Painting sails
Ian Newham
In article <50l20t$1...@newsgate.dircon.co.uk>, Hans Juergen von Lengerke
<len...@dircon.co.uk> writes
>
>and we were wondering wheather it was possible to use these
>fancy T-Shirt printers that they have in Copy Shops to print
>on a kite sail. OpalTygr said he knew someone who had done
>
In a similar vein has anyone used paint on ripstop?
I recently used some polyseter ripstop (2nds) which I could only get in
blue. I wondered if it would be possible to use light coats of aerosol
paint to brighten it up, The kind of paint used for touching up car body
work.
--
Ian Newham
Jim Feldt
If I remember correctly, KiteLines did an article about painting on
ripstop within the last couple of years. I cannot be more exact about
which issue because I am at work and my magazines are at home.
May the gods favor you with fair winds,
Jim Feldt, Athens, Georgia, USA
MDALLMER
>In article <50l20t$1...@newsgate.dircon.co.uk>, Hans Juergen von Lengerke
><len...@dircon.co.uk> writes
>>
>>and we were wondering wheather it was possible to use these
>>fancy T-Shirt printers that they have in Copy Shops to print
>>on a kite sail. OpalTygr said he knew someone who had done
>>
paper then sent the assembly through a color copier to put him and his wife's
picture on it. He then removed the paper and made a kite with their faces on
it, looked like the picture American Gothic. This was about 4 years ago and it
really hasn't faded.
Good winds...Mike
*
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* * Up with kites, down with bears (but only with a chute)
* *
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******** Mike Dallmer (P.A.W.S.)
mdal...@arserrc.gov
Paul Chandler
Ian Newham <i...@helen.demon.co.uk> wrote
>In article <50l20t$1...@newsgate.dircon.co.uk>, Hans Juergen von Lengerke
><len...@dircon.co.uk> writes
>>
>>and we were wondering wheather it was possible to use these
>>fancy T-Shirt printers that they have in Copy Shops to print
>>on a kite sail. OpalTygr said he knew someone who had done
>>
>
>I recently used some polyseter ripstop (2nds) which I could only get in
>blue. I wondered if it would be possible to use light coats of aerosol
>paint to brighten it up, The kind of paint used for touching up car body
>work.
I know that the paint used on the European Air Gallery (large Edo's) was
simply a domestic paint with Teflon added to help it to stick to the
ripstop.
Don't know much more about the techniques but some of those kites are
really great. Had the pleasure of helping to fly them at Washington the
past few years.
Try asking Charlie of the Artistic Kite Group at:
----------------------------------
| PAUL CHANDLER - York Kite Flyers |
| Pa...@FreeWind.demon.co.uk |
----------------------------------
pler...@dumbo.uk03.bull.co.uk
Ian Newham writes:
>
> In a similar vein has anyone used paint on ripstop?
> I recently used some polyseter ripstop (2nds) which I could only get in
> blue. I wondered if it would be possible to use light coats of aerosol
> paint to brighten it up, The kind of paint used for touching up car body
> work.
>
on this subject. After a lot of discussion, the conclusion seemed to
be that you could either use special industrial paints that would kill
you with no compunction unless you used them with enough ventilation
to fly a stack of flexis, or you could use Dylon Colour Fun Fabric
Paints (In UK, call 0181 663 4801 and ask for Sales, for a list of
stockists in your area).
I tried them recently with limited success - does anyone else have
any experience?
I was using them on Icarex 2nds, (probably the same stuff as Ian -
from Dunstable Kites?? Small world!) and found they remained slightly
tacky, even after heat treatment (I tried both ironing, and using a
B&D heat gun on the low setting). On the beach on holiday, the paint
picked up sand - you could wash it off with water and a little help
with your fingers, but it would have been better if it hadn't picked
it up in the first place. Perhaps I should have used several thin
coats, and heat treated each before applying the next. Since my fabric
was dark blue, I was probbly putting it on too thick. I was also in a
hurry trying to get it done in the last couple of days before going on
hol.
