Kem Aqua and Plus help for a newbie

[Elaine Pro. Painter]

New to this site, and this might be a stupid question but how much water or what do you dilute your Kem Aqua or Kem Aqua Plus with? I was taught to add some water, not a whole lot, and my local SW rep is saying I should put even less or none in and I’m not sure if that’s safe for an Airpro hvlp sprayer? In my experience I have to water it down in order for it to shoot through the gun.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

I used it on a project recently and it did take less water than I'm used to. Being old school, I added some and tried it before taking the SW guy's word for it. I was pleasantly surprised by how well it sprayed (HVLP) and the resulting finish.

I would say try adding about a quarter of the water you're used to and see how that works. You can always add more if you need it.

 

[Rwe2156]

What size tip? I suggest you measure out the paint and water, start with 10% and go from there. If you do the "glug, glug, that looks about right" method, you will get inconsistent results. DAMHIKT!!

 

[Elaine Pro. Painter]

What size tip? I suggest you measure out the paint and water, start with 10% and go from there. If you do the "glug, glug, that looks about right" method, you will get inconsistent results. DAMHIKT!!

The tip is use is a 1.3 bar? Like I said im a newbie and am not super familiar with all this stuff just yet

 

[Oka]

The smaller the nozzle number the smaller the opening. Typical with pigmented material you can use a 1.5 nozzle if material is thinned down to some point. I usually mix 8 oz material with 1-1.5 of water as a starting point. Then spray a sample and see how the paint flows. If the material is spraying a decent fan and the cover spread is how you like, then you know you got it. It the gun struggles (uneven or sputtery) then add a tad more water. Or maybe you may need to upsize the nozzle to 1.7 or 1.8.
The hard part of this is the material is not consistent out of the can. Some batches might be slightly thicker or thinner, just have to try out and do a sample until you have something that works for you.

 

[Elaine Pro. Painter]

The smaller the nozzle number the smaller the opening. Typical with pigmented material you can use a 1.5 nozzle if material is thinned down to some point. I usually mix 8 oz material with 1-1.5 of water as a starting point. Then spray a sample and see how the paint flows. If the material is spraying a decent fan and the cover spread is how you like, then you know you got it. It the gun struggles (uneven or sputtery) then add a tad more water. Or maybe you may need to upsize the nozzle to 1.7 or 1.8.
The hard part of this is the material is not consistent out of the can. Some batches might be slightly thicker or thinner, just have to try out and do a sample until you have something that works for you.

Okay thanks, this explained a lot. We are always using pigmented colors and we spray primer with the same tip, should I be using a larger one for primer?

 

[srhardwoods]

I spray kem aqua regularly, however I do not thin it. I'm using a AAA pump which might be why. They do recommend no more than 2% reductions, here is a section of their PDS

Reduction: Apply full body. If reduction is needed to optimize application, use up to 2% water. To ensure optimal per- formance and stability it is recommend- ed to use deionized water for reduction. Product can be retarded with (DPM) Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, or 2-Butoxyethanol (R6K25). Add up to 2% by volume under mechanical agitation. These solvents will also improve air release.

be cautious of your wet mill to ensure you are not laying too much down. 3-4 wet mills

 

[Elaine Pro. Painter]

I spray kem aqua regularly, however I do not thin it. I'm using a AAA pump which might be why. They do recommend no more than 2% reductions, here is a section of their PDS

Reduction: Apply full body. If reduction is needed to optimize application, use up to 2% water. To ensure optimal per- formance and stability it is recommend- ed to use deionized water for reduction. Product can be retarded with (DPM) Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether, or 2-Butoxyethanol (R6K25). Add up to 2% by volume under mechanical agitation. These solvents will also improve air release.

be cautious of your wet mill to ensure you are not laying too much down. 3-4 wet mills

May be another dumb question but what are mills? I’m not familiar yet with a lot of the terminology sorry.

 

[FredP]

Okay thanks, this explained a lot. We are always using pigmented colors and we spray primer with the same tip, should I be using a larger one for primer?

I have been told by several people not to use my finish gun for primer. Not sure why but I follow that advice. My primer gun has a 2.0 tip. It works. I also have a paint gun with a 1.8 and a good finish gun with a 1.3 tip. YMMV. They all have their uses.

 

[Robert LaPlaca]

May be another dumb question but what are mills? I’m not familiar yet with a lot of the terminology sorry.

Mil = 1/1000 of an inch, it’s the thickness of the layer of finish. I would imagine, you can get a mil thickness gauge at your SW paint store

 

[AllanD]

I have used Kem Aqua Plus on several projects and am starting another kitchen project soon and plan on using it again. I have never thinned it. If finishing in the finishing booth I use a Devilbiss Finishline primer gun and when in the kitchen on existing cabinets I used a Fuji minimite 5. I will have to look and see what tip size. If finishing raw wood be sure to use their Kem Aqua Surfacer or similar. I don't thin that either.

 

[Bill Clemmons]

The tip is use is a 1.3 bar? Like I said im a newbie and am not super familiar with all this stuff just yet

I used a 1.4 mm nozzle in my HVLP gun for this application. Normally I use a 2.0 mm nozzle for water based paints.

 

[srhardwoods]

May be another dumb question but what are mills? I’m not familiar yet with a lot of the terminology sorry.

look at a couple videos on a google search. Very simple. it will all be effected by tip size, air pressure, speed of moving the gun across the object, how close you are to the object etc. Kem Aqua is looking for 1-1.25 mils dry. it is just over 30% solids, so think that the other 70% is the carrier and other chemicals I'm not sure of. After it flashes/evaporates away you are left with a dry film, which after you scuff sand and recoat and do it again you should be looking at 1-1.25 mills dry per coat. 3-4 wet mills sprayed each coat, 3 coats will get you close to you maximum amount you want to apply. Now, how do you measure the dry mill? I don't know. I go with the wet mills, do not over scuff and it works. You can get the wet mil gauge online as well as a viscosity cup which will let you know if it is too thick or you have thinned it too much as it is looking for 18-22 seconds #3 Zahn Cup