Further Investigations Part III

**mechman** · **07-16-08, 07:35 PM**

The next round of investigations will include all of the different AAAs within different bases. So far we have shown that Black Widow works well with both HE558 and AAA fine. And now that I'm caught up a bit with my work around the house, it's time to investigate AAA-medium and AAA-coarse. I ordered all of this a few days ago and I expect it to arrive shortly.

The bases that I'll be working with are these (all tinted Bermuda Beige of course

):

PPG Grand Distinction Flat - I have already tested this with AAA-fine
PPG Grand Distinction Matte - Will pick this up tomorrow
Valspar Ultra Premium Flat Enamel - I have a lot of this sitting around!
Valspar Ultra Premium Flat - got a quart of this!

So the question is, what will the larger aluminum get us?

Another thing that I will be working on as well will be gain. I think that will be for another thread though.

And then I have a couple of things that I'm going to try and if it works I'll share it.

**Prof.** · **07-16-08, 10:00 PM**

Quote:

mechman wrote:

So the question is, what will the larger aluminum get us?

My guess is a more grainier image..

**mechman** · **07-16-08, 10:04 PM**

Quote:

Prof. wrote:

My guess is a more grainier image..

Maybe. But we'll find out!!

Moooohhaaahhaahhhaaa!

**Harpmaker** · **07-16-08, 10:13 PM**

Quote:

mechman wrote:

Maybe. But we'll find out!!

Moooohhaaahhaahhhaaa!

Hey Wow! Ever-So-Fashionable polarized sunglasses!

**mechman** · **07-16-08, 10:21 PM**

They're the latest model eye-lumenscope!

**custard** · **07-17-08, 01:39 PM**

mech - although flat paint is available it can only be bought in white or magnolia. the lowest sheen level that s0907 is available in is matt (flat enamel)

the sheen value for flat is 2%
the sheen value for matt (flat enamel) is 4%

but i can still test the different AAA's with matt s0907

what is the sheen value for matt over your side?

**mechman** · **07-17-08, 03:16 PM**

Quote:

custard wrote:

mech - although flat paint is available it can only be bought in white or magnolia. the lowest sheen level that s0907 is available in is matt (flat enamel)

the sheen value for flat is 2%
the sheen value for matt (flat enamel) is 4%

but i can still test the different AAA's with matt s0907

what is the sheen value for matt over your side?

Custy,

Just test them with the matte then. As for those sheen numbers, I'm unsure exactly what they represent?

**custard** · **07-17-08, 04:35 PM**

i have some s0907 left over. i will order the 3 different aaa's in the next few days

**mechman** · **07-17-08, 06:20 PM**

Sounds great Custy! Do you have panels you can paint as well?

**custard** · **07-17-08, 06:30 PM**

i have a large piece of plasterboard (drywall) which i could cut up into smaller pieces if thats any good. otherwise what do you propose i use as the panels?

**mechman** · **07-17-08, 10:20 PM**

We have 1/8" hardboard over here that we use. And I use foam poster board.

You really can use whatever you can get your hands on that will be cheap and will hold the paint. Another key is versatility and being able to project things on it easily.

**custard** · **07-18-08, 03:30 PM**

is this ok to use as the panel?

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav/na...&isSearch=true

it has an unfinished surface. will that be too absorbent for painting?

**mechman** · **07-18-08, 04:03 PM**

I think that's pretty much the same as 1/8 inch hardboard. Make sure you prime it before painting it!

**custard** · **07-18-08, 04:42 PM**

what type of primer should i use? is a wood primer ok?

i have some pva siitting around the house which i used for sealing a skim plaster job that i carried out if i can get away with using that?

**mechman** · **07-18-08, 06:41 PM**

Anything that will let the paint stick to it and it will stick to the wood!

I bought a gallon of PPG Grand Distinction Flat and flat enamel today. I need to pick up a gallon of Val UP flat yet.

And most of the AAA arrived today. I think one of the bottles of fine is back ordered.

**Prof.** · **07-18-08, 08:13 PM**

custard,

If you have Dulux products over there, look for a paint called "Prepcoat"..It's a sealer and undercoat in one...
I used it on my screen and it works well..

**Harpmaker** · **07-18-08, 10:05 PM**

Quote:

mechman wrote:

And most of the AAA arrived today. I think one of the bottles of fine is back ordered.

I'm noticing that many of the stores that sell Auto Air products don't stock a lot of bottles of any one color of paint, such as AAA fine.

From an inventory standpoint I can understand that, but from a consumer standpoint...

