That's what would eventually happen to my plastic models.
Learn Everything the Hard Way Department: Old Can of Spray Paint
- Thread starter brockrwood
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Before I switched to airbrushing with water based acrylics I had bought some fancy nozzles from an art place that worked great. Then the paint can makers changed the design of the stem and my better nozzles didn't fit any more, and the new standard nozzles worked worse than the original ones I was replacing.
Moved to acrylics; never looked back. I still spray all white rockets with cans, sometimes.
Moved to acrylics; never looked back. I still spray all white rockets with cans, sometimes.
Tied it again. Still works like a charm! I got three dozen cans of ild spray paint from the city “hazmat” recycling facility. Various fun colors. Free. I am using hot water trick to bring them back to life. Awesome! Thanks again for tip.
I've tried this a few times too, using acetone from the home depot paint department.
Several years ago I had an old can that seemed to be clogged so I soaked the nozzle and poured a little acetone on top of the can. This worked great.
Then a few days ago I was trying a relatively new can of Rusto that feels more than half full. It started spraying weakly and giving the sandy texture. I let that stuff dry and sanded it off. I took off the nozzle and soaked it. This didn't help much. I had a can of primer that was almost completely empty so I grabbed its nozzle, ,soaked it a little while, and tried it. It didn't work any better. I soaked these long enough for the paint to come off, and blew them out with an air compressor.
I'll try the hot water trick and maybe another spray nozzle before I go buy another can. The cost of a can of Rusto won't break me but I hate to waste half of an older can.
I always heat the can before spraying any rattle can paint. I set mine on the backside of a radiant propane heater,,that is warming the workpiece that will be painted. Constant monitoring and turning is a absolute necessity. If you forget you will have a fireball go thru the rafters and a nice Rorschach test on the floor,, on the wall,, on yourself,, on the Dog. I never had one pop,, but I know a couple were close to that. You want to bleed off the induced pressure with a few seconds of sprayout after heating,,or it will shoot paint too fast. Been bringing old dead cans of paint back to life with this method for 30 years. A WARM can,,,not hot. Absolutely save the old nozzles if you can. Careful puffs with a air nozzle will clear those out when wet.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Arguably the most reckless post I've ever read on TRF..
But he said warm, not hot...
I am using older cans of paint that I know may give unpredictable results. But I use them on projects that are “experiments”, salvage jobs, or otherwise are not critical. What bugs me is when the old paint ends up working fine and a brand new can of the Rusto “2X” stuff gives me a sandy finish. I am now trying to stick with just regular, old Rusto “enamel”. Seems to be the most reliable. But the color choices are limited.
Sounds like how Jackson Pollock would have painted his paintings if he had been into rockets.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Ya'll be careful out there.
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Probably not the smartest thing to do and hope no one follows this method.
We used to make "tie-dye" Tshirts every year at 4th of July. Our method involved hanging up gallon buckets of tshirt ink, in front of a row of tshirts, on a rack. We then took turns shooting the buckets with our gun collections.
Our county outlawed fireworks, guns are totally legal.
I'd say regular paint probably wont stay on cloth, but it will look really cool. I need to look over my paint can collection...
I would not try this. I am pretty sure it would void your home owners insurance. A fire started by an owner using an accelerant would certainly be your fault. Sounds pretty reckless to me.
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I've 'heard of people heating water up and putting cans in warm water (not boiling for sure!) but have never done it myself. Too many variables and the cost of failure is way more than the cost of a new can of paint. If I were in a life and death painting emergency, maybe I'd try the warm water method outside, but anything above the ignition temperature of the paint/aerosol would never get near it. I would also have to reconsider my life choices if put in that situation, as I can't imagine a life and death situation where reviving an old can of spray paint would be the proper solution. . .I do miss the original MacGyver show from my youth, though.
I prefer spraying water based (latex etc.) with the airbrush/HVLP gun. I do still use rattle can primer and clear, though. The change in paint quality is less than my crappy building/painting skills, so for me it doesn't matter. . .
