Maybe I should call the EPA as this has got to be a problem with full
cans of spray paint being thrown away beacuse you can't use them.
I can get Krylon at one auto parts store, which has always sprayed
completely empty for me. but most places closer to me sell Rustoleum.
anyone else seem to find this problem with rustoleum?
Thank You,
Randy
Remove 333 from email address to reply.
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
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.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=86
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"
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
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.
OOOH!!!! I LIKE IT!!!
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
Maybe holding the propane bottle in my hands warms it enough -- it
wouldn't take much. It's like refilling a refillable butane lighter.
It does both, blows out clogs and replenishes propellant. An old can
that feels half full but can barely pee works great after a
treatment.(Never tried it on myself <G>) Ditto a nearly-new
nearly-full can that quits -- usually the stuff with zinc-rich pigment
like Instant Cold Galvanize.
[ ... ]
> Maybe holding the propane bottle in my hands warms it enough -- it
> wouldn't take much. It's like refilling a refillable butane lighter.
> It does both, blows out clogs and replenishes propellant. An old can
> that feels half full but can barely pee works great after a
> treatment.(Never tried it on myself <G>) Ditto a nearly-new
> nearly-full can that quits -- usually the stuff with zinc-rich pigment
> like Instant Cold Galvanize.
Also -- with the propane bottle inverted, it will be
transferring liquid propane, so it does not need much to do the job.
And if the rattle can has been in use and run out of pressure, it will
be cooler than if it had been just sitting there for a month or two.
Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: <dnic...@d-and-d.com> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
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:
http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/RattleCanAdapter.jpg
The 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
Um, why?
> - 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:
> http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/RattleCanAdapter.jpg
> The 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.
Curious, did you cut those threads on a lathe? I removed my Bernzomatic torch,
removed the two pieces that were threaded onto it, and measured the threads. I
got 0.427"-28 threads. Uber-weird. Further, they were a nonstandard tapered end.
Machining inside threads with that female taper would be real tricky.
How about a pic of your entire torch with that piece installed?
GWE
...
>> -mine:
>> http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/RattleCanAdapter.jpg
...
> Curious, did you cut those threads on a lathe? ...
Eh, you give me too much credit. The threaded hex piece was in my
"inventory" aka junk pile. I have no idea where it came from.
> How about a pic of your entire torch with that piece installed?
OK:
http://home.comcast.net/~bobengelhardt/PropaneTorch.jpg
as you can see it's a compression fitting. I.e., not tapered. The OD
of the tube is 5/16, which is definitely unusual.
Bob