Subject: Paint

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 17:50:58 -0400

Dose anyone know anything about dip painting?
How thin should paint be?
would this be better than spraying?
Has anyone done this type painting befor on know someone that has?
Any info would be helpful.
Thanks,

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From: nick <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 1996 07:18:13 -0700

> Any info would be helpful.

I do production ironwork and went thru a phase that ended 2 years ago 
when I believed in dipping. My first exposure to it was at a show near 
Woodstock(New Paltz), one of my neighbors was telling me about the 
process that the fellows from Tavern Puzzles use. The clear finish was 
Dip Lacquer, made by a company in NJ. I spent a week trying to locate 
them. Finnally, found out the stuff was pricy (7YEARS AGO) $25.00/gallon 
needed to use their thinner and came in large drums not single gallons. 
Not to be defeated I started experimenting.  Used HVLP sprayer for a 
while, time consuming and noisy. Started playing with troughs and 
thinning paint to dip stakes. I used to make(and sell) alot of the plant 
stakes. Imade a trough out of 4x4 angle 8' long supported on the diamond 
with a drain hole at one end to get the paint out. Thin the paint about 
half with thinner(to keep the drips from showing) and stay out of the way 
of dripping paint. What a mess, tall stuff drips on your head and 
clothes. I built special racks to hold things. The finish worked ok, but 
needed 2 coats, time consuming. And what an EPA nightmare, we had the 
shop floor covered with cardboard to catch the drips. Now I send all of 
the "painted" items out to be powder coated, a much more durable finish 
and someone elses mess.  A much more efficient use of my time. I did a 
little study lately that reaffirmed my beliefs. A customer wanted a 
window box painted red. The powder coat charge is $2.50. It took a whole 
can of rustoleum spray($3.00) and 15 minutes of my time and won't last 
like the powder coat. There are all kinds of colors and textures 
available.

Nick Vincent
[email-masked]