Greeting from Bill Boxer
Product warranty has always been a consumer concern. What happens when you have a product concern should be important should a situation come up as well as how a company supports their product warranty. Apollo Sprayers Inc. takes customer service seriously.
Over the past few years Apollo Sprayers Inc. has enhanced their product warranty. First, and as always, Apollo provides a standard limited 2-year warranty against manufacturing defects. A few years ago this was enhanced by a 2 +1 year warranty extension to those customers registering their POWER and PRECISION Series products online.
The latest warranty enhancement by Apollo was the addition of a 5 year limited warranty (2+3) on the PRECISION-5 HVLP spray system. The patented special features and enhancements built into this system gives Apollo and their customers the confidence of an extremely stable and reliable HVLP spray system. When you buy your Apollo PRECISION-5 spray system and register your purchase online you have established your additional 3 years of warranty for a total of 5 years from date of purchase.
Last month we had a great response to our new 5 year warranty plus an added 1.3mm nozzle/needle assembly and an additional $50.00 off advertised prices that we have extended it through the month of May. A great opportunity to own a recognized USA Made high performance HVLP spray system at a great value.
FEATURED ARTICLE BY WILLIAM BARDICK
The Benefits of a Model
Recently I designed and fabricated a piece of furniture for a client that posed some unusual design elements and wondered if I could even pull this piece off at all. As always, I created shop drawings and several sketches of the piece being careful not to design beyond the capabilities of me or my shop. After finishing the drawings, I was still a little apprehensive about some design and construction issues.
I once made a piece of furniture for a client who had some difficulty visualizing it by looking only at my shop drawings so the project was put on hold. We met again, this time accompanied by a model I made and after placing the model in front of him, not a minute went by before he said, ‘sold’. Remembering the value this model had in effective visualization, I wasted no time in creating a ¼ scale model of the piece I had been recently commissioned to do, exactly duplicating the drawings.
Even before the model was finished I could see that the proportions were not quite right, it was top heavy and too skinny which I never really picked up on my drawings. I was quite disappointed and tossed the model into the trash only to sleep on it and pull it out the next morning realizing it was doing exactly what it was supposed to do, to show me the future and tell the truth about my design.
After recognizing some problems, I immediately began a second model after modifying the drawings a little, this one taking far less time to do. The little effort I put into these two models proved very helpful and gave me the confidence I wanted to move forward. Not only did this model clarify some faulty design elements, it also allowed me to see if I could get away with fabrication in my limited shop. Yes, there are computer programs that will allow you to manipulate a drawing which is a good tool, however, nothing can beat a well prepared, touchable 3D model built in your shop with your tools that reveal construction methods and techniques.
Taking model fabrication one step farther, rather than using junk wood found in your shop, use nice material, the same material you would use on the actual piece, even going so far as making doors and drawers work, not forgetting to stain and clear coat. I have come to realize there is an interest and market for well built miniature furniture. I’m not suggesting that you make a model for every piece of furniture you do, only the ones that require a little more clarity. If it’s important to see the future then build a model, it’s time well invested.
About a year after I finished and delivered that challenging piece to my clients, I gave them the model and I swear, they get a bigger kick out of it than the actual piece.
William Bardick
Q&A from theFinishingStore.com
- What is the difference between a bleeder and a non-bleeder style spray gun?
- Bleeder style spray guns have a continuous flow of air through the air cap when the HVLP turbine is “on”. Bleeder spray guns are the original style HVLP spray gun supplied with Apollo turbine spray systems. They are simple in design, extremely reliable, and very easy to clean and maintain. The perception that the continuous air flow will displace dust and dirt in the spray area and workshop, or in any way affect the performance when spraying is incorrect. It originated when HVLP manufacturers began offering non-bleeder style HVLP spray guns and circulated inaccurate information to promote the alternative non-bleeder concept. HVLP manufacturers continue to successfully offer bleeder style spray guns. Apollo 5000 Series bleeder style spray guns have a proven history and proven performance and have even been copied by other HVLP producers.
Non-Bleeder HVLP spray guns do not bleed air when the HVLP turbine is “on” until the trigger on the spray gun is pulled back. Non-bleeder spray guns are slightly more complex than bleeder style HVLP spray guns. Non-bleeder HVLP spray guns require a turbine system to have some form of air relief to prevent backflow air pressure to the motor. This air relief can be internal or external. There is no advantage or disadvantage to using a non-bleeder HVLP spray gun. It is a matter of preference and/or choice.
Generally, HVLP bleeder spray guns are less expensive than non-bleeder HVLP spray guns.
- What is pickling? Is it the same as liming?
- In wood finishing the term pickling is generally used to mean adding a white coloring to the wood. Liming is used to mean the same thing.
There are two broad methods of pickling. One is to wipe on and wipe off a white stain. The other involves sealing the wood with a first coat of finish, then wiping on and wiping off a stain. There is a big difference in the appearance you get.
When the same white stain is applied over a sealer coat, and wiped off the sealer coat prevents the stain from coloring the wood as thoroughly. The white coloring is left just in the pores when the excess stain is wiped off.
- What do I do about pine knots? How do I put my finish on?
- The resin in pine knots contains solvents that will bleed into and through most paints and finishes. This can cause the paint or finish to remain sticky, and it can cause the orange color to bleed through.
There are two types of products on the market that will block this resin: white pigmented primers and clear shellac. The most well known white primers are Kilz and BIN. Zinsser makes a SealCoat with very little color. .
Kilz and other brands are available as oil-based and water-based. Oil-based works better at blocking the resin than water-based. But the most effective blocker is shellac, Once you’ve applied the SealCoat or BIN to the wood, you can apply any paint or finish over it. As long as you haven’t sanded through, this first coat should block the resin.
Take a Break and Have Some Fun!
See how many words you can find. Look for words horizontally and vertically. You can print this page, including the puzzle, work offline and then highlight words as you find them.
The Benefits of a Model for your Project
