Hello from the 'Masked Painter'
posted 18th August 2022
So who am I?
I began my career on the shop floor too many years ago to remember now, and being experienced in many different paint brands, I always feel I can offer a total balanced view on products, no sponsorship, freebies or endorsements here!
There has been a huge amount of focus on the cost of products, but this week I was able to save 20 minutes bake time for a customer who preferred to use a cheaper clearcoat... this will generate significant savings on gas, labour and process. At times there seems to be a focus on price, not process, both are equally important- how does it polish up? Does it drop back? What's the bake cycle? With the ongoing rise in utility costs, this is a question we should be asking now heading into winter, demand more from your products.
UV or not UV ? That is the question!
In my opinion there is a place for UV products in every shop, but as an addition not a replacement.
The UV Colad Putty in combination with UV primer is a super quick option for small repairs. You can repair and prime a small dent in literally minutes. Any area which requires primer larger than an A4 piece of paper is not for UV, use conventional products here.
As with all UV products the light must travel through the product to cure it, if you apply it too thick if it will not cure.
The Colad putty is available in course and fine and is applied RFU in thin layers up to 1mm deep, then cured in 3 seconds using the Colad Fast Cure UV light. If you need a deeper fill, simply apply more and cure for another 3 seconds. Excellent for chips, scratches, and shallow dents. Sand as normal then apply UV primer. Most paint companies supply UV primer in both aerosol and sprayable options, both achieving up to 100 microns if applied correctly. DO NOT OVER APPLY as this can result in poor curing and even splitting. Sand and prep as normal then you are ready to paint.
Look out for next month's blog, time to take the overalls and airfed off for now, I'm on a beach for a week!
If you have any questions on the above or would like to hear more, contact me on blog@carpaintstore.com and I'll try and help!