A Rose By Any Other Name

I’ve recently been trying to locate a primer other than an automotive primer to see if there would be a difference in the way it applies the primer.   Doing a bit of research on the forums I came across a few references to a product called Plasti-kote.

This seems to be a product oriented to crafts and therefore might be more suitable for priming models.  So searching I awent.

As so often seems to be the case here in Canada, I found nothing.   None of the usual suspects carried Plasti-kote when I called them.

Now I found this difficult to believe.  Highly toxic chemicals that don’t have the same availability; plausible.  Duplicolor being the only possible option for spray can primer in Canada; not very plausible.

The objective then became to locate the distributor list for Plasti-kote in Canada.  Starting with the obvious I went to Plasti-kote.ca.  Nothing.  Tried Plasti-kote.com.  Success!  And there was a link to Canada….which takes you to the USA site.  Is American geography really that bad?

After examining the website a bit more I discovered that Plasti-kote is owned by a company called Valspar, and that in Canada the distributor is:

Plasti-Kote INC.
7655 Tranmere Drive
Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1L4 Canada
(905) 671-8333 Phone
(905) 671-0254 Fax
Contact: Gus Amodeo, General Manager
E-mail: sales@plastikote.ca

Excellent!  Surely this was progress!

Another quick search of the forum indicated that Micheal’s sold Plasti-kote and I have a Micheal’s near me.

Once arriving I confidently asked a sales person for Plasti-kote.  Blank stare.  For the love of God….

I was reffered to the aisle that contains models, Testors products and spray cans.  From a company called Valspar.   Faint bells start ringing…

Picking up one of the cans of primer I notice that the face of the can has a Valspar sticker that covers the whole front of the can but not the back.

Valspar Front - Lame Attempt at Hiding True Identity

This sticker is essentially rebranding the can.  Suspicious I read the back I find a reference to Plasti-kote.

Valspar - Plasti-kote in Disguise

Hellujah! Not that I needed more confirmation but you’ll note that the company address is the same as above.
So in Canada, and perhaps else where Valspar products are Plasti-kote.

The Dangers of DIY Spray Booths

So far my research into spray booths has been pretty enlightening.  I hadn’t considered the fact that an electric motor in the airstream may cause an explosion unless it is rated ‘explosion proof’.

This probably rules out the bathroom fan.  However there is some mention of bathroom fans still being used as they tend to use induction electric motors.  Basically there are no parts that spark therefore no risk of explosion.

However, I came across a very good article here http://www.briansmodelcars.com/tutorials/tutorial/23 that indicates that the insulation may break down over time on the wiring and may cause a short.  Well I know from experience that a short equals sparks.  Not good.

It looks like an externally driven fan or one that is ‘explosion proof’ is the way to go.  For the former I’m going to see what I can come up with from a local salvage yard.  Apparently these fans are called ‘Squirrel Cage Fans’  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_fan).  Who comes up with these names?  And do people really use these to cage squirrels?!  I bet you that squirrel doesn’t move an inch from the middle when it’s running.

Squirrel Cage Fan

Another posibility is a marine bildge fan.  These fans are normally used to ventilate the engine compartment of, wait for it, flammable gases!

Oddly these fans are pretty cheap.  The one in the picture is about $30 or so.  From I’ve been reading ‘explosion proof’ fans are pretty expensive.  I’ve not sure why the bilge fans are so cheap.   Suspiciously bilge fans are priced very similarly to bathroom fans.  Presumably they won’t spark and cause an explosion though so that’s a plus. I’m going to have to see what the CFM rating is on some of these, or more precisely whether they are rated in open air or not.

Bilge Fan

Nice Starter Airbrush Kit

While going through FichtenFoo.com I came across a recommendation of a nice starter kit for airbrushing.  “1/5 HP, 100 PSI Compressor and Airbrush Kit” from HarborFreight.com.  Looks like a full kit and it’s cheap.  Directly link here: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95630, FitchenFoo.com article here: http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/cheap-good-airbrush/

I’ll see how things go with the canned air but I imagine it must be nice to have a fixed pressure to work with.  Plus compressors are cool.   PUMP PUMP PUMP PUMP…