Retarder for MLCampbell Post Cat

[Alex Horvath]

Hi,

I have been using the MLCampbell pre cat 275VOC lacquers and I had to add Butyl Cellosolve to slow down drying or the Campbell product was unusable. I have all of the Campbell retarders/thinners C160, C161 and they did not help at all. Especially on horizontal surfaces it was like spraying sand out my gun so it was not even close. Once I added ~15% Butyl Cellosolve the product sprayed like a dream but still dried fast enough so I could only feel a few dust nibs on large horizontal surfaces in my filthy shop.

I would like to switch to the post cat Campbell products because MLCampbell only sells gallons and I'm losing a lot of product due to limited shelf life. I'm assuming it's practical to catalyze by the quart. Also I may eventually spray some kitchen cabs and I think post cat is a must for that application.

I suspect I'll have the same drying problem with the post cats and they do not appear to be lacquers (amino alkyd) although they use the same thinners and retarders. From the Campbell website it looks like the Stealth tinted product and Krystal product are 275VOC so my retailer probably has them. My retailer does not actually use them so they are useless for solving problems.

Can Butyl Cellosolve be used with the post cats?
If not is there something else? I could try the C161 but I doubt it will work at all. They don't seem to sell the C162, C163 retarders in CA - I called several retailers and they had no idea what I was talking about.

Thanks

P.S. After googling Campbell pre cat vs post cat it appears chemistry is similar even though they don't really call it a lacquer. Also, apparently the post cat product dries much slower so that will work in my favor. I could try the primer first so I don't drop a fortune on unusable product.

[Steve Jenkins]

I can't answer but I've always found that by calling the manufacturer and asking for tech support I've gotten the info I need.

[David Hawxhurst]

all the post cat stuff i've used can be mixed in the quantity you desire. just follow the mixing ratio's and you should have to problems. just remember the smaller the volume the more exact your measurements need to be.

[JOHN GILLOTTI]

The post cat product stealth from ml campbell is a conversion varnish. Much more durable then the precat magma max lacquer. Also a lot trickier to spray. We use stealth on all on painted kitchens. Thinning and adding retarders definetly changes with temperature, but as a general rule I'll mix it up with the following. 10% catalyst ( mandatory) 20% care reducer, and 5% flow enhancer #2. If it's hot out, skip the flow enhancer and go 25% care reducer. It definetly takes longer to flash off so dust in the air needs to be controlled .