more spray paint stuff

Rustoleum is good paint, and normally performs as specified. I'd assume you got cans from a bad batch -- insufficient propellant, clogged or defective valve, etc. FWIW, Rustoleum and other paint companies usually don't make their own cans, so they're at the mercy of another vendor for the quality of the delivery system.

Take it back to the place of purchase, get a refund, then buy some from a different store. Likely, you'll be happy.

LLoyd

When the cans stand for a long time, the heavy part of the paint settles to the bottom. When you shake the can, it is SUPPOSED to remix it, but it is quite possible that some of the heavy part has built up in the dip tube, and does not remix. I have never done this, but I wonder whether storing the cans up-side-down would help. One thing that does help is to shake the can prior to use, in a stream of hot water. The heat thins the paint, and raises the propellant pressure in the can. This is particularly useful if the can has been stored in a cold garage prior to use.

Don't do what one friend did: he put it in a coffee can of water on the stove, and left the room. The bottom of the can blew out--the can shot up vertically and damaged the ceiling. The thrust broke the cast iron stove grate. And of course--paint everywhere.

I buy a lot of rattle cans from the 99c stores. Generally Rustoleum, Krylon and so forth. When I get a can that has deflated or wont spray..I puncture the can at the top with an ice pick (if pressured..held in a fixture) then pour it into a quart can. Then I use the above touchup gun to do the actual painting. Its a surprisingly verstile lil bastard and have used it for virtually ALL my machine painting, not even bothering to get out one of the big Binks or SpeedAir guns.

Quart paint cans are cheap at any paint store.

Gunner

Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"

"Gunner" wrote: (clip) Then I use the above touchup gun to do the actual painting. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Gunner, have you tried the fill-it-yourself spray cans they have at Harbor Freight? They pump up with air and work really well for me. One advantage is you can leave the paint in the spraycan--no need to clean up each time you use it.

I machined some little nozzles out of brass. The stems are the same size as those on sprayhead nozzles, with thru holes. The other end is threaded to screw into a Bernz-O-Matic valve head. I put that lot on a propane bottle, invert the bottle and press smartly down into the rattlecan from which I'd pulled the nozzle, open the propane valve for about 10 seconds while maintaining constant downward pressure. Close valve, extract smartly, replace nozzle that has been soaking in lacquer thinner for a bit. It works 99% of the time.

Note: wear safety glasses, do not wear your best shirt nor do it using milady's grand piano as a workbench.

You got a picture of that setup, Don?

Grant

Thanks for sharing the idea Don.

Mark Rand RTFM

"Don Foreman" wrote: I machined some little nozzles out of brass. The stems are the same size as those on sprayhead nozzles, with thru holes. The other end is threaded to screw into a Bernz-O-Matic valve head. I put that lot on a propane bottle, invert the bottle and press smartly down into the rattlecan from which I'd pulled the nozzle, open the propane valve for about 10 seconds while maintaining constant downward pressure. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ You could sell those, Don. Not only are you clearing the tube, you are adding pressure, which has to be helpful.

Yup..Ive got a couple of them kicking around. And they do work well enough. But since Ive got shop air everywhere, its nearly as easy to simply pour paint into the lil gun and go for the gusto. Cleanup is easy, though yes, you have to do it. Sometimes Ill not use that particular paint for a few months, and when I do..its generally in a bigger amount than that lil self contained sprayer can hold. But then, thats just me. They do work well enough.

Gunner

Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"

OOOH!!!! I LIKE IT!!!

Gunner

Rule #35 "That which does not kill you, has made a huge tactical error"

Of course!

Ive got a couple propane heads of various brands that had the nozzle and tube broken off (when they fall over..they tend to bust off the brass tube that has the flame on the end...gets exciting)

Marvelous idea for recycling a pair of them.

Thanks!

Gunner

"A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences."

- Proverbs 22:3

Now the other question... Have you ever tried it with PU foam cans?

Mark Rand RTFM

Very good Don. I'll have to build one or two. It would have been nice to compress the second pix a little, it took quite a while to download it. The first one was a "blink". Still it was worth it. :-) ...lew...

...

I was about to make one of these when it occurred to me: if the rattle can uses propane as a propellant (don't they?) then the pressure in the propane torch bottle won't be any higher than that in the rattle can and there'l be no transfer. Do you warm the propane bottle to increase its pressure? Or do you just use this to recharge rattlecans that have used up their propellant? I was thinking that you used it to clear clogs in the rattle can.

Needing enlightenment, Bob

I made one of these, using Don's as a model. It works great. A couple of observations:

- it sounded like there was significant flow into the rattle can, i.e., significant pressure difference between the propane supply and the rattle can. Since the rattle can wasn't out of pressure when I started, its propellant must not be propane (both cans were the same temperature).

- I got paint blow-back into my adapter. I tried avoiding this by having the rattle can inverted at first & then upright to transfer liquid propane. What a mess!!! It seemed like it would work, but I got a lot of paint spilled. I could try again, but at the risk of another mess, I probably won't. Don - how do you deal with this? Just accept it and clean the adapter afterwards?

-mine:

pieces are just pressed together. The slit was cut freehand with a Dremel disk. I should make a holder for the Dremel to allow more precise (and neater) cuts. WIGATI.

Bob