lesonal universal clear
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Been considering trying a different clear. Currently we are using Lesonal pro air over Sikkens ABP. I am shooting out of old cross flow booths and the airflow isnt the best, so I guess that is the reasoning that we are using the pro air. (it was in use before I started this job) The pro air does a decent job for me with the exception of buffing, if it sits more than a day or so it can tend to be a little difficult to buff. I was wondering about the Lesonal universal clear, anyone here have any experience with it? I was hearing that you can use the Autoclear III hardners and activators with it and it does better, any truth to this? My main problem is that most of the stuff we do requires some sort of buffing and if I paint something on a Friday and come back on a Monday to get it out of the shop it takes twice the time to buff.
Thanks
Chuck
When was the last time your exhaust fan and stack were cleaned out?That could be all that you need to get some more airflow along with fresh filters.The universal is a pretty good clear(I swear it is re-packaged ACII) it can be used for small jobs or allovers,thicker than proair and nicer to spray.I don’t know it you can use ACIII hardener and activators with it but I suppose it is possible.
We recently swiched from pro air to Sikkens energy pro 250. It works very well in a cross flow booth, has three activators. Spot pannel, med and slow. It seems to buff well. You could give that a try. The only draw back is its hard to do a large job with it. Its pretty fast stuff.
THe universal is much more user friendly than energy pro,if you use accelerator in the universal is very fast for quick jobs.Lesonal glamour clear is awesome for completes and one of the nicest clears in the akzo lineup.
i have tried the universal clear. though it was pretty nice stuff. buffed fairly easy. not a rock hard clear either. used the energy pro as well. i like that too but as stated it is fast. i cant really compare one to the other though because it was too long between using both.
[quote=”Jayson M” post=22591]THe universal is much more user friendly than energy pro,if you use accelerator in the universal is very fast for quick jobs.Lesonal glamour clear is awesome for completes and one of the nicest clears in the akzo lineup.[/quote]
Hey Jayson, on the energy pro, what do you mean by not being as user friendly? I have some issues with the clear but would like to hear what you have to say about it before I give my opinion.
I think that I will try a gallon next week. Any recomendations on spraying it? I spray my clear with a w400lv4 with a 1.4. How does it respond to adding reducer to it? I sometimes add about 5% to my pro air and it lays down real nice, but then the gloss might suffer the next day. How does it do in the summer months, I have noticed that pro air will pop on you if you dont let it tack real well between coats.
Chuck
Just spray it the way it supposed to be mixed in the TDS,no need for extra reducer,that is just asking for trouble.I put on a nice medium wet first coat,let it get hand slick,then put your second coat on nice and wet.It always worked for me no matter what the temp was,real easy clear to shoot.
Thanks Jayson, I will try some next week and post back how it goes.
Chuck
Just finished my first week with the universal clear. Mixing it with the Sikkens activators and using the lesonal clear hardners. This was recommended to me by my Sikkens rep. I love this clear. You dont have to pound it to get it to look nice like I had to with the pro air. I am mainly using the rapid activator in most of my jobs and using a little accelerator when it gets cooler out just to get it out of the booth faster. (I am spraying in an old crossflow and am challenged with heat) The medium activator lays down a little flatter than the rapid. But I guess that can be expected. I have not tried it with the lesonal activators yet, I might try that later. The only problem I am having with it is it runs way easy compared to the pro air. I think it has alot to do with the temps that I have been spraying in, its been kinda cool during the eve hours and I have been mixing it 3:1:1.5 per lesonals mixing instructions in cold weather. I might have to ease up on my first coat, then spray a full wet coat for my last one. But all in all I am real happy with how it handles and buffs the next day. Any recomendations on gun setup, techniques etc on the run issues would be great. I am using a w400lv4 with a 1.4 for clear. About 6 in from the panel, 20 lbs with the trigger pulled back, fan set 1 turn in from wide open and fluid adjustment cut back to about 1.5- 2 threads showing. The runs I am getting are not huge, but I am getting enough of them to know that I need to change something. I have picked up my speed quite a bit, almost reminds me of spraying an old binks 7 now. With the pro air I had to slow it way down and get in close to get it to lay as flat as I wanted. It also buffs really easy the next day, so much so I can hit my dirt nibs with a piece of 1500/2000 wet and then buff, no real need to get the 3000 out unless it was a larger area. Thanks for the help and sorry for being so long winded.
Chuck
Maybe try bumping up your pressure 3-5 psi,fan wide open and get in closer to the panel,like 4 inches and move a little faster.Being 6 inches away from the panel can cause you to go slower and get more film build causing a run or two.Let us know how it goes. 😉
What are your thoughts on overlap? I am about 75% most of the time, should I cut it to 50% to decrease film build?
Chuck
75% overlap is perfect,that should work out great for you 😉
Keep the 75% overlap. That is a good practice to be in with anything your spraying.
Are your runs on edges and out of door handles or are they in the middle of panels? This is important
I thought it was 80% overlap for clear…… Just sayin 😛
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