Thinning RAPCO paint...

[Augdog1964]

Hey guys...

I need to thin Rapco paint for a touchup / spray job on the Mk15A1 trailer.

What do you guys thin Rapco with for spraying?

Thanks!

 

[B3.3T]

Xyleen, 25% has worked great for me over 18 years.

 

[shenkmen]

Xylene here too. That is what Rapco recommended.

 

[randygk]

Home Depot sells a Klean Strip product called Industrial Maintenance Coating Thinner. Substitute for Xylene - what I've used for two trucks with Rapco paint

 

[Recovry4x4]

I've had great results with mineral spirits as well.

 

[Warthog]

Straight from the RAPCO website:

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Thinning ratio for paint & primer is 4 parts paint or primer & 1 part thinner. Most of our customers prefer XYLENE. If you have a Gallon of paint or primer that has set for some time, you will need to scrape the bottom of the can and put it on an agitator for a minimum of 10 minutes to ensure the proper quality. XYLENE can be purchased at your local hardware store.

http://www.rapcoparts.com/pathrenew.html
[/FONT]

 

[Augdog1964]

Thanks all!

LOVE Rapco paint and great service too!

 

[M35A2-AZ]

Home Depot has Xylene also.

 

[jcappeljr]

mineral spirits.

 

[Recovry4x4]

When I first embarked on painting a deuce with Gillespie Coatings I was tutored by a collector from the old Mil Veh list. Some of the things I remember him pointing out was that what you thinned the paint with was dependent on shooting conditions. For those of us in hotter climates that don't have the advantage of a booth need to consider a thinner that doesn't evaporate so quickly. He advised me that using mineral spirits left the wet edge wet a little longer in the hotter climates so that you could get it overlapped with another pass of the gun. I have had nothing but positive results using the spirits that he suggested. I'm not an expert on this, just relaying what I was told would work and it did.

 

[Bill W]

Gillespie recommends either mineral spirits Naptha or Xylene and as Kenny stated if its hot out and your painting outside you may want to use Mineral spirits as it will dry slower than the other 2 solvents giving the paint a better chance to flow out. I myself use Naptha or if I'm using hardener then I'll use Xylene ( it mixes better with Hardener )

 

[zout]

Let me add this - the more you thin the paint which you are not doing - your reducing the paint - the more reducer you use the better chance it has to crack and peel after it has dried and been in the elements. You thin laquer paints but this paint is not a laquer base paint. Anything that needs reducing when it comes at the viscosity it does - anything over a 4 to one ratio is not a good sign. I had seen where you can reduce it 10% - that is insane and I have sanded and repainted two vehicles to get rid of the stuff and move onto a better product. Might I add - the Behr Ultra paint just shot on the M909 is 1000 times better than that rapco chit.