So the paint... I was hesitant w/ using the " Majic" brand for TSC, but figured for the cost I'd try it. Was going to try the Rustoleum, but stores here including Lowes and HD didn't have the blue in stock. The Majic paint has very low VOC, made w/ soybean oil as base. Having previous experience w/ "cheap" auto paint, the hardener IMO is a requirement.
I purchased the Majic reducer and hardener along with the paint. I also had "wet look acrylic enamel hardener" left over from a paint job about a year ago. It was from "paintforcars.com" , look under paint accessories: acrylic enamel hardeners. A little expensive, but worth it. There is another site called tcpglobal.com which also carries paint / supplies, and I have subsequently used them for my paint needs. Their 2 stage urethane paint kits are fantastic.
As for the ratios: I don't ussually make big batches, at most a quart. This time, I did 8oz of paint per batch. I put 2oz of reducer, 1oz of the Majic hardener, and 1/2 oz of the wet look hardener. This amount perfectly filled my sprayer.
Speaking of the sprayer, I have a set of "good" HVLP sprayers. I happened to be in Harbor Freight the day before I was starting this paint job and saw a cheap sprayer for $15. Found a coupon for it fo $10. Figured it would work for the job and then be a 'throw away'. No way... Worked absolutely perfect, adjusted fine, maintained the settings, worked great. Couple guys previously recommended getting the $20 on sale gun, Apparently you can change the seals on those. I may have to get one of those for the next job.
Anyway, the tip was a 1.4, I set the pressure right at 55 psi while flowing (1/2 pull of trigger), jumped up to 65 psi while closed. Set a spread pattern at about 5", sprayed about 12" away. The paint layer went down real nice w/ these settings. I was surprised that I didn't get any runs at all. I anticipated quite a few on the pieces hanging because they were pretty complicated surfaces ... bends, edges, curves, etc... Not one run!
The drying time was definately faster using the hardener. The sides of the box blade were tacky at 3 hours, smooth to touch at 6 hours. THIS ENAMEL PAINT DOES NOT CURE FOR AT LEAST 72 to 96 HOURS, depending on temp and humidity. The pieces can be handled after 12-24 hours, but you will be able to easily scratch or peel the paint this soon. After about 3-4 days much harder, after a week, really hard. I painted an old dodge Ramcharger a few years back w/ oil enamel and it took almost a week before all the paint was cured.
A REAL IMPORTANT STEP is to make sure all grease and dirt are cleaned off. I used "professional grease and wax remover" from NAPA. It works really well, dries fast, takes off grease in a couple wipes.
Another IMPORTANT THING NOT TO DO is put another coat of paint over partially dried area. If you spray over the first area you painted and it "flashed" or dried to the 'tacky' point, the paint will orange peel, run, and take forever to dry. This is due to the underlying paint off-gassing and your actually stopping the process... Don't ask me how I know this... The instructions say to wait for second coat AT LEAST 24 hours. This paint went down great, don't think I'm going to second coat it... No need.