I also tried Dylon puff paints, and a similar German product called
Maribu or similar. These dried fine, and the heat required to puff
them up gave a good indication (I presume) of the heat required from
the heat gun on the other stuff. But I had problems with adhesion. The
Dylon stuck ok to the Icarex but the Malibu kept pealing off. I tried
sticking it back with copydex without much success, and with thixofix
with only a bit more success. In tests on scraps of Icarex and
Carrington, results were not consisent - sometimes the Malibu stuck
better than the Dylon.
I tried ringing the Dylon helpdesk number, but all they could suggest
is that my troubles, with both colour fun and puff, were because I
hadn't washed it first - they said that you had to get rid of
manufacturing residues before you could expect it to work, and you
needed to wash as hot as poss. I tried washing at about 70 degrees C
by hand (Ouch!) but no improvement.
What experience does anyone else have? What about permanent fibretip
pens?
- Philip
--
=============================================================================
Philip Le Riche Voice: +44 1442 884390
(Malgre son nom, ce brave homme Fax: +44 1442 884854
ne parle pas Francais) Email: pler...@uk03.bull.co.uk
=============================================================================
Dawnkites
Hi All, There are several ways to paint ripstop nylon: SPencer
mentioned Design Master..it can be splattered, hand-painted, etc,
it works great, but is highly lethal (acetone baased)and is available
at craft stores and some florists. Acid dyes are becoming more
popular. You mix them with denatured alcohol then paint, spray,
or vat dye the fabric, then steam to set the dyes. It is available thru
Dharma, PO Box 150916, San Rafael, CA 94915, 1-800-542-522.
Createx paint works good for airbrushing but does need to sealed
with a clear sealer. Fabric markers work ok,I like to use them for
touch ups. Water based permaenet markers also work. Alcohol
based permanenet markers fade rapidly. Thats all I can think of
except all these methods have been covered in Airborne Art News,
a publication to disseminate information. For more info, email Jevard
@aol.com. Good luck,
Dawn Williams
Mike Eason
In article <50mi27$3...@hobbes.cc.uga.edu>, JFE...@homebase.icad.uga.edu
says...
There's at least one other way to paint on nylon and polyester ripstop that
has some definate advantages. I'll cut and paste below the appropriate part
of an article that has now been published in several newsletters worldwide.
This is expanded from some earlier posts on the subject early this year.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Airbrushed Automotive Solvent Acrylics on Ripstop
Another kite painting technique that I first started testing and
experimenting with in July of 1993 involves airbrush painting on white or
colored nylon (Carrington) or polyester (Icarex) ripstop with clear, solvent
acrylic lacquers, the type used for automotive finishes, colored with
transparent dyes.
It all started when I was helping a neighbor repaint his truck using these
finishes. He was doing one of those metal flake and clearcoat finishes; you
know, the kind where the finish looks like a two foot deep pool of colored
glass. Usually an opaque base coat of a shade of grey or even white is
applied first, then one or several layers of clear lacquer filled with
reflective metal flakes, followed by several coats of clear lacquer colored
with solvent based transparent dyes. Knowing that many ripstop fabrics were
originally coated with acrylics to give them their finish and reduce
porosity, the proverbial light came on. "Hey, this stuff will stick to
ripstop, and, it's transparent!" Ripstop coatings now may be acrylic,
polyester, polyurethane, polypropylene, or combinations of other modern
polymers but all are compatible with solvent acrylics.
At that same time a few kitemakers were first using florist's spay colors on
kites. The florist's sprays are used to color dried flowers and weeds in
floral arrangements and can even be used to color fresh flora. But their
drawback is that the colors used in the florist's sprays, while quite
permanent on ripstop, are opaque pigments rather than transparent dyes.
