Comp-ARF touch-up paint

[reyn3545]

Anybody ever used Comp-ARF's touch-up colors?


They say to mix the paint 4-parts color to 1-part hardner..... but they don't mention any reducer. Do these colors not use a reducer? I would think, as think as the colors look, that you would need at least 1 part reducer to the above mix. Any advise?

[SUPERFLYJAY]

VERY TIMELY POST I JUST RECIEVED 3 COLORS OF TOUCH UP PAINT FROM COMP ARF I EMAILED MY REP (ANDY KANE) TO SEND ME DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO MIX IT AND WITH WHAT. SO IF YOU WAIT A DAY OR SO ILL FORWARD HIS EMAIL TO YOU WHEN I GET THE ANSWER. MY EMAIL IS ILUVWIRE@AOL.COM SHOOT ME A MESSAGE SO I HAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. HOPE THIS HELPS

[reyn3545]

If anybody else is reading this thread years from now, please take the time to test your paint mix on something other than your plane first. CompARF and their reps will tell you not to use a reducer, just paint and hardner. I did that, and the paint would not atomize well, it turned out very poorly on the plane.

I wound up wet sanding the rudder (again) and re-spraying it with an additional 1-part of medium reducer. That helped, and I could have even used a little more. It's a tough balance.. the more reducer you use, the faster the paint will dry, but the duller it will be. Again, test it on something other than your plane, and be ready to reduce as necessary.

[rstohr]

Wish I had read this first. Had to repaint some stripes on my 3.3 Yak and the paint came out like sandpaper. Maybe at the end of the season I will sand it down and try again with reducer. For now if I need to sand down some balsa, i'll just rub it on the side of the fuse

[reyn3545]

Now THAT's looking on the bright side!

[pfact]

Ray Labonte set me straight from the start - he had me use 1 part urethane reducer. I used a medium speed one and it worked great, if anything I could have used more reducer.

Be careful - not all reducers are the same, make sure you test it on something.

Phil

[pcastine]

I've used this paint several times. I mix 4 parts paint, 1 part hardener. Then I use a urethane reducer at about 1/2 the amount of the paint (basically 50% thinner). I've shot it using a regular touch-up gun and an airbrush and the mix works well with both.

Pete

[reyn3545]

Yep, I think 50% is probably about right... but I can show you an email from a C/A rep who says not to use any reducer!

I don't know what the shelf-life is on this paint, and from the writing on the cans, it obviously came from the factory, and might sit on the shelf for a while, requiring some reducer.

In all fairness, I can't blame C/A for me not taking the time to spray something other than my plane first... lesson learned!

[pcastine]

I took the CA paint to a local auto paint guy. He told me not to worry about the shelf life of the paint, but that the hardener has a very short shelf life. He was surprised they actually sold it that way.

One time I had done some touch up on a wing using some old paint and hardener (probably sat in my shop for 9 months or more) and now that paint is starting to crack off.

Pete

[rstohr]

Has anybody tried to color match the paint at a local paint shop? What kind of paint is it?

[reyn3545]

It could be any brand, especially since it comes from China... but it is a single-stage Urethane. In the US, PPG Concept is a popular similar type of paint. I'm sure Dupont and other brands also have Single Stage Urethanes also. Any paint shop should be able to match it if they have the computer based matching system.

The difference between the single and two-part colors is that the Clear Coat stage is not required with the Single Stage (it's already mixed in with the color).