Thread: Chamois for fluid bed membrane

Real chamois

I worked on my fluid bed setup today. I also received the 2" fluid cups I ordered from TJ's Tackle.

Here is my process for working with the chamois. First I cut and super glued a piece to the pvc cup. Then I clamped it to let it dry:



Once dry I trimmed the excess using a fresh razor blade:





I found some interesting fittings at my local Menards and decided to try using them to make my fluid bed bases. They are basically a plug with a metal threaded insert molded in that apparently is used with a clean out cover. The plug simply threads into a standard fitting. The reason I went with this was to provide an easy means to mount my bases to a baseplate.

Once I securely threaded the plugs into the bases, I drilled a hole and tapped it for a 1/8NPT fitting. I added a couple of inline pneumatic flow controls for adjustment.









Here are some photos comparing my chamois fluid cup to TJ's







As I mentioned before, I have only a small single outlet air pump. When I tested the TJ cup, I had the flow control opened completely. While this was enough flow to aerate the powder well, the pump didn't have enough power to boil the powder.

When I tried my chamois cup at the same setting, it really boiled the powder. I had to close the flow control quite a bit to get it under control.

Both cups aerated the powder well, but the TJ cup caused the powder to raise slightly higher in the cup.

My tests were performed using the same load of powder paint. I just poured it from one cup to another.

I tried painting one jig head in both cups and didn't really notice a difference in the results

Here are some links to three trial videos:

http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/Cr...xyfb9.mp4.html

http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/Cr...1y2sj.mp4.html

http://s1248.photobucket.com/user/Cr...w8zcc.mp4.html

I decided to order a couple form TJ's and they came today. I will still use the bases I built and build a few more but I will leave the cups to TJ's as they are very nicely done. I haven't tried them yet as my PP workstation is on a screened in porch and the temp has dropped to the uncomfortable range, so I will wait. I will keep my eyes open for some chamois to re-do my old cups.

I bought my chamois at my local Advanced Auto. They had several sizes. Bought the smallest they had

I painted a couple hundred jigs this weekend. Most turned out very well, with a few that had some dimples. I either didn't have the jig hot enough or didn't dip long enough.

Toward the end I was getting ready to use green chartreuse. I heated the jigs a tag longer and dipped them slightly longer. I also increased the oven temp just a little.

I know, I know, too many changes at once!!!

Well, I finally experienced the noses that I've read about! Oh well, most of them weren't too bad and I just clipped the longer noses off after they cooled. After clipping, I tried to reheat a few to re-melt and smooth them. This didn't work; the color started to discolor.

I used my 1-1/2" chamois fluid cups for everything except black and pearl white. I switched over to the TJ cups and these colors flowed better.

If anyone is interested in trying a sample of chamois send me a PM with your address and I can send out a small piece. Be sure to include the diameter of fluid cups you use.