Opaque pigments create color by how they reflect different wavelengths of
light falling on them but, mostly, block any light passing through from
behind. These early attempts looked great on the ground by reflected light,
but the saturation of their colors was dulled in the sky when sunlight,
coming from behind, was partially blocked by the opaque pigments. This will
be apparent when using artist's acrylics on Tyvek also, since these are also
colored mostly with opaque pigments. Transparent dyes, however, modify light
passing through them by filtering out some wavelengths of light and almost
totally passing other colors (wavelengths). As in pre-colored ripstop, the
filtering takes place once for transmitted light, the light that comes from
behind the kite, and twice for reflected light, the light reflected back off
the surface. That's why a kite looks darker, with more saturated colors, in
your sewing room than it does back lighted in the sky.
Before I get too far we should talk a little about airbrushing. An airbrush
is nothing more than a miniature air powered spray gun. Some airbrushes can
produce anywhere from a 2mm line to a broad fog effect. They are available
in single and double action models with various interchangeable tips for
different spread patterns and come in internal mix and external mix
versions. Some brushes use siphon or pressure material feed, or both. They
typically only need a small volume of air at low pressures so a large
compressor is not necessary, although a good quality regulator with moisture
and particle filters is very beneficial. You can even run an airbrush from a
really pumped up spare tire and regulator, with a homemade hose adapter made
from a used "Fix-A-Flat" can, for quite a while without even owning a
compressor. If you've never used an airbrush before, start with a simple
single action brush, available at a local hobby shop or art supply. Badger
(brand name) has one, a single action, siphon feed type with an air hose and
material bottle that sells for less than $80.00 (US). You can pay much more,
of course. You should also be able to find a similar model at any Sears,
Roebuck, and Co. store.
I won't go into airbrush technique in detail here, but would suggest some
practice first if you've never used one before. Practice with some
inexpensive airbrush paints and paper, using the guides that always come
with a new brush. An art supply or hobby shop will also be a good source of
how-to books on airbrushing. Basically, all paint application effects are
controlled with varying air pressure, dilution of the paint, volume
of paint flow, distance from the surface, and speed of your brushing stroke.
Hard and soft edges can be controlled using "friskets" or cutout masks on or
at varying distances from the painted surface. Frisket films are available
with a removable sticky back. And there are even special frisket knives with
swiveling blades for cutting intricate patterns and curves in frisket film.
But engineering drafting mylar, masking tape, paper, cardboard, and an
exacto-knife are all good substitutes.
The clear lacquer that I've used is PPG Industries, #DCA 468, "Duracryl"
Hi-Performance Clear Acrylic Lacquer. A notice on the can stipulates that
the product is intended for use by professional car refinishers only and is
not intended for sale to the general public, but I had no problem purchasing
a quart can for $18.56 ($24.13 List) at a local auto paint, body, and detail
supply shop. The associated PPG dye pigments come in pint (16 oz.) or quart
(32 oz.) bottles in a variety of primary colors. They are very expensive so
it's best to talk your supplier into, like I did, selling you small, four
ounce quantities in your own containers. The dyes are so concentrated that
four ounces of each primary will be sufficient to paint at least ten big
kites. Normally they would custom mix your colors into the clear acrylic
right in the store just like custom house paint mixes at a hardware store. I
found that I could mix almost any color from the three additive color
primaries; red, green, and blue. I last obtained four ounces each of PPG red
#212 for $19.05, green #217 for $15.40, and blue #216 for $14.48. That red
would be about $152.00 per quart, but you'll be measuring it by eye-dropper
drops, so four ounces will go a long way. Find containers for your dyes that
just hold the quantity you buy and have very tight fitting, screw-on lids.
Store the containers upside down
to minimize evaporation.
Later on, you may want to obtain some other dye colors that approximate the
subtractive primaries; cyan, magenta, and yellow. I'm trying to keep this
article as short as possible so I won't go into color theory here. But, if
your interested, find one of the Eastman Kodak Co. publications that deal
with color theory in a local photo supply or camera shop. Most encyclopedias
that you can find at your library should also give enough understanding to
get started also. Look up "color", "chromogenic", and "tricolor".
