The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop paint hardener?

I just bought a gallon of paint for my truck from Jim Carter. I had purchased a quart to try it out on the cab, and it looked really nice but took forever to dry (like a week). I was told that it would dry faster if I added the hardener. It is PPG ALK-200 paint, and the hardener for it is ALK-201. Problem is I can't seem to find that anywhere.
This is an acrylic modified alkyd enamel, supposedly used for fleets.

Does it have to be PPG hardener? Is there another type that I might be able to find and use?

If anyone has dealt with this please give me advice.

Tim

Go to an auto paint store, did the same for my Alklyd paint a few years ago. Want to say it was the same hardener used for regular enamel paints. You are making the right decision though, it will take months to completely dry properly without.

I'm not sure if hardener can be used with alkyd enamel . Most cyano-acrylate hardeners were made for use with acrylic enamel. If you do choose to use it, read the safety precautions carefully. "Cyano"- - - -sounds sort of like "Cyanide", doesn't it? Those chemicals are contact poisons, meaning they can be absorbed through the skin as well as being hazardous to inhale, so cover up any exposed skin completely when spraying them and use an activated charcoal "Darth Vader" style respirator. Most professional painters use a full coverage "shoot suit" with filtered outside breathing air supplied when painting hardened acrylics. That might not be necessary for the occasional amateur paint job, but the risks are still there. Alkyd enamel goes through a 30-day "oxidation" process of the binder that holds the pigment to the painted surface while drying, and I'm not sure if hardeners will speed up the process noticeably.
Jerry

I have used the cyanoacrylate hardener with alkyd enamel many times. But the stuff is truly evil.. Like hot rod says. Use a good respirator mask. The cartridge should be labeled for that stuff.. It will fu bar your lungs in short order !

Read Jerry's and Dave's warnings three times, slowly:

"Those chemicals are contact poisons, meaning they can be absorbed through the skin as well as being hazardous to inhale, so cover up any exposed skin completely when spraying them and use an activated charcoal "Darth Vader" style respirator."

Use a respirator appropriate for the primer/paint/products you use, AND, cover all skin/hair/body (many substances absorb through skin).

My trucks get painted with epoxy primer and urethane finish coat (PPG products). No matter what you use, read the safety sheets/instructions for all products/components slowly and carefully.

Just checked and I used Valspar Alkyd Enamel Hardener with my bumpers (anvil gray from Jim Carter),
Like others said cover up with a paper paint coverall, gloves taped over the coveralls and wear at least a P95 respirator that you can buy at harbor freight for about 16 bucks or less with a 20% coupon. They will protect you from the isocyanates in the hardeners. Oh I used the hardener at 8parts paint to 1 part hardener. You will be just peachy.

Don't forget to also protect your eyes!!

A former body shop instructor at the high school where I worked ignored those warning labels. He ended up with what he described as "Creepy-Crawlies" under his skin that no amount of scratching would get rid of. Of course, he had also spent a lot of years spraying lacquer without any breathing protection, too!
Jerry

Don't underestimate the chemicals you are looking to use. DO NOT ever mix these chemicals without the approval of the chemical company. NOBODY knows the chemical makeup of the chemicals you plan to use except the chemical company that put them on the market.

You might notice that I am referring to "chemicals" and not "paint". This is because paint IS a CHEMICAL and not to be messed with. Do you really want to risk your end result by playing chemist and having a failure? Why not buy the chemicals that do the job you want it do in the first place instead of trying to make it do what other chemicals do by design?

What all these people said above is correct. If you're going to be using that stuff, be overly cautious. I've used it successfully for almost 40 years. Do it wrong and you can go toes-up and no paint job or old truck in the world is worth that. Here is another suggestion: use a cool temp reducer and spray this stuff at the coolest range possible on a day with low humidity (so you won't be sweating and your pores will be open less). In the summer a shoot suit is going to make you start sweating right after you put it on...or at least it works that way for me. 2nd suggestion: find out where body shops in your town get their paint and go there. Ask those guys what works best where you live. Find out what they sell the most.

Good luck.

I have located a fairly local PPG dealer who has the hardener recommended by PPG, so I will be getting some later this week. I plan to try a small amount on an inconspicuous place and see how it works.

As far as mixing chemicals, I am very careful. I have a Masters in Chemistry, emphasis on organic (which is what all these paints are), and spent 20 years teaching chemistry.

Tim

Well said bluesman. And thanks for bringing this back to the original topic.

-Jim