Scotchbrite Grit Equivalency Chart

 -TECH TIPS-

  

Have you ever wondered what grit your scuff pads are equal to? Wonder no longer!

3M SCOTCHBRITE GRIT CHART

7445 - White pad, called Light Duty Cleansing - 1000 grit
7448 - Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand - 600-800 grit.
6448 - Green, called Light Duty Hand Pad - 600 grit
7447 - Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand - 320-400 grit
6444 - Brown pad, called Extra Duty Hand - 280-320  grit
7446 - Dark Grey pad, called Blending Pad -180-220 grit

Prep Work for DIY Bedliner

Prepping Before Applying Bed Liner

1. Before doing any sanding, wash the area with a good quality degreaser soap, such as Dawn or Ajax.
2.  Use a wax and grease remover such as Klean-Strip's Prep-All.
3.  Protect the vehicle from over spray by masking areas that will not be coated. (Do not use plastic sheeting in an area that may get a lot of product on it. It could melt into your finish.)
4. Remove all rust by grinding or sandblasting. Blow off the surface to remove grinding and sanding debris.
5. Sand the truck bed with 40-120 grit sandpaper or use a nylon filament brush. The nylon brush fits on a polisher/grinder and saves hours of sanding. It is coated with nylon and should not cut down to bare metal.  NYLON FILAMENT BRUSH
6. Blow the surface to remove sanding dust and clean again with wax and grease remover. Allow the truck to dry completely.
7. Follow directions on the bed liner product and finish.

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Miscellaneous Tips for Colder Weather

-TECH TIPS-

 

Miscellaneous reminders for the changing weather:

1. Activators (hardeners) for clear, primer, paint, etc. will not activate below 55°/65° temperature. This depends on the product. Check the tech sheet. Keep the shop and the car at this temperature or above.

2. Large up or down swings in temperature cause condensation, make sure your water filters are working properly and if you haven’t checked your dessicant or filters in a while you may want to do this.

3. When selecting your reducer and activators choose the one for the appropriate temperature at the time you will be spraying, to avoid drying too fast or too slow.

 

If you need more technical assistance on other paint issues check out our blog at http://www.66autocolor.blogspot.com

Tech Tip: Solvent Pop

●TECH TIPS●

Summer brings its own set of pleasures and problems.  The hot days are great for going to the lake, but not so great when refinishing a car.  One of the most common problems we see in the summer is solvent pop, small air bubbles or craters caused by the solvent rising to the top of the finish. Solvent pop is from the solvents being trapped below the surface of the top coat.  The solvent becomes trapped under the surface film (primer, sealer, paint) and then rises to the top as it tries to escape. This is due to one of the following situations:

1. Using incorrect reducer or hardener for air or substrate temperature, which causes a film on the surface of the primer, sealer, or paint making it appear ready for another coat.
2. Applying product too heavy.
3. Not giving enough flash time between coats.
4. Putting a freshly painted vehicle directly into the sunlight.

Prevention: Allow the solvents to escape the product:

1. Choose a reducer or hardener within the proper temperature range, slow to very slow for temperatures 80⁰ + This will allow the surface of the primer, sealers, paint, etc. to stay open long enough to allow the solvents to escape.
2. Do not apply sealers, primers, paint too heavy.

Allow enough flash time between coats, be sure to read your technical data sheets for each product. For example Matrix paints instructs:  Each coat of basecoat applied requires an additional 10 minutes flash time between coats before clear coating. So, four coats of base would require an additional 40 minutes before clear coating.

Visit our store for all your body shop supplies:  66 Auto Color