What's the best alternative to Line-X for covering drawers?

[JCruse]

You should be fine with your 6 gallon compressor. If you do run down the air pressure too much, just let it recharge. Plus, if you adjust the material feed on the hopper, you will not need as much air pressure to achieve a fine texture. Go to Harbor Freight and buy their hopper to spay on the liner: http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/paint/texture-paint-spray-gun-66103.html
I used it for all of my work and it is a third the cost of the Al's gun.


EDIT: I sprayed mine with a 4 gallon Dewalt Emglo Compressor from Home Depot

I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that! All along I've been remembering threads I read about DIY spraying Fluid Film and most of these guys had very small compressors. Even smaller than mine. So I went into this thinking I'd be okay. I just don't understand why Al's for instance wouldn't be aware of this. They'd sell more product. Everyone seems to be thinking in terms of only shooting large jobs and doing them quickly I guess.

Anyway if there are no objections I will be going ahead with this in the next week or so and reporting back. With pics. Unless of course it bombs.

BTW, do you have any pics of your finished projects?


Edit: I just checked and your Dewalt Emglo 4gal is rated at a bit more CFM than my porter cable. I hope it doesn't matter. At 90psi it's 4CFM vs 3CFM and at 40PSI it's 3.8 vs 2.6. (With Al's calling for 7CFM.)









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[VCCruzr]

BTW, do you have any pics of your finished projects?

Check out the link to my drawer thread in post #13

 

[JCruse]

Check out the link to my drawer thread in post #13

Nice fine texture. Great work btw.

Let me ask you something, did the flattener make the black on the truck lighten or turn more grey or is it just the lighting? Because I'd actually like that. Their grey is too light, I'd prefer a more charcoal grey color.

 

[VCCruzr]

I wouldn't say it lightened the color, just changed the look and texture. It did make it "appear" a little lighter. I definitely recommend the vinyl flattener.

 

[thatcabledude]

I recommend using the flattener also. In my case, I mixed half of the flattener to 1 gallon of liner.

 

[JCruse]

I recommend using the flattener also. In my case, I mixed half of the flattener to 1 gallon of liner.

I was thinking about doing that. Got any pics?

 

[JCruse]

Okay VCCruzr, the Al's Liner arrived today and the Harbor Freight gun and vinyl flattener are on the way. Any last bits of advice before I dive into this totally unprecedented (for me) project? I've never handled a spray gun before, let alone painted with such a viscous material. Any tips for a total newb? Anyone?

I'm still concerned about whether to paint the drawer in pieces or partially assembled, and how exactly to keep all the screw and other holes, lots of holes, from getting filled with liner.

I wouldn't be quite as worried if it was just spray can paint where I could take my time and experiment, fiddle with/move around the pieces as I go, but this 10 to 20 minute pot life has me a bit freaked out.




EDIT: I just read that the air keeps coming out of the gun after you release the trigger. I'm concerned that this would empty my small tank too quickly. Do I need to put an off valve on the line to the gun?










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[titanpat57]

Three variables when spraying...rarely changes

1. Air
2. Material (paint)
3. Spray pattern (round dot, vertical fan, horizontal fan)


Viscosity is key...follow manufacturers mixing instructions...be sure to strain the paint in a filter...use clean vessels to mix....cleanliness is very important

Add air and material very slowly.....pick desired fan pattern You need enough air to atomize it, but too much shoots it everywhere (overspray) If it's spitting out the end, cut back on material or increase air...you'll get it.

Experiment with some clean scrap to get an idea of how well the paint holds on a vertical surface. Read how they want it applied 2 "wet coats" (one right after the other) or some other description...it can vary.

 

[vonda007]

Three variables when spraying...rarely changes

1. Air
2. Material (paint)
3. Spray pattern (round dot, vertical fan, horizontal fan)


Viscosity is key...follow manufacturers mixing instructions...be sure to strain the paint in a filter...use clean vessels to mix....cleanliness is very important

Add air and material very slowly.....pick desired fan pattern You need enough air to atomize it, but too much shoots it everywhere (overspray) If it's spitting out the end, cut back on material or increase air...you'll get it.

Experiment with some clean scrap to get an idea of how well the paint holds on a vertical surface. Read how they want it applied 2 "wet coats" (one right after the other) or some other description...it can vary.

very helpful comment! thank you!

