Does anybody use Accelerator?

[another2centsworth]

What temps?
How is flow out?
DOI?
Temp of Vehicle?
Any knowledge from experience appreciated. :reading:

Thanks,
Tim

[Len]

What temps?
How is flow out?
DOI?
Temp of Vehicle?
Any knowledge from experience appreciated. :reading:

Thanks,
Tim

I used to use it back in the old acrylic enamel days but the materials I use now get hard enough to buff in about 12 hours at 60 degree F so I don't need it with the urethane.

[Serge]

In cold weather accelerators are great, you get out of dust faster and get to buffing hardness faster...Its also great for small areas and touch up. I also paint some architectural pieces sometimes and I use accelerator in those as the are installed shortly after they are painted and I want the paint to be hard...

Retarders in a paint booth when dust is not an issue helps with flow out. Especially in very hot summer days. In ppg its called an extender and I systematically used it in every DCC (ss) job I did....flow out was incredible. Retarders keep the paint soft longer though so you have to give it a little extra time to harden...a little heat helps.

If you paint often, you should try to keep both in your chemistry set...they are great tools and used with all the reducer speeds you are set to paint under just about any circumstances.

[jimbo1490]

We like "Paint Rocket". Works in everything. PPG DX-84 is another good one. One thing to keep in mind with accelerators is that a little goes a long way. If you overdose, you WILL have problems with solvent popping, flow, DOI and all the rest. 2 OZ per gallon is typical. That's a 1/4 OZ per qt or a mere 1/16 of an OZ if you're mixing only a 8 OZ batch. So accurate measurement becomes the tricky part. We have found that cheap disposable plastic pipettes like these (http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Plastic-Transfer-Pipettes-Droppers-Graduated-1-ml_W0QQitemZ380107182966QQihZ025QQcategoryZ26232QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) make this task very simple.

Jimbo

[200horse]

We like "Paint Rocket". Works in everything. PPG DX-84 is another good one. One thing to keep in mind with accelerators is that a little goes a long way. If you overdose, you WILL have problems with solvent popping, flow, DOI and all the rest. 2 OZ per gallon is typical. That's a 1/4 OZ per qt or a mere 1/16 of an OZ if you're mixing only a 8 OZ batch. So accurate measurement becomes the tricky part. We have found that cheap disposable plastic pipettes like these (http://cgi.ebay.com/500-Plastic-Transfer-Pipettes-Droppers-Graduated-1-ml_W0QQitemZ380107182966QQihZ025QQcategoryZ26232QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) make this task very simple.

Jimbo

are you sure they recommend only 2 oz per gallon? Its usually 2oz per sprayable quart. I just checked a couple tech sheets and said 2 oz per sprayable quart also.

What brand accelerator are you talking? what products are you accelerating?

[mmooney84]

Transtar has a urethane clear that dries in 30 minutes enough to buff. I was using there 2 hour clear but since I do production work I think I might try the 30 minute clear.

[jimbo1490]

We shoot anything from generic 2K clears to various polyester urethanes and PPG fleet finish. Pro-Kure is another accelerator we use a lot. Pro-Kure X-98 specifically recommends 2 OZ per gallon maximum. They also sell a more dilute version, X-138, which is recommended at 4 OZ per gallon max. We never buy that one as it costs the same but needs twice as much to get the job done. I think the sole reason they even sell it is to ease measuring small amounts. UPOL's Paint Rocket (http://www.u-pol.com/countries/en/downloads/tds/paintrocket.pdf)recommends 2-3% of catalyst, so in a 1:1 poly(ester) urethane, that would be 1-1.5% per catalyzed gallon or ~1.3-2.0 OZ/ catalyzed gallon. For a 3:1 or 4:1 urethane, it's going to be less than that by a proportionate amount.

Some paint manufacturers are diluting their accelerator quite a bit to avoid the problem of accurately measuring very tiny amounts of the product. The one for PPG Delfleet allows a whopping 6 OZ per gallon. I think it's the same for the higher end versions of Imron using the 389S accelerator; up to 6 OZ per gallon, IIRC.

I really don't mind if they dilute accelerator to help with measuring; I just wish they would adjust the price accordingly;)

Jimbo

[dixie1776]

i have used Rubberseals SUPER KICK and it works fine, but if you use too much you will have dieback

[88GT]

I use it on small parts once in a while. not out of habit. never on a complete or large repair