Chip Repair- Acrylic / Fiberglass Tubs

[bathfix]

Any help would be appreciated.

I have got chip repairs to cast iron/pressed steel enamel bath down to virtually invisible, however the same process doesnt work on acrylic.

With acrylic I always seem to get a Black hue around the edge of the repair its almost like an outline around the edge.

I am turning work away as customer satisfaction is really important to me and I cant get the repair invisible.

As stated any tips from members would be fantastic.

Darren

[BRAOA]

Try adding more reducer to your last coat. Some refinishers will actually spray a last coat of pure solvent over the repaired area. On acrylic, your coating does not self level as good because of the burn into the acrylic , you are actually seeing an edge not a black hue, and that edge will give you a black hue appearance. Hopefully with more solvent in the last coat it will self level more giving you a better blend.

[diamondtub]

Do your body work to fill any cracks or chips in acyrlic first, final clean with isoproyl rubbing alcohol, tack it and spray the spot.  Then to burn out the overspray use Transtar Edge Blender.  This product is my dearest and best of friends, without which I would be returning many times to buff out overspray on spot repairs.  Read the label and follow spray procedure religiously or else it will run. Not normally a problem on horizontal surfaces.  This product burns off about 90% of the overspray and makes the edges blend in.  No real noticeable orange peel is left behind and I have NEVER had a callback.  Try it at home first.  Then never let it go out of stock and BLEND AWAY BROTHER!  You can buy it local at any wholesale automotive car paint store. Cheers
http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/tre-6363.html

[bathfix]

Thank you both for the tips.

I currently - prepare area with 300 grit wet and dry, clean - fill with expoxy filler - allow to harden and rub down again with wet and dry.

Then mix colour and using air brush spray over repair through a cardboard cut out slighty bigger than the damaged area.

So after my final coat do I airbrush a pure solvent coat before the the material has dried or whilst its sill wet? Also does the solvent coat go on quick thick or just a quick blast over the whole area?

Thank you very much

Darre

[BRAOA]

Apply light mists in a couple of light passes immediately after coating and let flash for a few minutes between each coat and don't over apply or you will get runs. 

[bathtubfixer]

There is a great product at multitech for repairs. They sell it as a refinishing material in a can to refinish entire tubs. NOT ME Nor do I recomend that. But it is awesome for repairs. They sell a polyfill that does not pinhole like bondo and it is white. If the finish ever wears, the filler is still white. After I fill and sand 1 or 2 times to get a smooth finish, I will put a light coat and hit with hair dryer( this will seal the edge of filler so it wont curl), repeat a few times and hit the last coat wet. Finally, spray the product to brn the overspray with and you have a great repair. This product almost self tints to the color of the tub. It is my best friend. I have done $3200 worth of repairs at a new hotel in 2 days with 2 men and 2 cans of material. I now use a wipe on primer before I spray, but I have never had to go back and repair again.

[bathfix]

Bathtub fixer ,

Do they sell this in the UK?

Thanks
Darren

[bathtubfixer]

I am sure that they will ship it anywhere. Google search surface repair. Multi tech bought out surface repair, so thier website will pull up. The surface repair is a refinishing material that is an aerosole can. Of course I would not use it to refinish a fixture but it is a great chip repair finish. I have not carried a compressor for chip repairs in 5 years and never had a complaint.

[BRAOA]

I am sure that they will ship it anywhere. Google search surface repair. Multi tech bought out surface repair, so thier website will pull up. The surface repair is a refinishing material that is an aerosole can. Of course I would not use it to refinish a fixture but it is a great chip repair finish. I have not carried a compressor for chip repairs in 5 years and never had a complaint.

Just for your info... http://www.multitechproducts.com/

There is an annoying pop up that says "Please be patient blah, blah, blah", but the site is still functioning. Just click out of that pop up.

[bathfix]

I have emailed them 4 times and no reply. I notice they do a paste you can tint and apply to the chip - no spraying or paint, has anyone tried this?

Looks interesting !

[JasonS]

bathfix,

We talked about this product a little bit in this forum....... Re: Bathmats On A Reglazed Bathtub

I have tried it and it works great. A little pricey, but I love using it! I strongly recommend this if you can get them to respond to you

[bathtubfixer]

Multitechs phone # is 1-951-834-9066.

[The-bath-business-guy]

Hi Darren from Bathfix,

If you are still using your airbrush for repairs, then I'd stop using the cardboard cut-out on them. You want to get the paint landing on the repair itself and then have it very gradually fade away around the edges. A chip the size of a thumb-nail might well have paint sprayed over an area the size of the palm of your hand, or larger,  and most of that is just fading the paint out.

There are different techniques to fading the paint. The easiest is probably pulling the airbrush away from the chip as you spray. Some guys flick the paint out from the chip.

I usually spay in the chip, using a few coats and drying each coat with a hot-air gun. Then when the filler has disappeared I put on a coat which I fade out. Then hit it with thinners so the edge flows out and goes smooth (otherwise you get a rough "halo" which will collect dirt over time).

I leave it for some minutes to let the thinners do their stuff then hit again with the hot air to dry it quick to try and prevent dust landing.

Hope this helps


John

[bathfix]

Hi John,

Thanks for the tips - I just can't seem to get this right. Really frustrating 

I guess it's just practice

Think you cover some areas I cover and some I don't. Let me know as I am always willing to pass on work out of my area.

Thanks
Darren

[The-bath-business-guy]

Thanks Darren,

I cover London and the Home Counties  and most of Scotland, but not the bits in between like Birminghan and Manchester. (I realise that this might seem odd. It's a long story and, even if I told you it, I'm afraid you'd still find where I work odd)

I say I cover the Home Counties but I'm not actually sure what "Home Counties" means to be honest. I'm originally from up north.

Where do you operate?

If I was ever doing a repair near you then we could meet and I could show you how I do it.

Let me know what you think.

John