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James Stokes
01-18-2008, 12:56 PM
I get a lot of calls to do aluminum plates. The lmm-14 works real good for this if you buy the spray cans. I would like to buy the 250 gram bulk bottles but I can not get this to spray from an air brush. I have tried hvlp sprayers, regular air brushes, The Prevail spray cans. I have tried straight from the bottle, I have tried thinning with denatured alcohol, water. I have added penatrol, Dish soap. Nothing works. How do I get this stuff to spray. I have just wasted 2 and 1/2 bottles of this trying to do 500 plates 3.5 x 3.75. I did get 400 plates done but still have 100 to go. Now I am going to have to buy more to get the job done.
If it would spray like the 6000 I would not have a problem.

Eric Allen
01-18-2008, 2:51 PM
I get a lot of calls to do aluminum plates. The lmm-14 works real good for this if you buy the spray cans. I would like to buy the 250 gram bulk bottles but I can not get this to spray from an air brush. I have tried hvlp sprayers, regular air brushes, The Prevail spray cans. I have tried straight from the bottle, I have tried thinning with denatured alcohol, water. I have added penatrol, Dish soap. Nothing works. How do I get this stuff to spray. I have just wasted 2 and 1/2 bottles of this trying to do 500 plates 3.5 x 3.75. I did get 400 plates done but still have 100 to go. Now I am going to have to buy more to get the job done.
If it would spray like the 6000 I would not have a problem.

Is that one water or ethanol based?

Rodne Gold
01-18-2008, 3:25 PM
We use a paasche with a no 5 nozzle and a gravity fed hopper to spray thicker stuff , we dilute it.
Secret is to have a bowl of water and use it to clear the clogging now and then.

James Stokes
01-18-2008, 7:15 PM
Lmm-14 is supposed to be water based, I have tried just about every type of paint guns available including automotive paint guns. Every kind I have tried has either clogged or not atomized enough to get a good coat. I am at a loss as what to do.

Alexander James
01-19-2008, 4:22 PM
Every kind I have tried has either clogged or not atomized enough to get a good coat. I am at a loss as what to do.

Use a very dilute mix (avg 5:1). Adjust your pressure to a min (12~18psi). Also the feed rate adjustment should be such that the spray is almost invisible exiting the nozzle. You may be suprised at how thin a coat is required... may have to take a second look to be sure there's a coating on...by then it's usually enough.

Bart Walchuk
01-19-2008, 4:59 PM
We use the Cermark LMM14 500 and 250gram containers and dilute it with ACETONE @ 1 part LMM14 to 2 parts acetone, this gives a fairly dark black, you can play with the dilution to achieve the desired black color depth. We spray it with a Iwata Eclipse air brush, (this is the only way to go) and apply such a light mist coat, it seems like you didn't put any LMM14 on. Now that I look back, I think of all the money wasted on the Preval spray method. Don't cheap out, buy a quality air brush ie: Iwata or Paashe. Remember time and practice will pay off in the end. Hope this helps.
Bart

Rodne Gold
01-20-2008, 1:36 AM
James, the big thing in our setup was the gravity fed setup, we had no joy at all with a bottle and the siphon tube.

James Stokes
01-20-2008, 12:22 PM
I tried a gravity fed hvlp unit, it clogged allmost instantly

Eric Allen
01-21-2008, 1:45 AM
I have no experience with the water based, with the ethanol based I've thinned it down so far you wouldn't believe and had great results. In some cases it was still too heavy an application, the stuff I'm working on is tricky. I use the professional airbrush (sure it is:) ) from Harbor Freight, I'd have to estimate I thin it down 10:1. Too thin has rarely been an issue for me.

James Stokes
01-21-2008, 8:52 AM
With the LMM-6000 I can thin that like water and still get a good spray. But if I try to use that on aluminum I have to use about 20% speed. With The Lmm- 14 I can run at 65% speed. I would much rather use that on the aluminum. The chemical in it seems to be a grainier chemical and clogs my tips. Even using guns that have screens in them clog.

Sean Weir
01-21-2008, 5:47 PM
Hello James,

We use two spray guns here in our lab, a Binks M1-G HVLP gun and a Paasche VL series airbrush. Tip size is very important, the CerMark and TherMark marking materials are ceramic in nature and are much more grainy than your typical paint. This means that you'll need to make sure that the spray tip opening diameter is large, typically much larger than for paint.

On the airbrush, we are using a #5 tip, which has an opening diameter of 1.07mm. We spray at about 35 to 40 lbs line pressure.

On the HVLP gun we use a 91 tip, which has an opening diameter of 1.00mm. Again, we spray at 35 to 40 lbs line pressure.

LMM14 is thinner than LMM6000, and can usually be sprayed without thinning. 14 does settle out fairly fast, which might also be causing some of your issues. Try to use smaller amount in the spray apparatus reservoir, and agitate by shaking a little between sprays. You may also have better results spraying at a higher pressure.

Also, be sure to strain the product through a paint strainer before putting it in the gun, if there are any dried particles in the mixture they may not redissolve completely and clog the gun.

I hope this helps, if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,

Sean