The instructions on the can of clear acrylic call for a dilution of
150-200%, with PPG solvents, for painting your family Lamborghini. That
would be 1.5-2 parts thinner to 1 part DCA468 lacquer. The solvents are
sold in different evaporation ratings for different shop temperatures in the
auto painting industry and are very expensive. I've had perfectly fine
results using plain old lacquer thinner from the hardware store. An
airbrush, however, requires a much thinner mix to perform well. I have found
that, using a Pasche' VL-B external mix double action airbrush, that
dilutions of 300-400% of the out-of-the-can lacquer work well
for air pressures from 5 to 15 psi (pounds per square inch). That would be
3-4 parts thinner to 1 part DCA468 lacquer.
Normally, the lacquer is pigmented with dyes at a ratio of 1-3% of total
volume. For soft shading on ripstop, where we are using fewer layers of
lacquer, I found that a dye concentration of 5-10% was more suitable. More
saturated colors can be achieved with dye concentrations, in the already
thinned lacquer, of as much as 18% of the total volume of lacquer. Anything
from the lightest of fogging effects to color more saturated and brilliant
than the brightest commercial ripstop colors can be achieved with smooth
gradations.
I first make up a thinned mix of clear acrylic and solvent that spays nicely
in a two to 4 ounce glass airbrush jar with a tight fitting lid. If you
don't use all of this in one session store it, tightly capped, upside
down to prevent evaporation. Color mixes may be stored for a limited time
this way also. If you don't store it upside down the very volatile solvents
will escape through almost any lid seal very quickly making the
mix unusable even a couple of weeks later.
Then I will use an eyedropper to make the final color mix. Count how many
drops are contained in a full "eyedropper-full". A 10% pigmentation of a mix
would then be one eyedropper-full of dye to nine eyedroppers of diluted
acrylic lacquer, or one drop to nine drops mixed right into a material cup.
A Material cup is a small, usually less than one ounce, open topped cup that
plugs into the siphon feed opening on the airbrush. Some airbrushes can also
use a two to four ounce bottle with siphon tube that fits into the same
opening on the body of the brush. An 18% mix could be 18 drops of dye to 82
drops of lacquer. Or, if I know that a full eyedropper-full of lacquer is 20
drops, I could use 18 drops of color and four full eyedroppers plus 2 drops
of lacquer. Divide all of these examples by two, three, or whatever for
proportionately smaller total quantities. I would recommend testing your mix
for the airbrush with several progressive dye concentrations on scrap white
ripstop. Keep a record of the mix proportions written right on the test
piece of ripstop with a waterproof felt marker. This will be very handy
later as a reference for future color mixes.
This testing stage would also be an excellent time to experiment with
different airbrush effects. A very low air pressure, say 3-7 psi, and a
fairly heavy flow of material will produce a spattering effect. The material
flow is usually controlled by unscrewing a knob at the rear of a single
action brush or pulling the finger control further backward on a double
action brush. The pressure is controlled at your regulator or compressor.
Try spraying along the edge of a cardboard or heavy paper mask, held right
on the white ripstop, with a light stoke to produce a hard edge. Then vary
the distance from the brush to the surface to decrease the amount of lacquer
reaching the surface and gradually decrease the intensity of color away
from your edge. Also try producing a soft edge by holding your mask or
frisket slightly away from the surface, letting some of the pigment to fog
under the edge. To build up more intense, saturated, color it is
usually better to apply multiple light coats rather than one heavy
application that would be more prone to running.
I have found that it is far easier to obtain smooth, even fields or
graduations of color on ripstop that is flat and unwrinkled, prior to sewing
into, say, an appliqué' kite although I think that some method of stretching
an already assembled kite skin could be used to flatten wrinkles and
facilitate smooth airbrushing.
I would caution anyone experimenting with these materials to thoroughly read
the instructions and warnings on the containers. Make sure you use plenty of
forced ventilation. The vapors are extremely flammable and volatile, and you
should judiciously use protective vapor masks and gloves. The lacquer and
solvents contain various toxic additives, plasticizers, resins, ketones,
toluenes, acetone, and esters. Some of these are known to cause cancer and
neurological damage as well as birth defects in situations of prolonged
occupational exposure. Hey, we don't want any pickled, mutant kitefliers out
there so be careful!
