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andy1976

Fluid bead materials?

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Andy if you are referring to the substrate material, you can buy it directly form Component Systems in small sheets. It is a bit pricey, and you will have to cut it in a circle to fit your fluid bed.

   There are other materials you can use as well, like vacuum cleaner bags, Tyvek, computer paper, coffee filters, brown bags, and also allergy pillow cases. Not all of the substrates will work for all of the powders. There will be some trial an error, as all powder paint have different densities and chemical make-ups.

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13 hours ago, Erick Darkman Prado said:

The thickness and price suprised me,  why so thick? Why so pricy?

i use paper bag, that's thin so you can see why I'm lost

Erik,

    I bought it years ago, when  I had big problems with my white. The material even at 1/2" thick is very porous. With that said, I would not buy it again. It didn't help me with my white powder situation.  I now have found the correct white that works in my Tyvek paper that I get free from the Post Office. Guys don't take may statement as offending anyone. I've looked high and low for a good white powder paint and  it works for me. Sometimes you need the correct powder to work in your fluid bed. TJ's and many other guys use the white porous fluid bed board, so if it works for you by all means use it.

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3 hours ago, Erick Darkman Prado said:

Thank you, I too am having problems with white,  can't stand it

im back to dipping out of the jar cause the issues I'm having, the paints I've tried are Pro tech of course and Harbor freight, I'm considering Boss paints next

Eric, PM me your e-mail, I have a lot of white. We can work something out if you are interested.

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7 hours ago, Erick Darkman Prado said:

Thank you, I too am having problems with white,  can't stand it

im back to dipping out of the jar cause the issues I'm having, the paints I've tried are Pro tech of course and Harbor freight, I'm considering Boss paints next

In the past, I have battled with fluid bed media and trying to get everything just right to do a few jigs here and there. Just got tired of the battle and started looking for a vibrator that Would be cost effective and work with my fluid beds. I finally ran across one by accident and it has been great. Now I use about five layers of newsprint and this little vibrator tie wrapped to my fluid bed. It thumps pretty hard and will vibrate the fluid bed around if it's on a hard surface. I just place it on a shop towel. Now I never change filter media and just blow my cup out between color changes. Also, may I suggest Columbia Coatings for your powder. They manufacture great powder with many, many colors at a reasonable price. Here's a link to that little vibrator on Amazon. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MTA9WUR?psc=1

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22 hours ago, Erick Darkman Prado said:

Thank you, I too am having problems with white,  can't stand it

im back to dipping out of the jar cause the issues I'm having, the paints I've tried are Pro tech of course and Harbor freight, I'm considering Boss paints next

Erick:  I also dip out of the jar.  I just never fiddled around trying to build a fluid bed.  I also use the pro tech paint and have found that if I stir it before dipping the first jighead and then stir it again after every 2-3 heads, it works fine.  It seems that the trick is to keep the paint from getting too compacted and clumping on the head.

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On 2/26/2017 at 10:40 PM, Erick Darkman Prado said:

Thank you, I too am having problems with white,  can't stand it

im back to dipping out of the jar cause the issues I'm having, the paints I've tried are Pro tech of course and Harbor freight, I'm considering Boss paints next

Eric I get my powder from a friend at 5 dollars a pound. The white has never made volcanos on me. It's the best paint I've ever used. If you want some at my cost let me know. I also have clear which I love adding to other colors, brown, red, and mirror black.   

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I bought my fluidizing plate from an eBay vendor years ago. It came in 8"x8" sheets.

I havent seen it listed there since though.

I never clean my cups.

I have one cup for each color in my heated shop. I cap each cup with a knockout test cap and never had an issue in several years of doing this.

I have cups with fluidizing plate bottoms and some with tyvek or other membranes.

Some are standard 3" diameter x4"tall cups for small stuff.

Others are 12" tall x 2" diameter cups for long saltwater jigs.

I did build a vibrating aluminum base to test using a small sander for vibration with spring feet.

I wasn't sold on it but may try it again here soon. Maybe try some different ideas on using it.

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I find the less powder I have in the cup, the more issues I have. 

You folks that use the vibrator stuff.....do you hook it up to a dimmer switch like you would see for a light? You could have good control with it that way.

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On 3/1/2017 at 11:05 AM, BLT said:

I find the less powder I have in the cup, the more issues I have. 

You folks that use the vibrator stuff.....do you hook it up to a dimmer switch like you would see for a light? You could have good control with it that way.

I might consider using a dimmer switch to control the vibration if I can figure out a simple and inexpensive way to make it work for me.

I didn't have that on my first go around but could see the benefits.

What I did was make a "T" out of some aluminum C channel and added spring feet. the front portion or top of the T held 2 fluid beds.

The back or bottom of the T had a hand sander attached.

It was a  bit noisy and did not work quite like I had envisioned. Might be time to drag it back out and play with it some more.

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4 hours ago, mark poulson said:

I was told, long ago in a far off galaxy, that motors require a different dimmer than is used for lights  Something about amps.

You got me brother lol. I hate messing with electrical things. Don't know anything about your point, but that dimmer switch thing came to mind.  I would think an electrical supply company would have something that wold work. You should have seen me trying to wire a train layout! Lights the size of a grain of wheat, counting how many there were and figuring out what resister to get.....no thanks! Glad my Daughter married an electrician last April!

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On 3/9/2017 at 10:21 PM, BLT said:

You got me brother lol. I hate messing with electrical things. Don't know anything about your point, but that dimmer switch thing came to mind.  I would think an electrical supply company would have something that wold work. You should have seen me trying to wire a train layout! Lights the size of a grain of wheat, counting how many there were and figuring out what resister to get.....no thanks! Glad my Daughter married an electrician last April!

They do make different dimmers for motors.  

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