Catalyzed Base Coat????

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:01 pm
Nah, Scott - I don't run a "real" shop...just a home workshop. There's no way any of these places would live up to a warranty even if I took every course they had. I wish I had a rep...I'm repless...

Again, I'm not arguing that you should never use hardener in base -- especially if the TDS calls for it. I'm just saying I've never done it and the OP here seems to have learned that in his case (using HOK), there was a specific warning *not* to use it because HOK is missing a critical ingredient. If I have time I will call Valspar about that because I am curious as to what their reasoning is for warning people off activating their HOK base products.



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PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 9:20 pm
HOK has zero interest in the collision industry or warranty requirements for BC hardener use. BC hardener is optional under certain circumstances so HOK would have no reason to require it. I'd like to hear the knowledge about BC hardener from an HOK rep.

All my HD bike codes are PPG and HOK can't even touch that industry. Valspar was just purchased by SW so maybe your inquiry will prove interesting.

HOK has some very clean colors but for the most part the other majors can meet any custom color requirements and exceed HOK performance. HOK has a great marketing strategy.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:06 pm
ok, I called HOK and spoke to one of their technical reps.

Definitely true - do not add hardener to their base products. He could not go too deeply into the topic and suggested I call Jon Kosmoski (who is still a consultant to the brand) if I wanted to have that discussion. I have Jon's number but I don't know if I really want to bother him with this.

Anyway, the reason the technician gave me was that the base is tuned for open air (as opposed to booth) use given that it's a largely custom/DIY market. He said that there's a high probability of it cracking if put out in the sun after adding hardener. He also correctly pointed out that once you activate the base, the pot life is only a short period. Given the price of these paints it probably makes sense to not waste any of it.

So back to the earlier post in this thread - it sounds to me like regardless of what other people are doing, if I'm shooting HOK base I am *not* adding hardener.



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 12:58 pm
Hey Chris... Looks like this discussion has caught your interest. Thanks for going the extra mile and calling the MFG to confirm.

I learn as I go.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:31 pm
I'm still learning here, too. Anytime something comes up that strays off the tech sheet and it sounds like a whole bunch of people are embracing it, I like to understand exactly why. Now I see that many brands are "ok" with hardener added to base but HOK clearly is not.

It makes sense when you think about their market and how they engineered the product. If they don't warn this on their own tech sheets they really should. Can you imagine someone doing a complex graphic layout then the base cracking on them later? Ugh.
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