Paint Mixing for Idiots

[Chaparralman1974]

Ok, I am going to apologize in advance for a dumb question....but math was never a strong point with me, so please be gentle. :-)

I am getting ready to apply a seal coat of epoxy primer to my project. I am using the eastwood epoxy primer which is a 1:1 mix ratio of primer to activator.....easy enough. Now, according Eastwood, I need to reduce this by 20% with a urethane reducer in order to use it as a seal coat. How do I do this on a mixing cup? I have a boat load of these.

Math sucks....plain and simple. In high school I dropped out of geometry because it was dumb and I would never ever need to know squat about angles. Well, I ended up joining the Marines and they made me a mortarman.....I guess Mr. Tuttle (geometry dick in HS) was right after all.


Clay

[mongocanfly]

I'd go by the oz. marking on the cup... multiply however many oz you mix by .20...that'll be how much reducer you need

[Getter-Done]

I total understand this.

The math thing.

I almost failed Algebra in the 80's .
My grandpa helped me through this issue.

Stay with me on this story.

I was a Knucklehead back then. (and still can be)

I would ask the math teacher,
Why do I need to know A+B=C ?

She said it is a Formula you apply to figure things out.
Years later I Totally Understand.

Grandpa sat me down on the back stoop of My Grandparent's home.
Then He proceeded to show me WHY.

At 17 years old I didn't need that.

Now years later I am a Machinist.

I not only use Trigonometry.
I know how to spell it.

Now let's get serious.

When you are getting ready to mix the paint you can give me a Call.

You have to use the KISS philosophy.

Just use the single digit stuff.

Think of this as Money.

If you have 50 cents of Primer./ 5 ounces of primer
Then you add 50 cents of activator. / 5 ounces of activator

This mix is = to 100%

You have a 1:1 ratio.

Then add 20 cents / 2 ounces of Reducer.

[Chaparralman1974]

Yeah, math has always been a challenge for me. It can be pretty embarrassing, but for some reason I just have always had a difficult time with numbers. The only exception is fractions. I have always been good at those....maybe due to my use of a tape measure for so many years doing concrete work. Thankfully, my wife is a numbers whiz kid so she handles all that stuff.

Ok, I think that I will try to just use 20% of the total after I mix the primer and the catalyst like Greg mentioned.

Thanks fellas!

Clay

[hugger6933]

If you do fractions 1/5 reducer. If improves flow from the gun . I add a little MR186 to all my primers and have for many many years [Thats Omni numbers for the non PPG people] It just a splash to like I said help flow and reduce the "pebbled" look that some primers might give off depending on the primer. Good luck Happy sanding [although if your doing sealer your close to done with the sanding. Thanks for your service. Jim

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

If you do fractions 1/5 reducer. If improves flow from the gun . I add a little MR186 to all my primers and have for many many years [Thats Omni numbers for the non PPG people] It just a splash to like I said help flow and reduce the "pebbled" look that some primers might give off depending on the primer. Good luck Happy sanding [although if your doing sealer your close to done with the sanding. Thanks for your service. Jim

Thank you Jim!

I am getting closer now. The only body work left on the truck is the tailgate now. I am hoping to get everything sanded and painted by Halloween, but we will see. :-)

Clay

[kwmech]

20 percent is a division of 5. So total ounces divided by 5. how's that for simple

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by kwmech

20 percent is a division of 5. So total ounces divided by 5. how's that for simple

Thanks! I will try it. :-)

Clay