Painting on ripstop?
Nige
Can anyone help me? Please, I need to find out what
are the best paints and techniques to use when
painting on or tie dyeing ripstop.
Many Thanks
Nige
ni...@sportkites.co.uk
Posted from the Rec.Kites Archive at http://www.ikite.com - I Kite, Therefore I Am
Paul Collins
Nige <ni...@sportkites.co.uk> wrote in message
news:AAADC4AAK...@ikite.com...
Peter de Jong
wrote:
Hi
Look what I found on my HD:
Maybe a voice from the past will help you out?
Article 9 of 15
Subject: Re: Painting sails
From: kic...@eskimo.com (Mike Eason)
Date: 1996/09/07
Message-Id: <DxCJw...@eskimo.com>
Sender: ne...@eskimo.com (News User Id)
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: tia1.eskimo.com
References: <50l20t$1...@newsgate.dircon.co.uk>
<pRkHuHAw...@helen.demon.co.uk> <50mi27$3...@hobbes.cc.uga.edu>
Organization: Not Much!
Newsgroups: rec.kites
In article <50mi27$3...@hobbes.cc.uga.edu>,
JFE...@homebase.icad.uga.edu
says...
>
>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
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.
*******************
Regards, Peter
Peter de Jong <p...@xs4all.nl>
A&F Custom Kites Werkhoven NL
For kitebuilding tips: <http://www.xs4all.nl/~pdj>