PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Acrylic or Polyurethane paint? Etc...
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Old 19th Nov 2013, 12:21
  #19 (permalink)  
cockney steve
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
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AIUI "acrylic"|= water-based! A long time ago, there was a choice of cellulose or "enamel" -which was cellulose -compatible for repairs,(Motor-trade) Then in the 60's -IIRC, Vauxhall introduced Acrylic, which was purportedly tougher and shinier and longer-lasting...unfortunately it was incompatible with any cellulose-based primers/fillers/thinners....used to "pickle"-lift and wrinkle, absorb the acetone from celly thinner and swell, so even if you dusted a dryish coat of primer-filler, the subsequent shrinkage would give a sunken edge round the repair (mapping)

AFAIK, ALL 2-pack products are isocyanate -cured, apart from the various primers which are activated by Phosphoric acid (excellent for steel) 2-pack is effectively like spraying coloured Araldite(epoxy resin)

Extremely tough, chemical resistant and durable....resists brake-fluid and battery-acid.

As noted, the down-side is a pot-life of about 4 hours, once mixed, a long Open-time (sticky) after spraying and hard work to polish-outdust and imperfections afterwards.

After about 3 hours dcuring at normal room temp, you can throw newly refinished stuff out into the rain with no ill-effect....try that with one-pack!

All equipment must be scrupulously cleaned and washed through....once the stuff has hardened, no normal solvents will remove it...not acetone (gunwash) nor Nitromors (Methylene Chloride)....bad news forgetting a £200 spraygun and finding a block of jelly in it.

One-pack paints dry, as opposed to curing....they mostly react with the oxygen in the air and the curing is a one-way process...unlike cellulose, where the solvent evaporates, but the paint will afterwards re-dissolve into the solvent.

One-pack polyurethane is extremely durable (anyone remember "Kingston Diamond? ") it's best heated to thin it , a padded,insulating jacket around the spraygun-pot is worth making) The warm paint atomises and flows well and the heat flashes off the more volatile parts of the solvent, stiffening the film and lessening the chance of runs or curtains.

For kitchen units, i'd be tempted to use a 2-pack automotive paint for durability, quick through-hardening and an infinite colour-match capability....provided you use a recognised colour (RAL, Pantone, are standard ranges, or there are millions of car-manufacturer's shades and fleet-shades) you can always get a half-litre of celly or an aerosol made for touch-ups.

With a bit of planning, good results can be obtained with 1-pack Polyurethane (Transport-enamel) and any leftover can be used to touch -up.

Do not even think about ordinary house-paint! Although you CAN spray with good results, I'm less than impressed with the low-VOC water-based stuff. (it's water-base in the motor-trade now,and from what I understand, it relies on the clear-lacquer overcoat for strength and durability.
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