Createx Paint??

[J4F]

I'm to the point of laying out my flames. I'm doing a gost flame with blue pearl. I have a local dealer here that sells Createx. I looked up their website and read about what they had to sell and what they reconmended for application. Has anyone out there used this product and if so did you have good or bad luck? Thanks.

 

[DDG]

I've used Createx Auto Air for mostly helmets.
I had good luck with the product.
The only problem I found was the Bond All additive
was bad and got "thick" and when sprayed came out kinda chuncky. I've never used the Bond All after that. I only added the Catalyst.
You can use urethane clear over them but I would heat gun it first to "set" the paint.
On the plus side, virtually no smell and very cheap. $4/4oz. They have about 40+ colors including pearls and some chameleon.
On the bad side, they are not as durable as auto urethanes. Still a fine product in it's own right. When thinned to do fine lines, I found that they looked grainy to me. The pigment just didn't reduce down like urethanes do.
I will use them in the future, mostly on wall murals, but will never paint a helmet or bike with them again. I'll stick with urethanes for them.
Dirt

 

[J4F]

Thanks DDG. Can't you use a regular clear. I wanted to clear the whole tank with PPG.Wouldn't this make the flames durable? If I use PPG for the flames how much do I have to thin it? Thanks again.

 

[DDG]

Yes, the clear will make the createx durable but not as durable as the urethane.
The PPG clear you're talking about is probably a
catalyzed clear? It most likley is a urethane clear.
If spraying through an airbrush, double the reducer. I think PPG is 1pt paint/1.5-2pt reducer,
for a spray gun, for an airbrush go with 1pt paint
to 3pt reducer. Should work fine.
Remember when spraying larger areas w/ an airbrush
even coverage is more difficult.
Dirt

 

[Grashopr]

JF4 and DDG....I dont know WHAT I could say to try to steer you away from using water based paint products along with urethane-based clear. There are SOOO many things that are just sick and wrong about that, that it make me feel (in the immortal words of Redd Sanford) 'like the BIG ONE'S coming!'!!

I have used Createx's paints for airbrushing T-shirts. And I have used their Auto-air for spraying testing pieces to see how it would work. IMHO, Createx Sucks! It costs just a hair more per 2-oz container than what I am charged for touch-up size containers of PPG or Doupont paint, and it voids the warrantee of your PPG or Doupont Clearcoat when you spray it over Createx. Sure, I've seen the jet-ski and helmets that have been sprayed with createx autoair, but if I were spraying my own car (which I have), I would stick to something that has historically shown the best turn-out for the $$...I mean, think about it...IF there were a Water-based paint that gave a remotely similar turnout to basecoat/clearcoat paints, wouldn't places like Earl-Shives and Maaco be using it? And would custom painters be using it too? I mean, its' easier to clean, you don't need to spend money on reducer, or parts cleaners...it's safer to store...

But the bottom line is, Createx should stick to making T-shirt paints...the Auto-air paint has been out for a while, and it Still Sucks.

The 'hopper

*This is my opinion, and it's only MY opinion. Had this opinion been a truth or General-Knowledge of the Public, I would be making money copyrighting and selling it in a book somewhere. This is ONLY my opinion.*

 

[Kyle]

*This is my opinion, and it's only MY opinion. Had this opinion been a truth or General-Knowledge of the Public, I would be making money copyrighting and selling it in a book somewhere. This is ONLY my opinion.*[/QB]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Excellent disclaimer, seems like you have had this discussion before!

I agree with you completely about water based auto paints. It may be easier, and cheaper, but IMO the extra hassle and cost of using eurathane is worth it.

 

[DDG]

Hey Grashopr, didn't you read my last line when I said I'll never use createx for anything but wall murals?
It doesn't suck, you just need to know it's limitations and how to use it properly.
I've painted helmets in the past and YEARS later they still look great.
And as far as a warranty, I have faith in my own knowledge and abilities to not blame the paint
manufacturers. How many times have you had to take back a gallon of clear because it was bad?
Probably never. A painter should fall back on his/her own ability and not use the manufacturer
of the products they use as an excuse for a bad paint job.
And J4F, you use what you want and make your own decisions on the products you use, don't let a few guys steer you away from something just because they had bad luck with a product.
If people didn't use these products they would stop making them.
There are quite a few custom paint shops who use the urethane bases and water based paints on top of them with great success.
It's your decision and yours only to pick the products you use.
Dirt

 

[Motornoggin]

I use the AutoAir all the time. Good stuff. It takes a bit of time and experience to get used to the way it sprays, but it works great. It will stick to just about anything! I have had nothing but good results with it. I use ChromaClear or RM clear (both urethane) over it. I have not had any compatability problems at all. I always use the Bond All and Catalyst. It is too cheap to not use and I keep a fresh bottle of each as the Bond All will tend to get chunky after a few months.

 

[Grashopr]

DDG: Sorry..I scanned over that part...my bad. Like I said, it's only my opinion...if you want to try it, you may LOVE it, but I know a few other custom painters who also have tried it, and they, like me, feel that it is an inferior product to regular automotive paint. To each his own....

As far as me having to go back to the manufacturer about something: I got a can of PPG medium hardener for my clear one time that didn't have hardener in the bottle...it had regular reducer. I couldn't get the clearcoat to set up for ANYTHING. The PPG rep paid for that car to be stripped back down and re-done again. If I had been using Auto-Air...they MAY have had an excuse to tell me to go to hell..I hope that I do enough business with them to overlook it...but it's still in their right to do.

The 'hopper

Sorry again, DDG

 

[TWISTED]

I have been using Createx paints for qite some time. They do take some getting used to. I have had good results using them. I do all prep, basecoats, and clear with HoK or another quality urethane.

Most of the stuff I do with createx are graphics or flames. It is a bit easier to clean the airbrush between colors and is easier on the skin and lungs. I would not suggest an entire job be done with them but they are good for the small stuff.

I have never had a compatability problem and no one has ever brought a job back for repairs because of the paint. I had a repeat customer drop off his sheetmetal that was painted 5 years ago, for a new paint job. Except for a few rock dings in the front of the tank it looks as good as the day it left my shop.

My suggestion, Try it. If you don't like it it is easy to take off and redo it with urethane, and you won't be out very much money.