the house. Came back about 20-30 minutes later, and it looked DRY... so I gingerly touched it in an inconspicuous location, and it WAS DRY! :y: Now, maybe it was the 72 degree southwest wind blowing 15-20 today that dried it that quick, but still... that's pretty darn good!
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I brought it inside and stuck it, still on the paint stick, in the corner out of the way... I could still smell the smell of paint, so obviously it isn't CURED, but it was dry to the touch, and layed down really well... sort of a "satin" aluminum look-- not quite "chrome" but not just a "metal flake silver paint" look either... it LOOKS like brushed aluminum...
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Here's the pics... it was cloudy so the second one is a bit underlit... probably should have gone out in the yard at the least...
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Once I can't smell the paint anymore, I'll mask it and paint the LOX tank a frosty-flat-white...
Later! OL JR
