uppitt
Apprentice elf
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2010
- Messages
- 63
- Thread starter
- #16
I thought I replied to this earlier, but I think it was lost when the site was hacked a couple of weeks ago.
I've not tried the All Clear from the tube, but it should be just the same stuff in the 1L tin (which you can't buy anymore). So you could thin it down with turps. Turps is not exactly the best to thin it down, but it's what I have access to. I think Toulene is best. Selleys will tell you you can't thin it down if you ask them. When you use turps, it doesn't dry hard, and remains a little tacky. Ideally use as little turps as possible. I can't tell you the ratio, I simply have been using a small amount of All Clear in a tin can, like a salmon tin, then pouring a small amount of turps in, then mixing it up so the consistency is more runny. You need to give it 24-48 hrs for it to dry out. Longer the better. I made the mistake recently of going to the extent of sealing up 600 odd LEDs on a 3.6m tree, and then had to pull the tree apart to move it within 12 hrs. Only problem was that the All Clear was not dry, and still very tacky, and all the strings just glued together. Took me over an hour to untangle. Man I was annoyed with myself.
Davrus, you could brush them as you are about to put them out. For my strings (which I've not completed yet.....next years project), I got 2 pieces of wood, 2.4m long (50x75) and then screwed in some 20mm hooks. Placed one beam at one end of the yard, then other beam 7m away, then strung up the LED string in rows. And then just walked around and applied the All Clear. Best on a nice sunny day, as it will cure faster. Actually rather then brushing, I found using a 5ml syringe worked alot better, and faster. As long as it's thinned down enough, I found I used less, and got faster doing it this way. Got down to a 500 LED strong in an hour. I know that sounds like a long time, but at least I know the LEDs in my strings (static display) won't rust away. It's very time consuming, but it's either your time to do this, or just go and invest in top notch lights that are waterproof, but you're paying 2-3 times the cost. Time or $$.
I've not tried the All Clear from the tube, but it should be just the same stuff in the 1L tin (which you can't buy anymore). So you could thin it down with turps. Turps is not exactly the best to thin it down, but it's what I have access to. I think Toulene is best. Selleys will tell you you can't thin it down if you ask them. When you use turps, it doesn't dry hard, and remains a little tacky. Ideally use as little turps as possible. I can't tell you the ratio, I simply have been using a small amount of All Clear in a tin can, like a salmon tin, then pouring a small amount of turps in, then mixing it up so the consistency is more runny. You need to give it 24-48 hrs for it to dry out. Longer the better. I made the mistake recently of going to the extent of sealing up 600 odd LEDs on a 3.6m tree, and then had to pull the tree apart to move it within 12 hrs. Only problem was that the All Clear was not dry, and still very tacky, and all the strings just glued together. Took me over an hour to untangle. Man I was annoyed with myself.
Davrus, you could brush them as you are about to put them out. For my strings (which I've not completed yet.....next years project), I got 2 pieces of wood, 2.4m long (50x75) and then screwed in some 20mm hooks. Placed one beam at one end of the yard, then other beam 7m away, then strung up the LED string in rows. And then just walked around and applied the All Clear. Best on a nice sunny day, as it will cure faster. Actually rather then brushing, I found using a 5ml syringe worked alot better, and faster. As long as it's thinned down enough, I found I used less, and got faster doing it this way. Got down to a 500 LED strong in an hour. I know that sounds like a long time, but at least I know the LEDs in my strings (static display) won't rust away. It's very time consuming, but it's either your time to do this, or just go and invest in top notch lights that are waterproof, but you're paying 2-3 times the cost. Time or $$.
