@russ

but can I be a pain and ask if you know the difference between BSR and RAL Aerosols?

BSR and RAL are just different standards or numbering systems for the  various colours, nothing to do with the type of paint.

BSR and RAL are just different standards or numbering systems for the  various colours, nothing to do with the type of paint.

Cheers @robin. Yeah. I did a bit of digging and found that BSR is the British Standard colouring system and that RAL is the European standard system. I don't think there's much difference really. 

🙏🎸🙂🎶

an affordable collapsible spray booth.

I did start to look into a UV cure cabinet a while ago as I really love the idea of instant dry lacquer! I'm just really impatient I guess!

Now what we need is for Darren to come up with a nifty design for an affordable collapsible spray booth.

@jonhodgson

I've been keeping an old kitchen larder cupboard in the garage for that very purpose.

Standard 600mm wide, so a handy size for guitar bodies.  It's got a shelf already at a good height for hanging an object to be sprayed, can be closed off whilst the sprayed object is drying (to keep the bugs off), and cost me precisely £0.

It's not so collapsible though, and it always seems to be in the way ...

It's not so collapsible though, and it always seems to be in the way ...

@tv101

That's the thing, practically speaking there are three places I could do spray painting.

The first two have no power, but I could run a long extension out of my window
1) In (or just outside of) my garage
2) In the communal garden

3) In "the cage" (roofed but open to the elements area) at the London Hackspace.

In neither case could I have something permanently set up, it would need to be collapsible and ideally portable enough to put in the boot of my car (or the back seat, the boot is usually full of tools and materials when I go to the hackspace).

Now there are a bunch of ideas and contraptions out there on YouTube, including some commercial ones (you can even get an inflatable spray booth big enough to paint a car!), but with the inventiveness that Darren has shown with the fret slotting jig (definitely on my purchase list) and the buffer (maybe on my purchase list in the future) I'd be interested to see what he'd come up with.

It has just struck me that in my loft there is a canvas wardrobe with a frame of metal pipes that slot together. I'll have to take a look and see if it might be suitable, not sure how I'd implement extraction though.

@darrenking

Solarez is the answer, the problem is getting someone to import it (it's not realistic to do it for an individual purchase).

Now what we need is for Darren to come up with a nifty design for an affordable collapsible spray booth.

Don’t need to. What you need is one of these.....

Fully collapsible 2m x 2m or 3m x 3m gazebo. What is needed is an extraction/filtration unit that can clamp to the rear uprights and exhaust through the back wall..

Might take a bit of time to work out but I’m sure it’s doable.

Darren

@darrenking
I was looking into it and Homeright have a couple of units which are basically pop up tents for that purpose (the small and medium ones actually fold up with no assembly required). Interestingly the smaller one has an opening and straps inside and out for mounting a filter (on the inside) and an ordinary box fan (on the outside), but the medium and large do not for some reason.

The small would do for a body OR neck, but probably not an assembled guitar (unless it was a headless), the medium you could spray a complete guitar in.

https://www.homeright.com/products/spray-shelters/

Solarez is the answer,

I love the idea of UV cure lacquers for guitars and the fact that Mark has embraced this system just reinforces my enthusiasm for it. When I last costed a UV cabinet it wasn’t going to be cheap but I like the sunshine cure option other than for the fact that it requires A. Sunshine (not a reliable 52 weeks of the year commodity in the UK) and B. Open air exposure to the sunshine (when available). I don’t know what everyone else has found but, in my experience, small, stupid bugs are deeply attracted to the final, ‘most perfectly sprayed top coat ever’ application of lacquer far more than they are to jam, cakes, small children or even dead animals! WHY?!!!! They can’t eat lacquer and they die in the attempt! I guess I will just have to buff them out!!

There is a good utube video on how to build a diy cabinet by Maestro Kimon. Just need to up size it for guitar. I think Mark mentioned his system cures in a minute so it must have a secret ingredient.

it requires A. Sunshine (not a reliable 52 weeks of the year commodity in the UK) and B. Open air exposure to the sunshine (when available).

@darrenking

Solarez will also cure with UV lamps, they even sell torches (though those are intended more for small quantities of resin than surface finishes)
https://www.solarez.com/product/uv-cure-flashlight-high-output/

Also, bear in mind that you only have to keep the bugs off the surface for about 45 seconds if it's sunny, if it's overcast it will take longer, but it will cure.

According to their FAQ
"Anything better than dense fog will work fine. Very weak, hazy sun may take as long as 30 minutes to cure SOLAREZ®."

Interestingly the smaller one has an opening and straps inside and out for mounting a filter (on the inside) and an ordinary box fan (on the outside), but the medium and large do not for some reason.

@jonhodgson I would seriously advise on investing in an explosion proof extraction fan for any kind of spray booth, whether it’s makeshift or pro, temporary or permanent. The use of and buildup of flammable solvents in the air being sucked through an extraction fan that isn’t a sealed unit, could result in an explosion. It only takes one spark from an unprotected motor and you have a potential fire hazard. Can you imagine one minute you are happily spraying your guitar and the next you are in flames? 🔥🔥🔥🔥
I can’t stop anyone using cheap fans but I can warn you all, there are purpose made exhaust fans for extracting atomised paint overspray out of paint booths.

Yep, you guessed it, the fans are not cheap. 😆

At least you will still have your face intact though. 😂

https://powerstarelectricals.co.uk/explosion-proof-fans-36-c.asp  

@darrenking

, in my experience, small, stupid bugs are deeply attracted to the final, ‘most perfectly sprayed top coat ever’

Maybe a spray booth made of mosquito net material would let the UV in and keep the bugs out. 

@boo, good point, indeed I just looked at the "manual" (It's one page of instructions) of that spray shelter and it says

"WARNING : Explosion Hazard. Do not spray flammable paints or materials while using an exhaust fan. Spray only water-based products."

Nitro cellulose is particularly dangerous when sprayed or even just in storage. It’s used as a primary initiator in military ammunition and flashes above 65 deg F.

@rocknroller912
Billiard balls used to be made of celluloid, which is a mixture of Nitro Cellulose and Camphor
It's not only flammable, it can also explode on impact

Which, given the nature of billards, was an issue.

Apparently, it wasn't a major explosion, about the noise of a percussion cap, but the manufacturer did have a letter from a Billiard saloon operator in Colorado who said that he wasn't that bothered by the explosions, but rather that every customer would immediately draw his pistol.

Nitro cellulose is particularly dangerous when sprayed or even just in storage. It’s used as a primary initiator in military ammunition and flashes above 65 deg F.

@rocknroller912 Wow! I knew it was hazardous to health but I didn’t know that about it. 🔥⚠️

Billiard balls used to be made of celluloid, which is a mixture of Nitro Cellulose and Camphor
It's not only flammable, it can also explode on impact

@jonhodgson I didn’t know that either, I can see how it would be problematic for that application. 🤣👍

Nitro cellulose is particularly dangerous

They don’t call it NITRO fer nuthin’!