Replace stock spray can nozzles with "caps" made for graffiti artists?

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Winston

Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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I've got real issues as I'm sure many rocketeers do with the various nozzles Rustoleum and Krylon have been using lately. Either the spray pattern is poor for our purposes or the nozzle dispenses too much paint and/or spits. That led me to look for replacement nozzles and I've found plenty of them intended for graffiti artists. I've described via email what our hobby needs to various on-line sources of these spray can "caps" as they call them but have received no response. Anyone have any ideas about which tip would be optimal for our use? It's hard for me to tell from their artist-intended description. Anyone ever tried this? If not graffiti caps, have you found other type of caps to use and places to get them on-line?

List of cap types

https://granjow.net/sprayCaps.html

One on-line source of caps

https://www.grafcaps.com/
 
I got a bunch of caps once from the "bomber science" (as in, spray bombs, not terrorist related activities...) and the "thin" ones seemed preferable to the "Fat" ones for use with the Rusto enamels I was using at the time. It was great to have extra caps on hand for when the stock cap got plugged.

Not sure if this helps at all... haven't used them much in a while.

Marc
 
I got a bunch of caps once from the "bomber science" (as in, spray bombs, not terrorist related activities...) and the "thin" ones seemed preferable to the "Fat" ones for use with the Rusto enamels I was using at the time. It was great to have extra caps on hand for when the stock cap got plugged.

Not sure if this helps at all... haven't used them much in a while.

Marc

Did they plug up easier??

That's the tradeoff... smaller orifice means finer atomization (at a given pressure) and less total paint delivered per unit time, BUT it also means that it's more prone to clogging from large particles or if it's not cleaned well after spraying... (of course the way around this is to just drop the nozzle into a mayonnaise jar with some paint thinner in the bottom when you're done).

Working with a smaller nozzle means it takes a little more time to put the coat on 'thick enough" but it also means you're less likely to "overapply" and get a run or sag as well. I HATE 99% of the new spray tips because they're about one step ahead of applying the paint with a garden hose! They put out WAY too much paint and it's in big globby droplets! Sure most of the time it all settles down and flows out nicely, but what happens when the can gets a little older???

Do they make a "medium" nozzle for the taggers?? That would be a good tradeoff IMHO...

Seems somewhat ironic to me, selling specialized spray tips to taggers, which is 99% of the time, an illegal act... maybe they also sell stylish crack pipes as well... :rolleyes: Personally I think it should be open season on taggers... you paint my property without permission I should be able to do pretty much anything I want to with you to stop it...

Later! OL JR :)
 
Working with a smaller nozzle means it takes a little more time to put the coat on 'thick enough" but it also means you're less likely to "overapply" and get a run or sag as well. I HATE 99% of the new spray tips because they're about one step ahead of applying the paint with a garden hose! They put out WAY too much paint and it's in big globby droplets!

Later! OL JR :)

So true! My best example is with Testors transparent colors. If you can put it on right, you have a serious finish but it also spits paint as well. I've gone to heating all my rattle cans in the sink with hot water and it does help. Especially with silver and gold spray paints.
 
Personally I think it should be open season on taggers... you paint my property without permission I should be able to do pretty much anything I want to with you to stop it...

Later! OL JR :)


Let us know how that works out for ya, ok.
 
So true! My best example is with Testors transparent colors. If you can put it on right, you have a serious finish but it also spits paint as well. I've gone to heating all my rattle cans in the sink with hot water and it does help. Especially with silver and gold spray paints.

Reduce the viscosity and increase the head pressure of the propellant at the same time...

Warming the cans up DEFINITELY helps!

OL JR :)
 
Just sayin'... maybe if they'd get the H3LL beat out of em once in awhile they'd have a little more respect for other people's property...

Later! OL JR :)

Besides the fact that some of the graffitti is art I have made money off of graffitti...removal :)

I once spent 3 days sandblasting graffittii from under the bridges here in Boise(yah, here too). I had to block off a lane of the bridges I worked on because there was no way to get the truck with the blaster and compressor down to where the graffitti was and due to traffic patterns I was given 6 hours a day to do it. Also did a few buildings. Two months later you couldn't tell I'd done anything...
 
See interesting article on the subject:

https://imprint.printmag.com/caleb-neelon/american-spraypaint-and-american-competitiveness/

Meanwhile I just got my first can of Valspar primer with the cone-shaped top. HORRIBLE NOZZLE. Gotta find out if I can swap with a better cap...

You're talking about the "twist lock" cap, right?? Those ARE the crappiest nozzles I've ever seen...

Tractor Supply Company (TSC) still sells Valspar spray paint for touching up tractors and farm machinery in a rainbow of colors and they still have the MUCH BETTER old style button caps/nozzles... for now anyway...

