# Quick Cure U.V. Paint Gelling



## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

Hello everyone, 

I work in a 100,000 square foot facility that produces steel tubing. Recently we have been having issues with our paint gelling up inside our paint box. This paint box holds up to around 10 gallons of paint, and is pumped via pneumatic pump to the area it is applied to the steel tubing. The tubing then runs through a U.V. chamber to cure the paint, this line moves around 50 to 250 feet per minute depending on the length of tube we are running. 

The paint generally lasts around two and half hours in the box before running low enough to trip a sensor which auto fills it without the need to stop production. For some reason in the past month we have had two issues with both clear and silver paint gelling up inside our paint box. This has to my knowledge never happened before. 

The system is cleaned every Thursday, or when we switch from silver paint back to clear coat. We run roughly five gallons of acetone through the system to remove any silver paint before refilling with clear. On Thursday three out of four filters are removed and soaked in acetone for cleaning, while five gallons of acetone in cycling through the paint system, it is then vacuumed out and the system wiped clean with the lid and doors open all weekend to air out. The filters are installed again on Monday morning.

The first time it happened we had been using clear paint, the gelling happened on a Monday and the chunks were around finger sized. This clogged out paint pump forcing the production to stop for four hours while we figured it out. 

Again this happened 7/27/2015 while running Silver paint, I personally removed two gallons of gelled paint after about 19 hours of production. The line does stop sometimes and may be sitting for 10-20 minutes at most with the paint pump and vacuum system shut off. 

I'm assuming this is caused by the methods used to clean the system out, since this seems to happen on Monday's only. I have searched high and low online for proper cleaning methods to be used on the system without finding anything. So I've turned to the professionals here who have more industrial paint experience than I personally have. 

I turn 31 years old soon and have worked around paint since before I turned 10 years old. I've asked my father to help me out here as well. He mainly has automotive paint experience but also flux paint experience as well. I have automotive, flux, zinc, oil and water based, and also U.V. quick curing industrial paint experience but cannot figure out what is causing this. I understand this paint just sits at times while it has a stirring setup on the drums of paint, silver only. Unless moisture is getting into the system prior to my shift starting. 

Thanks in advance for the help and for reading this far, I've tried to include any information that may help solve this issue. 
-Currency

Edit: This building lacks proper heating and cooling systems in the production area.


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## silverhw (Jul 3, 2015)

Could there be any acetone residue left behind from cleaning that's causing pre polymerisation in the system somewhere? That would be my guess.


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

It's always possible, the lines returning from the secondary box where paint is applied are long black four/five inch flexible lines. Something similar to what you may see on a gutter downspout. Large enough drips to trap excess acetone. I generally remove around 1/3 of what is put into the system, most of it may evaporate.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Is the paint a two component?


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Is it a powder coating? I guess with acetone cleaning it's not.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Is it a vinyl ether based resin coating?


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

Is it a polyolifin


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## I paint paint (May 4, 2014)

That's all you got?

C'mon CA, you're good for at least one more.


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

From what I can tell this paint is a Custom formulated two-component epoxy. 

The company has enlisted an outside consultant to take a peek at our system at some point this week but I doubt that will happen. I was informed that last week we were suppose to have someone look into our expensive high frequency welder that overheats every three hours costing us 15 minutes of down time. Not seen anyone in to fix the welder yet either.

I know this paint comes from a company called, Rapid Cure Technologies. The clear is great for the most part, but the silver is nasty and can cause third degree chemical burns if one comes into direct skin contact. I've been lucky enough to get a little on me here and there but always wash off as soon as I can with cool water. 

Not sure if they list all the components of the paint anywhere other than perhaps and MSDS, I know this information is not on the drums. We use drums in the summer, 450 gallon tanks in the winter as it's easier to keep heated. This clear gets thicker as it gets colder and will double our coating thickness with ease. 

Thanks for the help thus far guys, and maybe gals.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

You say it's a dual component, but it's in drums. Are you mixing two components together? What's the pot life after combined? Most UV cured coatings that I know of are single component.


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## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

I paint paint said:


> That's all you got?
> 
> C'mon CA, you're good for at least one more.


I was going to say a polyurea, but that wouldn't need the UV cure. This is a real puzzle, and I want to get to the bottom of it. Imagine what its costing this company with the down time and all.


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

Rapid Cure's website only shows they offer two component paints from what I have seen, yet I've never had to mix anything. Finding information at work is harder than finding forty different cheeses at Walmart. Processes get changed without half of the staff being informed. 

I will try to get as much information tonight at work, but I doubt anyone has the information that I'm seeking. I've been thinking about it constantly since Monday. Perhaps as the only filter's left in the system drain out over the weekend. Day shift comes in and just fills it up and runs with it. 

