quick question, I am planning a "cheap" paint job on a mini bike frame I am building. I will be using rust oleum professional paint with rust oleum reducer and Valspar acrylic enamel hardener. My question is, should I mix the hardener to the paint before or after thinning? the hardener needs to sit for 1/2 hour after stirring occasionally before spraying. The directions do not specify if it is added before or after reducer though.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Paint thinning and hardening
- Thread starter Doc1976
- Start date
toplessHO
Well-known member
I have been known to put unused contents into a jar and seal putting in refrigerator
and reusing the next day. May have to thin a little more.
and reusing the next day. May have to thin a little more.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
I have never tried it, but I have been told that enamel hardener produces an AMAZINGLY TUFF finish !
i guess i didnt read the can. i bought a quart of rustoleum farm and impliment enamel, and a small can of magic brand hardener. dumped about 1/4 the paint in the garbage, and mixed half of the can of hardener in, and topped the can off with vm&p naptha. mixed it well and sprayed it on my parts washer. i painted it at about 7:00pm. went to the shop the next day and it was fairly hard. if you picked with your nail it would dent and you could scrape it off. plugged it in and turned the water heater on and cleaned parts all day. today (2 days later) the paint is rock solid and looks great. ive used impliment enamel a few times and its alwas been an issue to get it thin enough. so ive started to use quit a bit of thinner. and i always double down on the hardener/glossifier
FlaGman
Well-known member
The Majic brand hardener is for oil based enamels. I have used it primarily when painting bright colors like red and yellow, which tend to dry slowly.
toplessHO
Well-known member
IIRC Ive used synthetic enamel hardner with the industrial rustoleum and it worked fine
I was wrong in my description. The valspar hardener I am using is for all oil based enamel.
As far as the majik stuff, everything I have heard and read says that stuff is junk. I don't know if it is the paint, hardener or reducer, but people are complaining about the stuff never curing. There is a video online of a guy who sprayed his chassis with it and over a month later could still scratch it off with his nail. I was going to use it until I read the reviews, that's why I decided to go the route I did.
Some RC hobbyists actually turned me on to this choice of materials because they are having great luck with it. I am planning around a 16-8-1 mixing ratio.
As far as the majik stuff, everything I have heard and read says that stuff is junk. I don't know if it is the paint, hardener or reducer, but people are complaining about the stuff never curing. There is a video online of a guy who sprayed his chassis with it and over a month later could still scratch it off with his nail. I was going to use it until I read the reviews, that's why I decided to go the route I did.
Some RC hobbyists actually turned me on to this choice of materials because they are having great luck with it. I am planning around a 16-8-1 mixing ratio.
rkevins
Well-known member
I think there is also a activation time that it needs to set before spraying. I used van sicle to paint a truck and it said to let set 15 min after mixing
Yeah, 30 minutes for the valspar. Which was the reason for starting this thread. I didn't know if the hardener was meant to sit for the activation period BEFORE the reducer was added or if it could be thinned and then add the hardener.
Last edited:
bczygan
Well-known member
Follow mfg. instructions?
Follow mfg. instructions?
Does not specify before or after thinning.
ilovevocs
Well-known member
Yeah, 30 minutes for the valspar. Which was the reason for starting this thread. I didn't know if the hardener was meant to sit for the activation period BEFORE the reducer was added or if it could be thinned and then add the hardener.
I’ve only mixed catalyst and thinner into paint at the same time. Unless temps are extreme or your reducer is really hot it shouldn’t make a difference.