I must admit here that I have not, as yet, actually built and colored a
whole kite with this technique, except for airbrushed shading of flesh and
hair colors in an "Uncle Sam" (pointing) appliqué design on an eighty
square foot parafoil built by Terry Lee for Pierre' Langlois. It's that new!
Although, I have tested the permanence by washing several of my test pieces
and a couple of smaller paintings several times in a machine with my regular
laundry. Also, a piece left in the sun on my roof for almost a year, held
down and partially covered by some thick plates of aluminum for comparison,
have shown almost no deterioration of the original colors. The exposed
ripstop itself started to become deteriorated and brittle, though, from the
extended ultraviolet exposure.
I do have a kite designed, a ten foot Edo using a combination of acrylic
lacquers on both white and colored fabrics and appliqué, but have yet to
complete it. It will be a rendition of Sukaroku (S'-ker-ro-ku), a very
well known Kabuki theater character, done in a traditional (except for the
technique) pose and style. Some of you may even get a finished airbrushed
kite in the air before I do. Boy, I've finished all the patterns, have
friskets made, even have the bamboo "bones", as Japanese kitemakers call
their spars, and all of the fabric is on hand. I better get to work!
Have fun,
Mike Eason
copyright (c)1996, all rights reserved.
Tel: 206.334.0362 e-mail: kic...@eskimo.com
Mail: 10320 12 Place S.E.
Lake Stevens, WA 98258 USA
--
Mike Eason <kic...@eskimo.com>
Media Specialist: Everett Community College, Everett, WA
voice H:206-334-0362 W:206-388-9117 fax:206-388-9144
Newsletter Editor and Past President; SCI-FI
Event Organizer/Committee Chair,
Washington State Sport Kite Championships
Whidbey Island Kite Festival, 9/28-29/96
Andrew Beattie
In article <DxCJw...@eskimo.com> kic...@eskimo.com (Mike Eason) writes:
> [Excellent stuff deleted]
>That's why a kite looks darker, with more saturated colors, in
>your sewing room than it does back lighted in the sky.
Hmmm... Interesting you should say that. Working with Icarex P31 on
double-skinned soft kites, the colours looks kinda wishy washy an
transparant on the machine. I could read the paper easily through my
yellow P31 and without difficulty even through the dark purple P31.
The white is almost colourless (more transparant than white). However,
when the fabric is in the air, the colours (including white) are
completely solid.
Andrew
--
Axl Ferraro requires (3 years, 6 months) sometimes assistance in going
to the toilet, but can axle in strong wind with ease. *sigh*
Rob Stone
... lots of stuff about dyes and auto paints etc snipped
I want to paint Black onto white i LARGE areas, not fine detail, could
I just use car spray paints ? Im going to need quite alot of this so
cost maybe a factor.
Rob.
................................................................
Rob Stone, Dept Psychology, University of York, York, YO1 5DD
rf...@york.ac.uk. http://www.york.ac.uk/~rfs1/
Tel +44 1904 433161. FAX ...+44 1904 433181.
For a good time call www.juggling.org
................................................................
Mike Eason
In article <510o9h$3...@netty.york.ac.uk>, rf...@york.ac.uk says...
>... lots of stuff about dyes and auto paints etc snipped
>
>I want to paint Black onto white i LARGE areas, not fine detail, could
>I just use car spray paints ? Im going to need quite alot of this so
>cost maybe a factor.
>
>Rob.
Yes, that will work just fine, Rob. Are you fading off from opaque to white,
say, in bands? Or are all painted shapes with hard edges?
Rob Stone
In article <DxHxx...@eskimo.com>
kic...@eskimo.com (Mike Eason) writes:
> >I want to paint Black onto white i LARGE areas, not fine detail, could
> >I just use car spray paints ? Im going to need quite alot of this so
> >cost maybe a factor.
> >
> >Rob.
>
> Yes, that will work just fine, Rob. Are you fading off from opaque to white,
> say, in bands? Or are all painted shapes with hard edges?
> --
Hard edges - just black shapes on a white banner.
Off to halfords I go !