In the mild hope that rec.sport.rowing is 'just sleeping' rather than demised....

I have a number of old sculling blades that need a repaint In the past I've painted blades with rattle cans of aerosol paint - which gives a nice finish but is expensive. I'm thinking about trying one of the electric HVLP sprayers, which seem
substantially cheaper than the a conventional compressor spray gun set up.

I'm not needing concours level finish, just something smart and robust and that can handle painting 20 sets of blades. Any experience/wisdom gratefully received.

Andy McKenzie

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 02/03/2023 12:49, Andy McKenzie wrote:

In the mild hope that rec.sport.rowing is 'just sleeping' rather than demised....

I have a number of old sculling blades that need a repaint In the past I've painted blades with rattle cans of aerosol paint - which gives a nice finish but is expensive. I'm thinking about trying one of the electric HVLP sprayers, which seem

substantially cheaper than the a conventional compressor spray gun set up.

I'm not needing concours level finish, just something smart and robust and that can handle painting 20 sets of blades. Any experience/wisdom gratefully received.

Andy McKenzie

Andy -
There are a lot of electrically-powered paint spray guns on Amazon.co.uk
at ~£50 each. Of those shown in that range, Wagner might be your best
option as they also make grown-up industrial spray guns.

A 2" brush is quite a good way of painting blades - if you flow the
paint onto a well-prepped surface from a moderately-loaded brush rather
than trying to make the paint go further than it can flow. The thing
about a brush is that it acts as a reversible reservoir - push it down &
it expels paint, lift it somewhat while keeping the bristle tips in full contact & it draws paint back up, so a reasonably well-filled brush can
get you a great result.

With a spray you can apply fast-curing 2-part acrylics but then you
should protect yourself with a mask with ABEK1 P3 filters.

RSR is dying because everyone wants to use social media *and don't
understand Usenet), despite FB's inability t0 thread discussions, & its
many other peculiarities, make it rather tedious for serious
discussions. Even the trolls seem to have abandoned RSR...

Cheers -
Carl

--
Carl Douglas Racing Shells -
Fine Small-Boats/AeRoWing Low-drag Riggers/Advanced Accessories
Write: Harris Boatyard, Laleham Reach, Chertsey KT16 8RP, UK
Find: tinyurl.com/2tqujf
Email: carl@carldouglasrowing.com Tel: +44(0)1932-570946 Fax: -563682
URLs: carldouglasrowing.com & now on Facebook @ CarlDouglasRacingShells

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Painting blades with spray cans in my experience is quick and easy, but the thin coating is very quick to scratch and damage. It is best to spray multiple coats to toughen it up a bit. But pontoons, steps and stony shores quickly make the blades a
scratchy mess. I have a Wagner sprayer which is very good, but is a faff to clean afterwards, so would only use if you have lots of blades to do.

Painting with a fine brush seems to give the most durable coat and of course, surface preparation is key to a good finish.

I have also applied vinyls to blades and have been surprised as to how durable and reliable they are. I use standard car vinyl and can cut out logos and shapes as you like. If they are cut slightly back from the edge of the blade, there is no issue with
them peeling up and they can be removed and replaced easily.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, March 3, 2023 at 1:49:56 AM UTC+13, Andy McKenzie wrote:

In the mild hope that rec.sport.rowing is 'just sleeping' rather than demised....

I have a number of old sculling blades that need a repaint In the past I've painted blades with rattle cans of aerosol paint - which gives a nice finish but is expensive. I'm thinking about trying one of the electric HVLP sprayers, which seem

substantially cheaper than the a conventional compressor spray gun set up.

I'm not needing concours level finish, just something smart and robust and that can handle painting 20 sets of blades. Any experience/wisdom gratefully received.

Andy McKenzie

+1 for brush - especially where there is a complex design that would otherwise need comprehensive masking-up.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 4:49:56 AM UTC-8, Andy McKenzie wrote:

In the mild hope that rec.sport.rowing is 'just sleeping' rather than demised....

I have a number of old sculling blades that need a repaint In the past I've painted blades with rattle cans of aerosol paint - which gives a nice finish but is expensive. I'm thinking about trying one of the electric HVLP sprayers, which seem

substantially cheaper than the a conventional compressor spray gun set up.

I'm not needing concours level finish, just something smart and robust and that can handle painting 20 sets of blades. Any experience/wisdom gratefully received.

Andy McKenzie

I've used the aerosol paint can, with a Rust-oleum Comfort Grip attachment which takes the tedium out of the spraying process. On the highest wear points, vinyl decals, or even a logo printed on quality photo paper then attached with overlapping clear
Gorilla tape does the job for more than a year. RSR remains my go-to repository on sculling to glean insight from bright minds who have contributed over more than 2 decades.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tuesday, 7 March 2023 at 08:33:27 UTC, Strainer wrote:

On Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 4:49:56 AM UTC-8, Andy McKenzie wrote:

In the mild hope that rec.sport.rowing is 'just sleeping' rather than demised....

I have a number of old sculling blades that need a repaint In the past I've painted blades with rattle cans of aerosol paint - which gives a nice finish but is expensive. I'm thinking about trying one of the electric HVLP sprayers, which seem

substantially cheaper than the a conventional compressor spray gun set up.

I'm not needing concours level finish, just something smart and robust and that can handle painting 20 sets of blades. Any experience/wisdom gratefully received.

Andy McKenzie

I've used the aerosol paint can, with a Rust-oleum Comfort Grip attachment which takes the tedium out of the spraying process. On the highest wear points, vinyl decals, or even a logo printed on quality photo paper then attached with overlapping clear

Gorilla tape does the job for more than a year. RSR remains my go-to repository on sculling to glean insight from bright minds who have contributed over more than 2 decades.

Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions. I think you have swayed me over to a paintbrush approach for my next batch. These are pretty old blades, and even with my best filling, fibre glassing and sanding are never going to be concours standard. I'll
se how that works out before attacking the nice shiny set of unpainted blades that need doing. Will also look at vinyl for our fairly simple chevron pattern.

Andy

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)