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[jhicks]

Just a quick post on some letters we are piloting for a local mall. This is obviously the directional sign. The material is 1,1/2" HDU, primed 2 coats, 3 finish coats with latex racing orange. I'm not the handiest with the spray gun but tried a cheapy harbor frt siphon fed 5 oz cup HVLP on this. It worked very well and has effective controls to spray heavy to very fine mist, control air pressure, volume, and material. I think its a $29.00 spray gun and I was happy with the tool.
We hope for many more of these to complete the mall addition but these pilots will determine if we get the finish they want or not.
enjoy.

6243

6244

[pete]

Jerry

What bit (Cutting Length, overall length, diameter, brand, etc) did you use on this size letter please.

Thanks, Pete

[mmccue29]

Looks great. Thanks for sharing

[jamesgilliam]

Jerry, I think I have the same gun and I think it is a great tool also. When you say HDU, what brand are you using? I have been getting a product here called Corafoam, and think it is better. The 15 lb corafoam is about equal to 18 lb presision board in the grain structure, and no priming needed. Could save you a step or two. James

[jhicks]

Peter, we tried something new on this since our smallest 1/8" and 3/16" bits were only 1.25 cutting length. so we used the shopBot 3D 1/8" tapered ball nose with about a 1.60"+ cut length and liked the results. Step down .5 per pass, plunge 35 IMP and final pass of .20 at speed of 90IPM so it probably could be done a bit quicker by dialing in more optimized rates but it worked for us. We set it up as a radiused tapered bit in the tool library best we could measure but you could probably get exact angle etc from SB to get more exact. Onsrud #65-020 available from SB but I dont think onsrud sells it direct or thru other distributors. The edge is very slightly tapered inward toward the top but barely noticeable. had to set it up for proper taper but it worked well and gave us the sharpest inside corners we could expect.
James, we used 15# Sign Foam which is the prevailing local inventory but appreciate the tip on CoraFoam. We'll see if we can find a local source for the next order.
Thanks for the feedback.

[jamesgilliam]

Jerry, Laird Plastics is the one place I have found that stocks it. I am not sure if there is a location near you, but it's a start. James

[tuck]

Jerry, what is the model # of the harbor freight gun of which you speak? Finding a small gun that handles thick latex well for smaller projects has been a real problem for me. Can you post a link? Thanks :-)

[joe]

Mark,

Welcome back!

Haven't seen you post for some time. Where have you been?

Joe

[jhicks]

Mark, I'll get it and post when i get back to the shop. The real key was thinning it and very light multiple coats. It was a learning experience for me as we usually finish in a polyurethane finish but with very lght thin coats that dry quickly and then apply more multiple coats it was effective and delivered a nice finish.
The earlier attempts with thicker coats simply didnt deliver the smooth finish and seemed to show every air bubble, and fisheye areas or orange 0range peel. When we finally sanded for the finish coats and applied the thin multiple light coats one over the next with virtually only a few minutes between, we achieved what we needed.

[joe]

Jerry,

Congratulations, handsome job.

If I may, the addition of a little Flow Control addative will allow thicker paint to pass through the gun without as much dilution. It's available at Lowe's and Home Depot.

A couple of tablespoons in a paint should do the trick.

[tuck]

Hey Joe, I've been busy. I'm working on some nice jobs that I plan to post pics of in here when done. I dropped out of Letterville and got my $50.00 back. Got tired of getting attacked everytime I said "hi y'all." :-)

Flow control addative, eh? Thanks for the tip!

[joewino]

Must have been the "y'all" Mark.

[jhicks]

Thanks Mark, I assume you are referring to "flowtrol" correct? I have used it before but when I asked the counter person at Benjamin Moore, they said not needed and voids warranty. HMMM. Funny they sell it but don't recommend it.
The Harbor frt spray gun is called HVLP Detail Air Spray gun on the box and has an "item number" 46719 on it
Operating PSI MAX 43, CFM 3.7, Pressure 10PSI, 5.3 OZ capacity, Min 40CC.
I mistakenly said its a siphon canister but its a gravity fed plasitc canister and mine is purple handle color.
Hope this is what you were asking for.

[ernie_balch]

Mark,

Good to see you posting. I'd like to see more of your work.

ernie