Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

The Achilles' Heel of Luthiery
nehsgolfer
Posts: 89
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:09 am

Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by nehsgolfer »

I just sprayed the body of my guitar with two coats of Behlen's Vinyl Sealer and about half way through the process, the spray started "spitting" and leaving small bubbles on ther surface. They sanded out ok, but only with extra effort and close to sanding through to the wood. Anyone else ever have this problem??
Kevin Sjostrand
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by Kevin Sjostrand »

YES! I had this happen also. I thinned it down 20% with regular lacquer thinner and then it sprayed fine.
I didn't have the Behlens reducer at the time, if you have it, you should probably use that to thin with.

Thin it and you should be fine.

Kevin
tippie53
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by tippie53 »

If you are using a spray system you should be thinning your product . I use a 10% thinner and 10% retarder . I use an HVLY with a turbine compressor. A pressure cup I will use another 5% , Adjusting the sprayer is also important.
You want a good atomized action without having the product drying before it hits the surface . Right nozzel and proper air pressure will get you doing a perfect finish in no time.
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
nehsgolfer
Posts: 89
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by nehsgolfer »

Sorry for not saying that I am using rattle cans.
David L
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by David L »

I read somewhere that said to soak rattle cans in hot tap water to prevent spitting. I haven't sprayed yet so I haven't tried it. Maybe someone knows something about it?

David L
tippie53
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by tippie53 »

You should soak it in hot water out of the tap. 100 degrees is good. Also clear the nozzle when finished . One nice thing is that this stuff is easily remelted with thinner. You want to have a nice even wet coat .
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MuddyFox
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2011 4:00 am

Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by MuddyFox »

I've painted many a R/C car body with rattle cans. Like others have posted, warming a can in hot water does the trick. What I've found is:

-water shouldn't be too hot. you should be able to keep your hand in it and not get scolded. 100 degs sounds right, depending on the actual can material thickness you might go a bit higher but again not so high so that you need a visit to the burn unit afterwards.
-try to spray in dry weather. this may be a coincidence but to me it just comes out better when it's not humid outside. ymmv.
-try to spray in warm weather. if you absolutely have to spray in the cold, take it out to spray and quickly bring it back in. repeat for each coat.
-try to spray in a place sheltered from any sort of moving air, both inside and out. if you spray outside watch out for flying dust, fruitflies and such. I'm always amazed how much c*ap is actually airborne at any given time. moving air also sticks paint particles together and you can't get that fine mist you're after.
-clean the nozzle as John said
-reheat the can cca every 20-30secs of spraying (in my case that was enough for a coat)

I'm quite sure I've forgotten something, hopefully someone else will cover that... :)
David L
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Location: Slidell, La

Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by David L »

The tip I read said to have about three cans soaking at the same time and rotate usage between them frequently, again, just repeating what I read, I haven't done it yet.

David L
MuddyFox
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Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by MuddyFox »

Sounds reasonable and goes along with my last tip. I usually only needed one can but if I needed more I'd probably do it that way.
nehsgolfer
Posts: 89
Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:09 am

Re: Behlen Vinyl Sealer Problem

Post by nehsgolfer »

If you've ever been in Tennessee, you know that "Warm" and "Dry" don't go together. The humidity is directly proportional to the temperature.
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