Acme Clear
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So here it goes. I mainly spray PPG DBC base, maybe some Omni Plus here and there depending on the job. I used to spray Omni 161 high solids clear but recenly switched to MS/Western/Acme whatever you want to call it clear. I think it’s actually all Acme now and they did away with all the different names. But anyways, I just went to reach for the hardner on my shelf and it was hardened inside. The cap was plenty tight and it’s not that old. It was almost full. I started to shake it some and it slowly started to turn liquid again. It still seems a little thick though. Doesn’t seem like it would be safe to use. What would cause this? I’ve never had it happen with any other clear. I’ve used the Omni high solids for ages. I think I still have some Omni hardner on the shelf thats old as dirt and thats liquid. The other reason it seems strange is I had the same thing happen recently with a bottle of hardner for the Acme 2K primer. It was shut tight, bought recently and almost full. That was hard as concrete there was no chance in bringing that one back. Is this something common with the Acme brand? I like the way the clear sprays and its super cheap but if this keeps happening I’ll have to switch. I know Bondo Merchant sprays alot of this stuff maybe he can chime in. Let me know what you think.
I think you bought some old stock thats probably been frozen before. Get your money back.
most hardners come with a paper insulator beneath the cap, if its lost or damaged dont count on your hardner lasting very long. anyways ive had bad experiences with those lines of clears. have you ever tried the new morton line up of clears? the 40 glamour clear has to be the best stuff i ever used. so far ive used over 120 gallons and ive had no problems with it. it sprays incredibly easy, flows excellent, and the shine is unbelievable, even after 2 years the cars look like they were sprayed yesterday.
I wondered if maybe I got some old stock too. But I believe that just started labeling the stuff as Acme so it can’t be that old. Yeah I know what you mean about the cap. I hate the cap that comes with the Acme hardners. I like the Omni caps alot better. I’ve never had any experience with the morton line. I can always switch back to Omni if I had to but I wanted to try something else. I always feel like maybe I’m missing out on something better. I’ve heard good things about SPI but I like to be bale to get supplys local. I’ve also heard some decent stuff about Transtar Euro. I dunno…too many different products out there.
Dupont use to use those metal caps and I had that problem a few times. The store should exchange it for you.
Those clears you use are pretty nice. Bondo turned me onto the 15420 (don’t know the acme #) and it holds up good. Put it on my wifes car.
One thing to watch out for with Transtar is UV inhibitors. They are usually light on them. I would stick with a major labels economy line. Or give SPI a try. I have never used them but alot of people seem to be happy with them.
could be old, cap left off for a while last time you used it or some of the solvents they put in to make the cat had a high moisture content. if that was off spec it will cause premature hardening and can easily happen.
Only time I’ve had those activators go bad is when I left the little foil disc out of the cap by accident.
I always pop the tamperproof cap and toss it as soon as I open a can and try to wipe the rim down before I screw the cap back on. Those things will set up like concrete and require channel locks to get the cap back off.
The metal caps suck, the plastic spout type ones that alot of other lines use are much easier to deal with.
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