Lacquer thinner as reducer?

[mhorowit]

Elsewhere i see lacquer thinner being used as a thinner for butyrate dope.
Can anyone speak to the pros/cons of using the thinner in place of the 'official' reducer? - Mike

[ROllerton]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

The branded butyl dope thinner/reducer may (I recall) contain lacquer thinner, along with other things. Which does not mean that you should use it, because you are gonna be missing the other stuff. Given the cost and amount of labor (and risk of life) involved, why screw around with anything less that what the covering manufacturer specifies and provides?

With all respect, Old timers did things like that; use thinner from the hardware store, glue from the automotive section , cotton tapes on ceconite (which rot and come off), car paint, etc. Maybe it made sense in the their economic and lightly regulated time.

There is a difference in the definition of a reducer from a thinner, off hand I remember its enamel versus lacquer, or a finish that cures by first evaporation of the carrier, then cross linking. Versus one that dries by evaporation of the carrier. Hopefully someone here knows better than I do.,

[crispy critter]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

Bob,
I don't mean to step on your toes but I have used Laquer thinner when I ran out of reducer and I couldn't tell the difference,if anything it gave me a little more gloss using the laquer thinner.....maybe it caused it to dry slower?????.Bob is right I think when he said they make the reducer for a reason but it is also my understanding with the Butyrate that the reducer is only a thinner.Call the manufacture of the dope and ask thier opinion.

[mhorowit]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

Kev - you know what the answer is going to be if I call Jim Miller. "if you don't use the reducer called for, you are operating outside the approved process", so it would be almost valueless to make the call.

Last year I built a small frame, stretched some Ceconite over it, heat treated it, nitrate doped it and covered with several coatings of silver, all just for grins.
Today I took some of the butyrate which I had diluted with lacquer thinner and coated a section. Tomorrow I'll add another coating.

Is there any way to determine what could possibly go wrong? How can I test to insure I'm not doing something that could ruin/weaken the fabric ...

Hell, it's not worth the agony. I'll call Miller tomorrow and order a quart - Mike

[alwaysoar]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

The savings would not be that great, so why not use the approved stuff and then be sure that it will work. Besides, as was mentioned, any STC is voided if you do not use the approved reducer. Mike, I would like to suggest that you buy for about $6.50 a ceconite manual and an overhaul manual* (re: a previous offer). There is a s-load of information there that would answer a lot of your questions.

[ROllerton]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

I would guess the biggest savings would be in shipping, and time waiting for it to arrive.

The laq Thinner acts like you would expect it to. How do I know that?

And in a pinch, for a patch, well maybe its ok, maybe not. But for a recover job, its just not worth the gamble.

Pinch and a Patch? Is that some kind of tcraft hip hop?

[mhorowit]

Re: Lacquer thinner as reducer?

Thanks Bob - I'll probably buy a pint of thinner from my A&P tomorrow and await my order to come in. That should hold me.

Earlier we discussed valve stem packing; we determined that if we soak the teflon 'string' in gasoline for a week, and noticed no deterioration, it was probably OK to use on the fuel cut-off valve.

Any idea what the equivalent would be to determine that the use of lacquer thinner was a usable substitute?

I know the correct thing to do - I truely believe in A/N bolts and know about Mr. Whittman's accident; for some reason this requirement just rubs me the wrong way. - Mike