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Summit racing urethane activator

7K views 30 replies 2 participants last post by  Green95LX 
#1 ·
How much leeway do i have on the temp range with Summit racing urethane activator?

I have the mid-temp (70*-80*) activator. I'm worried it might get over 80* here before i get a chance to spray.

Thank you

It's for their single stage acrylic urethane, if it matters
 
#2 ·
70 to 80 temp activator is exactly that...if the temperature rises above 80 and if it's relatively humid, look for the paint to set up fairly quickly. If it gets to be around 80 to say 83 with little humidity you shouldn't be to bad...but...it will set up faster and your flash times will be affected. A lot depends on how big an area your planning on painting. If it's a complete, you may need to try and get around the car quicker. What can happen and this is usually the problem, if you start say painting at the front clip, by the time you do the fender, one side of the hood, then the other side of the hood and the last fender, the paint on the first fender you just painted may be set up to the point that the paint you put on the door won't melt in and leave you with a dry edge.

Whenever I paint a complete vehicle, I use a reducer and or catalyst that is about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than what the temperature is. I can always wait a little longer for flash times, I can't always paint fast enough to avoid dry spray. Using a slower solvent or catalyst is always a wise choice. You get a better shine, smoother flatter finish and overall better gloss retention.

I wish I had better news for you but paint will react to temperature. The people selling you the product should have made you aware that painting with a slower activator or reducer would lend to getting you a better result, this is one of the joys of buying a technically dependent product from an on line company. If your doing a smaller area, or parts...paint away, you should be fine.

Hope this helps...if not for this case, than for any thing you paint in the future.

Best Regards

Ray
 
#4 ·
It's a Seadoo...not that large an area (not as large as a complete car anyway) and i see that it's also a Urethane product. If it's Acrylic Urethane...it will still set up fairly quickly if the temperature gets to warm. If it's a Poly Urethane, it will take longer to set up, giving you plenty of time to get around the vehicle. Another variable that will either speed up or slow down the curing process of the paint is air movement and the conditions that you are painting in. If there is a fair amount of air movement, the paint will top cure and could cause solvent popping, if there is minimal air movement, the solvents that are released in the curing of the paint will have no where to go and cause the paint to loose it's shine.

I know, it's like golf...so many things to remember...LOL.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask, I'll answer whatever I can.

Ray
 
#6 ·
It's a Seadoo...not that big a beast...unless it gets to be in the 90's, you should be able to get around the boat, doo, water vehicle...whatever you want to call it. Are you painting it inside, in a booth? Not being in direct sunlight when you paint would help as well.

Like I said, it's not that big, you should be able to get around it.

Ray
 
#8 ·
You'll be fine...If I can ask a question...is this your first painting experience? The reason I ask is I sense a case of nerves...If that's the case, don't worry, put the paint on the way you want it to look...be careful on curves and inside edges (that's where paint likes to hang out and run). Take the attitude that you are the master and you will make it shine. If you make a mistake, fix it later. I painted a fender about a week ago, Honda Civic (neighbor's car otherwise I wouldn't do it)...got a run in the clear on the body line. Fixed it later...and I've been painting for over 30 years, it only happens to the good painters...LOL.

Ray
 
#10 ·
Well, it seemed to me that this may be a first time...just by the tension in the words that you posted. I'll try and help. So, in order for me to help, I'll need a bit more information.

What kind of Epoxy Primer did you apply, was it Summit's house Brand?
If it was, how long ago did you apply the Epoxy, is it in the window of re-coating without sanding?
Summit Epoxy Primers can be sanded...if the imperfections that you mentioned are to the point that they will drastically effect the finish, can you sand these imperfections out?

If you can answer these questions, I'll better be able to help you out and hopefully instill some self confidence in you so that you can walk in and hit that Seadoo with a shiny coat of paint.

You'll be fine.

