Morris Minor Owners Club

We were paid a visit by our local paint supplier today, so I took some time out to gem up on the latest in the celly/2K issue.
Last we heard it was the paintsupplier and individual bodyshop who had to apply for a liscence to both stock and spray celly. After a DEFRA meeting this has now changed to, the paintstore can only supply celly if registered as an 'industrial' paint supplier, not many are this, and the only celly available will be solid colours and no metallics. However to purchase celly you need to proove that your car is 1973 or older.
There may well be limitations to colour availability, and problems with colour matching as the tinters used are constantly being amended, so subtle changes in tone might be the norm (unavoidable) . On another tack with celly, if unopened and full ,a tin will last almost indefinately but must be shaken thoroughly and often otherwise the pigments will sink and stick/harden on the bottom of the tin, consequently changing the original colour. An opened tin, resealed and regularly shaken will last a max of two years. But will not be warranted for this term.
Two pack as we know it stopped production at the end of 2006. However this was replaced with 'ultra' high solids which contains a higher % of pigments. This will be available for the near future with no need to swap to waterbased paint. The original style 2K is available until stocks are depleted (several years yet) This change has occured as a result of the likes of B&Q, Focus, Homebase who have threatened the paint manufacturers with millions of pounds worth of returns if legislation continued. Makes me slightly curious as to just what products they sell that contain what would have been banned chemicals. Worth some research me thinks!!
Thankyou for reading, I hope it helps.

so whats the ultra high solids?

good info thanks jonathon very informative and helpful.

what is this new stuff like to work with?
do u need to change equipment or will normal stuff work with it ok.
is it dangerous like celly/2 pk

thanks

That sounds promising for Minor owners, providing the standard colours will still be available and not at outrageous prices. I wonder what form the proof of age will take.

Steve the ultra high solids contain less solvents (baddies) and more colour solids. Its very different to standard 2K in terms of spraying. You only need a very thin header coat then only one wet coat and thats it. Normally 2K will loose 50% of its volume when the solvents evaporate, this is reduced to around 10% with ultra high solids. You can use your existing finishing gun ,but need to change to a 1.15 spray nozzle/cap. You will need the same protective gear I'm afraid, but quite a few pro bodyshops use toxic filter masks rather than the full airfed mask. Think I'll carry on with the airfed!!
It would seem that the major problem confronting both DIY and Pro sprayer is the problem with colour matching, already Deltron are having problems with true black , but will soon be importing from mainland Europe. Tinting issues are to be experienced with all paint derivatives

Alex, just a valid 'registration document 'will suffice as far as I was informed.Celly colours will eventually die out , and not all paintsuppliers will apply for the 'industrial' use liscence. So a bit of a reprieve for celly and 2K but the end of days is coming and I would anticipate price increases at some point in the future.

Seems a good idea to use the synthetic then!

Sod it, looks like I'll have to order my tins of black from ebay before they stop selling them.

F'ing nanny state, bunch of jobsworths meddling where its not wanted as usual.

It'll be a while yet. I'm pretty pleased that painting will be safer for both sprayers and the environment, in the future, so don't see it in quite the same light as you

I was expecting someone to say "I'm glad some clueless pratts not gonna be spraying his old bangers next door and stinking up the place"

You're clearly too polite.


I wont be doing any painting for quite some time but I guess it'll keep in a tin on a shelf somewhere til I need it.

Well, I'd never call your car an 'old banger'!!

Hello Jonathon,

I'm a little disappointed that metallic cellulose will not be manufactured, as i have a 1962 MK 2 Jaguar to re spray in the long term, oppalescent gunmetal grey to the original finish. I can only assume that the manufacturers don't believe that there will be sufficient demand for it?

Alec

Alec, I'm afraid that this is the impression I was given. I'm sure that supplies of metallic will still be available in the near future, but when supplies run out ,thats it.

Hello Jonathon,
thank you for that, perhaps I should get some now, in view of the storage life of unopened cellulose, although I imagine metallic paint will require even more stirring\agitation

I see that cellulose thinners is still sold at my local motor factor presumably used as gun cleaner by the trade?

Alec

Best put the kitchen 'magimix' back into service then ! Celly thinners, or as it comes to us as Standard thinner might be two different products. Celly thinners is normally clear, but standard thinner is yellow'ish. I'll ask about this today if I remember. Cheapest way to buy is to talk to a friendly bodyshop who normally buy's 25L at a time, and might be willing to decant at a fraction of supplier cost, nudge, nudge

I bought some antibloom thinners made by SWS, product code S147, and it was clear. I later bought another can from a different paint factor, same manufacturer and product code but different batch, and it had a slight yellow tinge to it. Doesn't appear to have had an adverse effect on the spraying.

Good info, thanks Jonothan. You say "shake the tin often" how often? Once a month, once a week?

I have heard that supplies of celly top coat once opened can be kept longer by topping up the thinners on top of the paint.

If I were storing celly then I'd stir it 100 times, 50 in each direction and fully in contact with the bottom of the tin. this I'd do once a week, as once the tinters have gone to the bottom of the tin ,they will solidify, changing the over all colour. I would not add thinners as this will just add to the problem, ie allowing easier passage of tinters to the bottom.

only once a week? Am I harming my stocks of Celly by doing this twice daily? ;-)

No , but you'll be getting RSI though in yer elbow

I have a tin of OEW celly which I have had for 6 years now. Rarely stirred - in fact only when used - maybe once/year. Had to spray front wing last week - opened the tin and yes the solids were on the bottom. Vigorous stirring with a wood stick and it all came up into 'solution' - and sprayed fine, perfect colour match. Main thing is to make sure the lid is tight shut - and store it somewhere cool and away from any likely ignition sources because it is highly flammable.