Sandy.
I prefer spraying water based (latex etc.) with the airbrush/HVLP gun. I do still use rattle can primer and clear, though. The change in paint quality is less than my crappy building/painting skills, so for me it doesn't matter. . .
Sandy.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Somebody has been watching to much reality TV....
Rustoleum instructions state: "Do not expose to heat or store at temperatures above 120 F."
It really is as simple as following instructions.
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I've done the warm water bath when painting in cooler weather. My water heater is set for about 120 degrees, and I mix it with some cold so I know I'm well below 120 (probably around 100-105, based on feel, although I've never measured). After each coat I'll leave the paint can in the bucket to stay warm until next coat. It's fine.
Putting a can directly on a heater, on the other hand....
Putting a can directly on a heater, on the other hand....
Grant_Edwards
Well-Known Member
That reminds me of a neighbor of my uncle's who decide he wanted to paint the large LP tank behind his machine shed. But, it was colder than the instructions on the paint can allowed. So he wheeled his "jet engine" kerosene heater out of the machine shed and aimed it at the LP tank. Then he went into the house (which wasn't close by). A bit later there were pieces of machine shed spread out over several acres and a few broken windows in the other buildings. I never heard whether his insurance company paid out or not...Putting a can directly on a heater, on the other hand....
The Bronco rocket needs a fin repair. Going to try the Tim Van Milligan "double glue" method for low power rocketry fins. See video at 3:24.
The Double Glue fin attachment method:
1. Apply glue to fin root edge.
2. Wipe off 90 percent with finger.
3. Let the fin dry for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Apply glue to fin root edge again.
5. Wipe off 90 percent again.
6. Attach fin to rocket body tube on the pencil line you (should) have already drawn. "Walk" the fin down onto the rocket by starting at the part of the fin closest to the rear end of the rocket body tube. Then lever it down until it is flush with the tube. Press down well. Fin should stick where you put it.
The Tim Van Milligan video:
The Bronco rocket in need of repair:
The Double Glue fin attachment method:
1. Apply glue to fin root edge.
2. Wipe off 90 percent with finger.
3. Let the fin dry for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Apply glue to fin root edge again.
5. Wipe off 90 percent again.
6. Attach fin to rocket body tube on the pencil line you (should) have already drawn. "Walk" the fin down onto the rocket by starting at the part of the fin closest to the rear end of the rocket body tube. Then lever it down until it is flush with the tube. Press down well. Fin should stick where you put it.
The Tim Van Milligan video:
The Bronco rocket in need of repair:
OK, that seemed to work well. Here is the Bronco rocket with the fin back on, waiting for glue to dry. After it dries a bit I will put on a wood glue fillet to add extra strength.
Had to straighten the fin a bit so it was 90 degrees perpendicular to the body tube (or as close to 90 degrees as I could get it using the "ocular estimation technique").
(Yes, that is a genuine 1980 D&D Greyhawk map and gazetteer packet being used as a fin jig.)
Had to straighten the fin a bit so it was 90 degrees perpendicular to the body tube (or as close to 90 degrees as I could get it using the "ocular estimation technique").
(Yes, that is a genuine 1980 D&D Greyhawk map and gazetteer packet being used as a fin jig.)
OK, glue fillet applied 2.5 hours later. The fin was attached well after drying for 2.5 hours but it was still sort of "wiggly". That surprised me. I am using the Gorilla Glue Wood Glue. Normally I use Titebond II, but I did not have any handy at this location. I wonder if the Gorilla Glue Wood Glue has a slower tack or longer drying period than Titebond II does?
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Now I need some orange touch-up paint...
Back to the paint can topic-
Many years ago I had pretty good luck with spray cans but these days it is very hit or miss. I've bought new cans that didn't spray very well. Maybe I need to try a different brand. But for sure test every can before you use it, new or old.
