Automotive bow finish

[hunting badger]

Thanks Kirk!! I'm on the hunt for it now! There's a big auto body supply house in Anchorage, Next time I'm down there I"ll swing in there and see if they carry the stuff you recommended. You gave me what I wanted a starting point from someone with experience. Kenny recommended some stuff he uses too I can get it here but in small quantities, just tried it on a bow my son built, Works pretty good!

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Local auto parts store carries the Nason brand stuff. I have used quite a bit of the Nason stuff and always had good luck with it.

So I picked up a quart of the Fast Dry Spot Clear. Shot a riser and limbs with it last night. Going to leave the limbs gloss to see how they hold up with no flex agent. Riser will get sanded and a coat of satin Krystal.  It was dust free in about 10-15 minutes. It is a 3 to 1 clear and I used a smidgen less catalyst.

Too much catalyst is one of the reasons clear cracks. Not enough and it will be gummy.

[Kirkll]

The stuff I recommended has a slow, medium, and fast activator. I’ve always used the medium, but I have a heated spray booth in winter months. I don’t spray under 65-70 degrees. In 80-90 temps a slow activator might work better. This stuff kicks off pretty quick in high temp conditions. A fast activator might work better in colder temps, but I’ve never experimented with it….    Kirk

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

As long as I am not totally outside the temp range of an activator, I generally use fast as it is dust free faster. That is not as important if it is going to be sanded. These are small pieces so the open time is not critical.

Generally,  the more open time before the catalyst kicks, the more acceptable to dust.

One still needs to operate within temp specs.

Back when I painted cars, I would have to use slower catalyst on large panels and whole bodies so I could get the whole panel shot with the number of recommended coats before it kicked.

When doing motorcycle fenders and small stuff, I would use faster catalyst to get it dust free faster and so I would not have to wait for ever for the second coat of clear.

Kirk is right though, as Temps climb, you have to adjust your activator or it can kick real fast, but small pieces like bows, probably will not make much difference.

[Kirkll]

Clear coating in a professional manner with any type of consistency takes years to learn the tricks. And every time you use a different product, different reducer, or catalyst, it changes again. This is a profession in itself that I have gained a lot of respect for.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s they used to do a lot of finished woodworking on homes with natural wood. It’s rarely done any more. Everything comes out pre finished typically using lacquer based products. Painting contractors in those days had their specialist that did most of their clear coating on doors, windows, and stair case rails that were installed first, then stained and finished. They even finished kitchen cabinets after install in those days.

As time went on more and more of the painters came in before the carpenters and pre finished the trim and doors before installing them. And the cabinet companies started pre finishing the boxes before installing them too.  Then the door supplier companies started pre finishing everything prior to delivery.

 By the early 80’s you rarely saw anything but high end custom homes that the finish carpenter used raw finished wood and it was finished by the painter. That even disappeared as the Mc Mansion days started and they started building huge housing developments in a mass production style, and White painted trim work came into style as they cut costs and used MDF instead of clear vertical grain fir , maple, red oak, mahogany, and even  white pine.

The shift in materials types and production style installation required Less woodworking skill and more bondo to be a finish carpenter. Prices dropped dramatically for finish carpentry and finish contractors, and a lot of the really talented seasoned finish carpenters faded into the sunset. My Dad, grand dad, and I were among  them….. The art of finish clear coating in the housing industry completely disappeared too…..  Auto clear coating is the only thing left still done by hand I believe. Most everything else is automated.     Kirk

[Mark R]

I remember those days Kirk, the skill and pride we put into our work was a great feeling then mush board and pre primed cheap wood what ever was cheapest at the time came along and you became a bondo expert  . I was lucky to live and work in the Chicago area where wealthy people and companies still appreciated the craftsmanship and retired from doing it after many years.

[Buggs]

I'm not an auto body guy, but I recognize this profession as the apex of all painters. Hard earned skills.
A perfectly painted and cleared auto is a thing of beauty

[Kirkll]

The one thing that isn't talked about much about using any type of Auto clear coating is the hazards.... This stuff, regardless of what type of catalyst type, will catalyze in your lungs and kill you dead. I had a pretty close friend who was an auto painter who worked professionally at it for 10-12 years. Maybe more. I watched it take a toll on him too. He was a golden glove boxer in his prime when i met him, and that painting cars almost killed him over the years. I honestly don't know if he's still alive. I lost track of him years ago.

My point is.... Don't use this stuff unless you have a good exhaust system in a paint booth, or are in a very good ventilated area with fans. ALWAYS keep your respirator with clean filters and have them fit perfectly. If you can smell the stuff, its getting into your lungs. Be damn careful with this stuff, or any other clear coating as well. 

I had a respirator leak one time and continued to finish my spraying instead of shutting it down, and ended up in the hospital. You talk about scary.... That was a bad one..... I'm seriously careful now.    This stuff will kill ya dead.    Kirk 

[Appalachian Hillbilly]

Very good point Kirk! I had a similar incident as well. Friend had a Harley he wanted painting. He made a decent spray booth and I came over to paint it for him, forgot my respirator and used his. Did not fit.

It gave me what they classifed as "Industrial Pneumonia " and a very nasty headache!

Mean stuff.

[Kirkll]

It took over a month to get my lungs cleared out completely after i did that. I think 40 years or more working with wood didn't help matters either. Dust masks were not popular until the 90's, and still very few guys wore them that i worked with using sanders. i've been breathing sawdust for a lot of years. it will probably be the death of me too.... 

[Stagmitis]

Reading these posts makes me want to go back to a quaility marine grade spar varnish....Applied by hand

[Mad Max]

I used boiled linseed oil on a gun stock I made, sanded the oil in the first 3 coats with 220 to fill the grain.
About 7/8 coats all together.
I sent it off to be checkered and he told me it needed a epoxy finish after he was done so I had him do it.
  Looks good.

[Kirkll]

Reading these posts makes me want to go back to a quaility marine grade spar varnish....Applied by hand

HEY!   Speaking of Marine spar varnish. I just refinished a couple Adirondack Chairs and a couple outdoor tables with a water base Helmsman spar Varnish about a month ago and was impressed how clear it was. Its seen a month of serious UV rays now and still looks like i just finished them.

I never was impressed with water base finishes, but this stuff did impress me. You might want to give it a try.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/stains-and-finishes/varnish/1372952?x429=true&gclid=def8f7b82f701996411494a94dc6378e&gclsrc=3p.ds&msclkid=def8f7b82f701996411494a94dc6378e&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLAs_FF4-Paint-Sundries_Paint-and-Supplies_Other_All_Other&utm_term=4581664960781272&utm_content=Paint-and-Supplies_Stains-and-Finishes_All_All&gclid=def8f7b82f701996411494a94dc6378e&gclsrc=3p.ds


here is what it looks like.... nice satin finish.

   Kirk

[Buggs]

Something more to consider about auto clear and PPE. They all contain isocyanates and there are no filter cartridges rated for isocyanates. You should be spraying in an exhausted air environment or with a fresh air supply respirator. Same goes for conversion varnish (Krystal, etc.) Just about anything that gets catalyzed has isocyanates.