**wbassett** · **07-19-08, 01:19 AM**

Quote:

Harpmaker wrote:

I'm noticing that many of the stores that sell Auto Air products don't stock a lot of bottles of any one color of paint, such as AAA fine.

From an inventory standpoint I can understand that, but from a consumer standpoint...

A bit off topic, but I think it still applies when it comes to stores.

Tonight I was out looking for a new DVD copy of Dirty Harry The Enforcer. Just two weeks ago I saw them all over the place, but also two weeks ago I didn't realize my original copy of the first run release had a nasty scratch in it and would no longer play. Now as you guessed, I no longer can find the re-released Dirty Harry flicks! I talked to the guy at Walmart and he said after a couple weeks when the truck comes in with new stock, they take the inventory that's not selling and pack it up and ship it back. Shelf space means money and it's prime real-estate for sure. So I don't doubt that stores only carry a limited supply of specialty items, and AAA is what I would call a specialty item as compared to an entire store inventory.

Still, I've seen it said very recently about how hard AAA is to come by as a bit of a slam for this method... but it started to become scarce after BW was unveiled.;

It still can be found, but I may make life a whole lot easier on people! Anyone that can't find AAA and wants to make a black Widow, I can send them some Black Jack 5168... at cost of course and no profit. I seem to have an ulimited supply of Black Jack in my area.

**custard** · **07-19-08, 10:54 AM**

thanks for your responses guys.
if i just need to seal then i have some dulux whites sitting around so i think i will just use them diluted for priming.

**mechman** · **07-19-08, 10:45 PM**

Some magnifications. These were still wet when I did these. I'll re-do them when they're dry this week.

AAA Medium 60X

AAA Medium 200X

AAA Coarse 60X

AAA Coarse 200X

And I also ordered some Pearlized White 4301

60X

200X

And there's a bottle of Metallic Fine White on back order as well.

For reference here's AAA fine

60X

200X

**wbassett** · **07-19-08, 11:11 PM**

The 200X on the coarse AA looks like what I got with Black Jack before I ran it through a filter.

Overall my first test panel looked incredible, but there were some big chunks of aluminum in spots, and they really reflected the light. It was like a sun spot in that area as compared to the rest of the screen. We'll have to see how the AA Medium holds up as a test panel.

**mechman** · **07-19-08, 11:32 PM**

I'm gonna reserve judgement until these things dry and I redo them. But here's a couple shots from my camera.

**Harpmaker** · **07-20-08, 12:30 AM**

Good stuff mech!

Might I suggest including something in future photos to give a sense of scale?

Did you find that the AAA Medium was brighter than AAA Fine as I did?

I got a bottle of the AA Metallic White Course and it appears, and measures on my spectro, as just another mica-based pearl paint.

**mechman** · **07-20-08, 01:25 AM**

Quote:

Harpmaker wrote:

Good stuff mech!

Might I suggest including something in future photos to give a sense of scale?

I didn't have a penny handy!

The one I usually use in these type of shots found it's way to the change bottle!

Quote:

Harpmaker wrote:

Did you find that the AAA Medium was brighter than AAA Fine as I did?

I didn't actually compare them at all.

I figured this was just some preliminary stuff until they dried. The luminance reading should reveal all tomorrow!

Quote:

Harpmaker wrote:

I got a bottle of the AA Metallic White Course and it appears, and measures on my spectro, as just another mica-based pearl paint.

Yeah that's what the pearlizing white looks to be as well. It appears pretty similar to WOP. I think I'll be giving these bottles to the girls to paint with.

My second bottle of AAA fine was back ordered as well. It looks like I'll just start off with PPG Grand Distinction. And I'll do the Valspar Ultra Premiums when the second bottle shows up.

Harp - if you haven't bought any paint yet, how about trying something different? Can you get Ben Moore near you? I don't believe that's been tried yet.

**Harpmaker** · **07-20-08, 02:04 AM**

Quote:

mechman wrote:

I didn't actually compare them at all.

I figured this was just some preliminary stuff until they dried. The luminance reading should reveal all tomorrow!

I meant to the naked eye. I believe my AAA Med. was also very slightly brighter on the spectro as well, but I was referring to the appearance of the metallic luster. Maybe shinier or more specular would be better descriptions.

Quote:

Harp - if you haven't bought any paint yet, how about trying something different? Can you get Ben Moore near you? I don't believe that's been tried yet.

I think I do. I believe one of the local chain hardware stores (Cole's) carries it, the same place where I thought I would score some HE558 then found they couldn't order it because it was illegal to do so here. Do you have anything special in mind, or just trying a BM paint in Bermuda Beige for making BW AAA?

Advertisement