 

[JCruse]

Three variables when spraying...rarely changes

1. Air
2. Material (paint)
3. Spray pattern (round dot, vertical fan, horizontal fan)


Viscosity is key...follow manufacturers mixing instructions...be sure to strain the paint in a filter...use clean vessels to mix....cleanliness is very important

Add air and material very slowly.....pick desired fan pattern You need enough air to atomize it, but too much shoots it everywhere (overspray) If it's spitting out the end, cut back on material or increase air...you'll get it.

Experiment with some clean scrap to get an idea of how well the paint holds on a vertical surface. Read how they want it applied 2 "wet coats" (one right after the other) or some other description...it can vary.

Wait, strain the bedliner?? Are you sure?

It's got like a 15 - 20 minute pot life once mixed. I'd worry it would start hardening in the strainer!

If you're sure, what kind of strainer?

Thank you for the wealth of info though. Much appreciated.











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[SWCruiser]

i did NOT strain the bedliner before spraying. The hopper gun is not like an hvlp gun or spray gun. I don't even know what you would strain it with as the consistency is not like auto paint... Anyway with the short pot life I think your better off getting to spraying. Once you get the hang of it you can shoot an entire hopper full with time to spare but it will take some time to get the desired settings and texture. I sprayed my entire chinook project 4-5 gallons. The first hopper or two i felt like i was scrambling to get the stuff out and by the end it went quickly. I will say that you should have a table ready with all the components ready to mix if your spraying more than 1-2 hoppers. Once the stuff is in the hopper you also have to remember the residual stuff will set up in the hopper so you don't have a lot of extra time between hopper fills either.

 

[titanpat57]

Wait, strain the bedliner?? Are you sure?

It's got like a 15 - 20 minute pot life once mixed. I'd worry it would start hardening in the strainer!

If you're sure, what kind of strainer?

Thank you for the wealth of info though. Much appreciated.

My bad..was thinking automotive PAINT

Better check with the supplier for spaying recommendations, I'm sure you wouldn't be the first to spray it on.

 

[JCruse]

i did NOT strain the bedliner before spraying. The hopper gun is not like an hvlp gun or spray gun. I don't even know what you would strain it with as the consistency is not like auto paint... Anyway with the short pot life I think your better off getting to spraying. Once you get the hang of it you can shoot an entire hopper full with time to spare but it will take some time to get the desired settings and texture. I sprayed my entire chinook project 4-5 gallons. The first hopper or two i felt like i was scrambling to get the stuff out and by the end it went quickly. I will say that you should have a table ready with all the components ready to mix if your spraying more than 1-2 hoppers. Once the stuff is in the hopper you also have to remember the residual stuff will set up in the hopper so you don't have a lot of extra time between hopper fills either.

Thanks for the reply SW. Things have been so crazy around here I still cant get to this project and it's killing me. It's the fall run fishing season and I really could use the drawer and the extra space it would open up. It's completely apart as a kit and I'll have to shoot one side of everything, and then mix up another batch or two for the other side, then assemble. But I cant let all the pre drilled holes get clogged up with liner and I'm not sure how to do that. I wish I had done something, anything, like this before but I haven't, so I'm flying blind. Or at least that's how it feels. I went to the store and bought a ball valve air shutoff for the gun, so it doesn't empty out my tank while I'm not spraying, but the threading is wrong.

I'm gonna do it soon. I'm getting to where I don't even care about the texture, looks, or anything. I just want to get it done!










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[JCruse]

Okay folks, I finally shot the bedliner with the little Porter Cable pancake compressor and it worked great! I was even able to get different textures by varying the pressure and trigger pull, like with a bigger unit. I had no troubles at all, at least not due to the compressor. Since there were varying opinions on whether the unit would even work for this application, I thought I would report my experience for future reference. It's a Porter Cable 6gal pancake style compressor rated at 3.2CFM @ 40psi. Well below the 7CFM minimum called for by the liner manufacturer.

Going in I knew nothing about liners either but I used Al's liner and it looks good and is tough as nails. For instance after putting two coats on a sheet of scrap plywood and letting it cure, I wailed on it hard with a hammer many times and other than the wood denting in one spot, the liner didn't have a mark on it. Jabbed at it with a big screwdriver too. Good stuff.





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[warezdog]

Did mine with Al's in July, love it. Tested some John Deer Blitz black in a couple spots to see how it would hold and plan on shooting the rest of the truck as soon as I get a day above 60

 

[concretejungle]

another vote for the cheap outdoor carpet at home depot. I made a fridge slide and a platform that fits over the rear foot wells. So now i have a flat surface from the back of the front seats all the way to the rear hatch. I covered the platform in that carpet and it's really nice.