I know that after several days of sitting the system will start draining down into the pot, leaving a nice orange liquid several inches thick. I'm just assuming they are filling it up with paint without removing the drainage from over the weekend. Trying to cover every possible angle. Day shift will have a new Q.C./Paint guy on Monday, he has been trained already but is replacing someone who hasn't "worked" out.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

If your not adding anything to the system then you do not have a two component epoxy system. The thick stuff that is settling out is probably the solids and pigment. This needs to be agitated so as to stay in suspension. Your shop should be furnishing you with a product technical days sheet for the proper use of the coating system. If it was a two component system then your coating would have a pot life. I see on the web site that they say 100% solids epoxies, but if there is no 2nd component then I don't see it as 100% solids or an epoxy. I do consulting in protective coatings and have over 28 years experience with plural component systems. Feel free to call me anytime. (205-717-0292)


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

It could be a one off custom formula, I will speak with one of our office guys today to try and get some more information. This is something no one I work with knows, even the information on the drums is lacking. No information online what so ever, I at least like to know what I'm working with. 

Information on the drums mainly include required safety protection, which we do have but are not 'forced' to use. It's more about getting things done more quickly but as we've been having more issues our thickness has been increased back to .7 mil, from .4 to .6 mil. When I started it was .7 to 1.0 mil. Recently we've been having "field failure's" as they informed me and five semi truck loads of product recently came back. 

So this caught their attention when the rejected material costs were in excess of $200,000.00 not counting man hours involved in the process or back and forth trips via semi. We've been running thickness at .4 to .6 mil for over twelve months, and now just starting to have issues. I do not know if this is from a new customer, or existing.

Only information I found on the drums besides required safety information was. Curable clear DTM RTC 01 1085 UV coating, this is on the clear coat drums of course. We do not keep a lot of silver on hand as we don't run it very often. 

I will pass your contact information along to the higher up's painter213 but I cannot promise they will take the time to contact you. I will update this as I obtain more information for now I'm stumped. 

Thank you for your time,
-Currency


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

Where are you located at?


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

South-Central Indiana, Our parent company is in Chicago, Ill.


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## painter213 (Nov 5, 2008)

Ok, I was up in Indy and Chicago just a few weeks ago. I have done a good bit of work in Indiana over the past several years.


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

Have you reached out to the paint company yourself yet?


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

Would be nice to travel, even if it were work related. I'm planning to fly to Amsterdam next year for at least five days. If my stay is extended because I'm still checking everything out then I may not be employed when/if I were to return.

@Driftwood

I'd say our continuous improvement manager has contacted them but I cannot say for certain. When it happened last, the day before posting this tread, it was nearly 100 degrees in the building, very hot and humid. For the most part the system is under vacuum pressure, with little exposure to the outside air. 

I will check Monday to see if this happens again, as I said before it has happened two Monday's in a row. Has not happened any other day. We have a new operator/Q.C. on day shift and thus far he appears to be unable to keep things in spec which is information I should pass on to my supervisor and plant manager but I will give him another week to get things straight. We've been dealing with a few mid summer vacations and have not had time to provide adequate training. Happens all to often in high production facilities. I'm off from August 7th and return on the 17th for vacation, so will most likely be unable to provide further incite.

-Currency


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## driftweed (May 26, 2013)

Currency,

No offense here, but is this your problem to solve or are you just curious? 

When I worked in automotive parts manufacturing we had a dedicated electrostatic paint line. And I can remember we had a representative on site at all times from the vendor. 

It was above our pay grade to attempt to trouble shoot, & if we tried it was strongly discouraged. As we could easily make bad situation 10x worse. So as much as it sucked, all we could do at times was to intentionally run a couple thousand bad parts. Insane to do something like that, but hey that's what upper management wanted so we did it.


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## Currency (Jul 28, 2015)

No offense taken driftwood.

It's both, not my problem to solve and I'm curious. The problem here is that one co-worker is friends with the plant manager. This co-worker has outright blamed me for causing this problem, so I'm making an assumption that the plant manager has been pushed into believing that I too am the cause of this problem. 

The day shift guy was replaced this week, and having to explain double our yearly allowed rejects on a single order all having been ran the same week, it's never easy. Our plant manager is the type who is easily upset even if an order comes over his head even if that order came from the president of the company, happened this week. 

As a single parent, his mother has personal 'issues'. I'm obligated to defend myself and protect my position. Although, I've been offered not one, but three closer to home positions with better overall benefits than I currently have. I cannot say why I've not taken any of these offer's, perhaps because I've went after more money in the past and ended up in a worse position than I had before, Unemployed, or why I walked away from a six figure a year position when I was 19 years old without a H.S. Diploma or GED. In the end everything happens for a reason.

-Currency


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## DrakeB (Jun 6, 2011)

If you really want to get to the bottom of it, find a phone number for the paint company and call them. Anything anyone else tells you is completely conjecture. They are the _only_ people qualified or educated enough about the product to help you out. If you don't have the authority to contact the vendor, talk to your supervisor- tell him you're interested in helping them track down the problem and you'd like permission to talk to their rep yourself. If he says no, ask him to talk to them and let him know that if they need you, you'll be around.

If you're not going to talk to the manufacturer, you might as well not waste your time chasing this. Good luck dude.


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