With all this discussion on the water-based strippers, an ad for water-based
urethane finishes in "KitPlanes" magazine caught my attention. I don't have
a respirator, or a desire to become ill using regular urethane but I really
like the durability of the catalyzed urethane over any other finish. This is
the first time I've seen water-based urethanes available to the hobbyist, so
I thought I'd pass this along.
Last monday I called the "System-3" tech support line and asked about the
"Water-Based Polyurethane Paint Sampler", the conversation lasted about 30
min., these are the highlights:
The paint is formulated primarily for use on aluminum, composites, and wood
used on experimental aircraft, however, they were having good results on
boats, so it it should work on cars(?). The paint is a water emulsion, two-part
catalyzed polyurethane, and when dry is very similar to "Imron" in hardness
and luster."Pot-time" is about 3hrs depending on temperature, full cure several
hours. Best results are obtained with a spray gun, but roller/pad are fine
on sanding primers. They have ~50 std colors, mostly bright and light (as a
plane should be) but, could mix custom colors if needed. They did not encourage
painting over raw steel, especially with light colors due to the possibility of
rust bleeding through. Phosphate etched steel should work better, but they had
no definitive results. It is resistant to all aircraft fluids and very
difficult to remove with most strippers, but, there is no experience with
DOT-3/4 brake fluid. Cost per gallon is fairly inexpensve >> ~$95.00 US.
So, for $11 how could i go wrong? I ordered the sample kit......
This arrived yesterday:
1 pint each (incl. catalyst) of:
anti-corrosion primer for aluminum
sanding sealer/primer
white color coat
clear topcoat
and
two brushes
one 4" roller pad
4 paper cups
several pairs of surgical rubber gloves
Instructions
Paint Chips
Catalog of Aircraft composite/epoxy stuff
During the Christmas holiday, I intend to test this on aluminum, and
phosphate-etched sheet steel. Then immerse the samples in various nefarious
automotive fluids, expose to lots of UV (no problem in AZ!) and otherwise
mistreat the stuff. Any other suggestions for torture will be gratefully
accepted. Even if this will not work for a final finish, it could replace
the spray cans of lacquer for just casual painting...
Brett "I'll be painting a White Christmas in Phoenix" Engel
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