I don't know what these stupid paint companies are thinking... I guess they're trying to make up for their paint getting crappier by putting a fancy-shmancy nozzle on it that is actually crappier too because it doesn't atomize correctly... that and "keeping up with the Joneses" baloney... Krylon paint becomes TOTAL CRAP (compared to old Krylon lacquer, and no, I don't want to start a flame war with the 5% of guys on here who actually have good results from new Krylon and swear by it despite the other 95% who have it go wonky on them and ruin paintjobs) so they put a "cool new" twistable fan-spray pattern nozzle on the can (which spits and sputters and leaks and doesn't atomize worth a darn) that puts out paint like a fire hose. Valspar, which is GOOD paint, now decides to "keep up" with them by putting these stupid "twist-lock" coarse atomizing nozzles on their spray bombs as well...

Geesh... is it too much to ask for just a decent paint in the cheapy can with the cheapy nozzles that USED TO WORK BEAUTIFULLY because they did their job and actually ATOMIZED THE PAINT!!!! :mad: Keep the fancy junk, just gimme a nozzle that actually works!

I guess they're going to the fancy nozzles and put bigger orifices on them to reduce clogging... especially now that the solvents are weaker and more "environmentally friendly" which makes globs of undissolved paint pigments or residue dried on the nozzle more prone to plugging it off completely... Thing is, for a given pressure, increasing the orifice size of the nozzle increases the flow rate (amount of material your spraying) while also DRASTICALLY increasing the spray droplet size... Since a spray can has a given amount of propellant and the pressure is directly controlled by the physical properties (boiling point and head pressure) of the propellant (which is dependent on the temperature of the can, which is why warming them up with hot water is very helpful) we don't have any way of raising the pressure (well, except the hot water trick) to improve the atomization of the fatter orifice nozzle...

Just seems infinitely funny to me that I can go get a can of Walmart Colorplace for 99 cents that is TERRIFIC paint that goes on beautifully and flows out perfectly that has one of the tiny black 'El Cheapo' nozzles on the can that works perfectly and applies the paint beautifully using nothing more than the "old style" cone-spray pattern nozzle/orifice... yet go buy a can of Krylon or Valspar that costs 4X as much and it has a nozzle that's a piece of crap... :confused2:

Later! OL JR :)
 
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Yeah, I'm talking about the "twist lock" Valspar cap. And it definitely spatters a lot in practical use. REALLY annoying. But hey, it sprays from any angle! So when I enter an upside down painting contest, I'm good to go. Actually probably good for taggers who hang upside down to paint the sides of bridges and such.

I will wait until this can of paint is done, then take it apart (the cap, not the pressure can!) and see if it is amenable to use of replacement spray tips.

Marc
 
I guess they're going to the fancy nozzles and put bigger orifices on them to reduce clogging... especially now that the solvents are weaker and more "environmentally friendly" which makes globs of undissolved paint pigments or residue dried on the nozzle more prone to plugging it off completely...

You just confirmed my suspicions about the reason for Krylon and Rustoleum to change from their previous caps that were working so well in most cases. I've always soaked my cans in warm water and rattled the cans thoroughly prior to use, but that's of little help since the new caps are so lousy.
 
Yeah, I'm talking about the "twist lock" Valspar cap. And it definitely spatters a lot in practical use. REALLY annoying. But hey, it sprays from any angle! So when I enter an upside down painting contest, I'm good to go. Actually probably good for taggers who hang upside down to paint the sides of bridges and such.

I will wait until this can of paint is done, then take it apart (the cap, not the pressure can!) and see if it is amenable to use of replacement spray tips.

Marc

Way ahead of you... after I saw how it performed on my Friendship 7 awhile back, after the first coat was on, I took the can aside and popped the twist-lock thing off... it CAN be removed (the twist-lock itself comes apart from the rest of the nozzle, which is a bit more difficult to pop off the top of the can) and replaced with a nozzle designed to go over the "nib" (tube) sticking up out of the can valve mechanism...

Unfortunately that prevented me from just replacing it with one of the little "El Cheapo" Walmart can nozzles that I have sitting in a jar of paint thinner here, because they have the "nib" sticking out the bottom of the button, going down into a hole in the paint can valve... (M>F instead of F>M). BUT, if one has some "fat button" nozzles from Valspar spray cans from TSC, THAT should probably work...

Sprays from any direction, eh... hadn't noticed that... and you're right, another "feature" that's absolutely worthless to 90% of folks using the can to paint something "legitimate" (IE, other than stupid taggers). What is it with worthless "Features" nowdays?? Doesn't matter what it is, seems companies are OBSESSED with "worthless features" that don't matter a hill of beans to most folks, and are practically worthless at any rate... whether it's cars, computers, or spray cans... :rolleyes: My stupid computer updated itself the other night and installed IE8 (I had IE5) and now the thing will hardly run... just a bunch of "worthless features" getting in the way, slowing it down, and clogging up the works... downloaded Firefox and it's the same way... Went to a farm show a year or two back, and was looking at a Ford Foreplay or whatever that stupid little 4wd cross-dressing SUV POS is that replaced their crappy Freestar minivans, which replaced the Windstars that constantly blew motors... (cuz they put a Taurus drivetrain into a much bigger VAN, go figure! :rolleyes:) I was asking the guy questions about the engine, transmission, powertrain... stuff like that... stuff that's IMPORTANT! He didn't have the first clue... kept just going on and on about the stupid entertainment center, the I-Pod dock, the GPS system, the 9 way stereo system, the compatibility with all the electronic gizmos you would want to add... HELLO!!! LOOKING for TRANSPORTATION, NOT a FRIGGIN' ENTERTAINMENT CENTER!!! :eyeroll: Idiots... I finally just walked off disgusted... he couldn't even open the hood...

