Dimension base coat and spi clear activator

Z

zachm

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Will dimension base and spi activator work together? Probably let it flash for 24 hrs or should I just use the Sherwin-Williams rhf activator in the vase. This is what I have available to me thanks.
 
I have an Ultra 7000 mixing bank, and have not had any problems with SPI clear over it, but I sure wouldn't experiment with the Dimension. It's borderline junk using it the way it is supposed to be mixed. Use the RHF and let it flash a loooooong time and it will work ok.
 
The clear activator will work fine as well as our reducer (actually will make it a better product)
Your idea of letting it set over night is a very well advised idea.
 
I sprayed Dimension a few years ago. Blue metallic. I called the tech line and they said it will probably start to chalk up in 6 months to a year. So, I put Euro over it and it still looks good today.
 
Barry said:
The clear activator will work fine as well as our reducer (actually will make it a better product)
Your idea of letting it set over night is a very well advised idea.
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My thinking using the spi activator then it crosslinks with the spi clear that way. Mix it the normal ratio then add an ounce of clear activator per quart? I’d that correct?
 
AAE said:
I sprayed Dimension a few years ago. Blue metallic. I called the tech line and they said it will probably start to chalk up in 6 months to a year. So, I put Euro over it and it still looks good today.
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zachm said:
My thinking using the spi activator then it crosslinks with the spi clear that way. Mix it the normal ratio then add an ounce of clear activator per quart? I’d that correct?
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You are correct on the mix ratio
And wish I could say you right on you cross linking theory but and clear coat activator will do the same.
 
Be very careful if the Dimension is a metallic. It can move around when you clear it and mottle horribly. I used to put a couple thin coats of reduced and activated binder on top of the metallic, but this is a sucky solution. Better to use Nason if you are using a cheap metallic, it doesn't move around.
 
crashtech said:
Be very careful if the Dimension is a metallic. It can move around when you clear it and mottle horribly. I used to put a couple thin coats of reduced and activated binder on top of the metallic, but this is a sucky solution. Better to use Nason if you are using a cheap metallic, it doesn't move around.
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I’ll be using a solid color I wonder what makes the rhf activator so different than the spi reducer and clear activator
 
It's not the activator or reducer that is so different, it's the "stabilizer", which if I'm not mistaken is the reason it can not be sanded without causing adhesion problems. Maybe shoot a scrap panel and see how it acts before shooting the real thing.
 
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It's been a long time since I used Dimension, but I believe that RHF used to be optional, not mandatory. It's supposedly not optional in Ultra 7000.

Since you are using a solid color, there is no worry at all about metallic control. Just use SPI reducer and 5% activator, unless you want to spend the extra money. Using RHF reducer gives you about 3% activator or so, if memory serves. S-W best practices still had us adding activator on top of RHF when painting plastic parts, for example, so the amount of iso in RHF is about half the maximum desirable.
 
crashtech said:
It's been a long time since I used Dimension, but I believe that RHF used to be optional, not mandatory. It's supposedly not optional in Ultra 7000.

Since you are using a solid color, there is no worry at all about metallic control. Just use SPI reducer and 5% activator, unless you want to spend the extra money. Using RHF reducer gives you about 3% activator or so, if memory serves. S-W best practices still had us adding activator on top of RHF when painting plastic parts, for example, so the amount of iso in RHF is about half the maximum desirable.
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Interesting did it just not have good metallic control. When you cleared it? It would mottle
 
I'm not sure I understand the question, but we did use Dimension basecoat (solids only, not metallics) on things like tool boxes and parts where color match was not critical. The solid colors worked fine, they were just a little slow drying.

Nason FulBase is what we use (rarely) now on non-critical jobs, since with it there is no restriction on using metallics.
 
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