Ray
 
#11 ·
It wasn't epoxy primer, it was just epoxy resin with a black colorant in it. I sprayed it, sanded and buffed it. Came out looking gloss black. Now for the top i bought summit's 2k urethane primer surfacer. What i was getting at is that i've only used an HVLP gun a few times and never with "real paint"
 
#12 ·
Okay...now we are getting important information...first thing you need to do now is stop. We want the paint to stick...if you say you applied Epoxy, in this arena, that means Primer...there's a big difference between Epoxy resin with black colorant and Epoxy Primer. What grit of paper did you sand it with and why did you buff it? Epoxy resin with black colorant will be shiny when it's buffed, however, your paint will not stick to a slick, buffed surface. If your going to apply the 2K Primer over top of your Epoxy Resin...it can't be shiny...you won't have any mechanical adhesion. You are going to need to sand the Epoxy Resin that you applied with a 400 grit to 600 grit wet paper, it should not be shiny, it should be dull, that way your 2K Primer will stick to the Epoxy Resin. Once you apply the 2K Primer...that in turn, when cured, will need to be sanded so that it looks dull, then apply your paint.

Why did you apply the Epoxy Resin with Black colorant in it? Was this to repair some areas that had cracks in the original substrate? Please answer these questions...I just want this to turn out for you. Using an HVLP Gun isn't going to change any of the characteristics of the material your putting on the Seadoo.

Ray
 
#13 · (Edited)
I'm sorry, i'm confusing the hell out of you. The bottom is done, it's flipped over and now i'm going to paint the top and hood. They are still gelcoat, except where i have made some repairs. I have not applied anything or sanded except in the areas of repair. The bottom was originally yellow, i made a filler putty and filled the gouges in. Sprayed the black epoxy simply to change the color.

Pictures attached
Automotive exterior Plant community Vehicle Roof Bumper


Yellow Personal water craft Boating Vehicle Jet ski
 
#16 ·
I'm feeling much better now that I know where and why the Epoxy with black colorant is there for a reason and the reason makes sense. You can either sand all of the gel-coat and prime it with your 2K Primer or spot prime the repair areas sand them along with the gel-coat and apply your paint.

You did a great job by the looks of the Epoxy resin and black, mo doubt the top will look that good or better.

Ray
 
#17 ·
Believe me there's plenty of flaws, The biggest issue i had was sanding and buffing too much and it caused "holograms" like where you can see the different layers, kinda like the rings in a tree. It looks great on the internet in pictures and pretty good in person unless you look closer. Honestly it's a watercraft, the bottom isn't as visible and is going to get beat up some so i've accepted it. I think i would try a different product next time around for the bottom. Now, the deck and hood are a lot more visible so i'm trying to cover my bases.
 
#18 ·
It may not be a bad idea to rough up the gel-coat over the whole top surface and apply two coats of 2K over the whole top surface. When that has cured, use some guide coat on the cured primer before you sand. If there are any cracks in the gel-coat that you missed the guide coat will help you find them. If all is Okay, go ahead and apply the paint.

Ray
 
#19 ·
I had planned on spraying at least a coat of primer all over the whole hood and deck. I should sand everything like with 400 or 600, then primer? I believe there is at least another crack but it is in the footwell. I wasn't sure if it would cause an issue later. Also, what's good to mask off the craft with?
 
#20 ·
You could sand the top with 320 if your going to prime the entire top. Finish sanding in 400 after the Primer has cured. It's a good idea to repair all cracks before you prime, hopefully the one in the footwell is the last one, if not, the use of guide coat over the Primer will let you know, you could spot repair any other cracks as you see fit. Paint will actually accentuate any cracks...so it's a good idea to fill ever and repair everything you can before paint.

Use a poly coated masking paper available at any auto body supply store. Don't use cheap Home Depot masking tape, get proper automotive tape. It'll save you time, money and aggravation in the long run.

Ray
 
#24 ·
The proper way to repaint this would be to take the existing oxidized paint off, to strip it. Often, when paint has deteriorated from oxidization the existing paint powders off quite easily. Try to take off as much paint as you can, leaving the original gel coat and prime over top of that...this way your substrate will be uniform and have the adhesion qualities your looking for.

Hope this helps.

Ray
 
#26 ·
Gel coat is pretty tough stuff...rough it up as best you can, use the red scotch brite in areas that paper is hard to use and prime it. The colored gel coat is going to sand chaulky, prime let it set up prep and paint. If it was paint that was faded, it's a totally different animal than gel coat.
 
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