Later! OL JR :)

Later!
 
The new cans have another hidden gotcha, though I haven't yet actually run afoul of it.

I'm usually pretty good about inverting a can after use, and spraying propellant through to clear the nozzle. In my hands it goes a long way toward reducing clogs.

Just how exactly does one do that for a can designed to spray paint (instead of propellant) upside down?

And if it clogs, we just replace the cap, right? Oh. Wait...

Do you have any pics of the cap / stem it fits on for these new Valspar things? Might help me plan.

For the most part though, I'm exiting spray bombs this year. I'm using up my stock and switching full time to water based acrylics with my airbrush, perhaps except for special cases.

The broad exceptions to this will be:
-Rustoleum filler primer. I love the stuff. Fills my spirals in a jiff.
-Valspar white primer. Even with the nasty nozzle, which I can probably eventually replace, it's a good white primer and has broad compatibility.
-Valspar clear gloss lacquer: this particular one is much more resistant to humidity problems like milking / blush than the Rusto or Krylon etc. ones I've found. However, I've found Liquitex High Gloss Varnish is sprayable by my airbrush and does a good job, though it's not quite as hard a finish.

Marc

PS: Transportation versus entertainment system: I feel ya. Hey, I'm in marketing so I even understand why they do these things. I'd go off on a rant but I've got to get back to work...
 
The new cans have another hidden gotcha, though I haven't yet actually run afoul of it.

I'm usually pretty good about inverting a can after use, and spraying propellant through to clear the nozzle. In my hands it goes a long way toward reducing clogs.

Just how exactly does one do that for a can designed to spray paint (instead of propellant) upside down?

And if it clogs, we just replace the cap, right? Oh. Wait...

Do you have any pics of the cap / stem it fits on for these new Valspar things? Might help me plan.

For the most part though, I'm exiting spray bombs this year. I'm using up my stock and switching full time to water based acrylics with my airbrush, perhaps except for special cases.

The broad exceptions to this will be:
-Rustoleum filler primer. I love the stuff. Fills my spirals in a jiff.
-Valspar white primer. Even with the nasty nozzle, which I can probably eventually replace, it's a good white primer and has broad compatibility.
-Valspar clear gloss lacquer: this particular one is much more resistant to humidity problems like milking / blush than the Rusto or Krylon etc. ones I've found. However, I've found Liquitex High Gloss Varnish is sprayable by my airbrush and does a good job, though it's not quite as hard a finish.

Marc

PS: Transportation versus entertainment system: I feel ya. Hey, I'm in marketing so I even understand why they do these things. I'd go off on a rant but I've got to get back to work...

Sure I can do that for ya...

009.jpg
Here's the can as-is...

013.jpg
a quick tug and off comes the twist lock cover part...

014.jpg
The button itself is hinged to the lower cap part...

015.jpg
Which itself comes off the can with a sharp tug...
Notice the "nib" straw coming out of the valve mechanism on top of the can... requires a female spray nozzle button...

This thing belongs on a can of air freshener or oven cleaner or carpet spray, not on spray paint!!!

Later and hope this helps! OL JR :)

PS. no the "fat button" off the rusto can behind it won't fit... the straw that comes out of the top of the rusto can valve is smaller, so the button hole is too small to fit over the Valspar valve straw on top of the can after you pop the twist lock junk off... Hopefully the fat button on the TSC Valspar cans will fit... I haven't bought one to try yet...
 
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Yup.

They work FABULOUSLY with Duplicolor Paint Shop System finishes. I have one filled with some of the Metallic Clear, which is a favorite of mine.

Home Depot tends to have them, cheap!

Marc
 
The absolute best spray cans (and most expensive by far) I have ever used are from Alsa Corp. ( alsacorp.com ). They make special effects paint that I have used on a number of rockets. Awesome finishes, Down side is the $40 per can price.
 
I don't think anyone has addressed this but these caps don't help us much.
We need a decent atomizing cone or general spray....not a thin line or bomb the entire can.
If you looked at these caps they are artistic..
I guess if anyone will go through these caps and eliminate the tagger caps from the hobby caps it would help.
Graffitti is all about lines,dots and shadowing....not good consistent coverage.
 
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