Standox offers summer tips
Standox has issued a number of tips to ensure that the recent hot temperatures, coupled with either increased or very low humidity, do not stand in the way of achieving the perfect finish.
Here, Kevin Welling, training academy manager for Axalta Coatings Systems in the UK and Ireland, offers some valuable tips:
Tip 1: Choose the right combination of hardener and thinner.
When clearcoats are applied at high temperatures, choosing the right hardener and thinner is critical. To avoid drying problems and to ensure an impeccable result in terms of gloss and flow, refinishers should choose slower drying products. The temperature guidelines on the Standox hardener and thinner tins already offer some help in narrowing down the choice.
Tip 2: Don’t forget the humidity.
In some countries, summer means high humidity, which can affect the application of the Standohyd Plus Waterborne Basecoat. In higher humidity climates, they are easier to apply; refinishers will need less Standox deionised water for Standohyd in order to prepare the paint for spraying. In a hot and dry environment, however, waterborne basecoats dry very quickly. That represents a challenge for refinishers as the spray mist is not absorbed properly and clouding can occur. The correct product setting will keep the paint flowing long enough during application under difficult conditions to achieve good surface wetting. Application advice for different additives can be found on the technical datasheets.
Tip 3: Paint in the morning.
As the temperature tends to rise during the day in the summer, and the drying cycles make it almost impossible to lower the temperature, particularly in combination spraybooths, it is advisable to carry out larger or more demanding refinish jobs in the morning when it is still a little cooler. Plan your spraybooth usage sequence of vehicles carefully when the weather forecast predicts extreme temperatures.
Tip 4: Wear a sweatband.
If you work with a respirator mask instead of a full protective hood, wear a headband when the weather is likely to make you perspire. This is a simple and effective way of preventing beads of sweat from falling onto the fresh paintwork and ruining an almost finished job.