Many years ago I had pretty good luck with spray cans but these days it is very hit or miss. I've bought new cans that didn't spray very well. Maybe I need to try a different brand. But for sure test every can before you use it, new or old.
My good friend says he's the '"Rattle-Can King" and swears by the warm water trick.
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I got this paint shaker from Amazon a couple years ago. I happen to have an old electric drill, so I built a stand for the drill/shaker to be mounted to. I also rigged up an adjustment on the drill trigger to control the speed. I've had really good luck with heating up the paint in WARM water for few minutes then shaking in the BInford 3000 for 30 seconds to a minute.I also have a holder that fits into a recip saw and will give every can a good (3) minute shake with that thing. So far so good
[QUOTE="brockrwood, post: 2272996, member: 23719"
OK, glue fillet applied 2.5 hours later. The fin was attached well after drying for 2.5 hours but it was still sort of "wiggly". That surprised me. I am using the Gorilla Glue Wood Glue. Normally I use Titebond II, but I did not have any handy at this location. I wonder if the Gorilla Glue Wood Glue has a slower tack or longer drying period than Titebond II does?
I also normally use Titebond II, but a few months ago I was out and went to the local WM. All they had was Gorilla wood glue, so I got it. I've used it a couple times on fins and on a recent home project. The Titebond II would normally tack-up to the point it would hold the part in place after only a minute or so. The Gorilla glue took much longer. I bought some Titebond II as soon as I found some and plan on only using the Gorilla glue on things that can be clamped into place. The Gorilla glue did seem to be as strong as the Titebond once it had set-up though.
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GlenP
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The glue won’t really bond to the paint, the portions under the fillet that are already covered in paint are not really fully bonded. You need to sand down to bare wood and body tube to get the full strength of the glue fillet on those surfaces.
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You are correct but we are in the LPR subforum and the limiting factor is usually the strength at which the paper tube will delaminate. Of course I've had older rockets where the paint would come off pretty easily, and other rockets where the paint was very well bonded. So if you can get enough bond from glue to paint, and from paint to paper, then the limiting factor becomes that paper tube itself.
Yep, I sanded to bare paper (brown body tube) when doing the repair. The off-white stuff in the picture above is the Gorilla brand Wood Glue fillet with the glue still wet. I sanded through the orange paint, through the green primer paint, through the glassine finish, through the white paper wrap on the tube, all the way down until I could see the brown, primary layer of the paper body tube. THEN I re-glued the fin. THEN I wiggled it (still sort of wiggly). THEN I put on the glue fillet. That is the white stuff you are seeing in the picture, above.
Here it is now, with the glue dry and very strong:
The Gorilla brand Wood Glue takes a long time to dry but it dries very strong.
The white showing in the two pictures above, with the glue dry, is the "white wrap" outer layer on the body tube. Many body tubes come like that it seems. I think the white layer is not very strong and tends to let the fin rip off when there is a hard landing. That is exactly what has happened twice to the "Bronco" rocket. Each time, the fin stayed well-glued to the white wrap paper on the tube, but that white, outer layer of body tube just tore right off.
Why don't rocket kit makers just give us plain, brown, unfinished tubes (no glassine finish) that will create super strong glue bonds? You have to fill, sand, and prime the tube, anyway, to make it look good. The glassine finish and the white outer wraps just have to be taken off in order to get a really good glue bond to happen. I would prefer to just dispense with the glassine finish and the outer white wrap to begin with.
The “delamination of the paper body tube” problem has come up on a couple of my rockets where the body tube has a glassine finish and a white wrap. See my other reply in this thread.
Under the white wrap is a regular, old, brown paper tube. If the white paper wrap is not bonded onto the underlying layer really well, the force of the fin hitting the ground just rips that white layer right off of the tube.
From now on, I will sand all the way down to brown paper layer of the tube when attaching fins. I have to be careful and not sand too far down.
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