• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Thinning One-Shot Down to translucent coats

Kahundred

New Member
Hi,

Brand new here :) I've read a few of the posts about the signs101 culture, and I'm excited to linger around here as I get increasingly serious about my craft.

I've used one-shot a fair bit in very opaque ways and I love it. I left my batch of cans behind on the opposite coast, so I don't have means to experiment right now. I wonder if anyone has experience painting on glass with this or another durable paint that thins to a translucent coat that will illuminate well when backlit.

Thinking turpentine thinned one-shot on lightly roughed up glass will work nicely.

thanks! i cant wait to get to know the site and look at other peoples work.

Greg
 

player

New Member
One Shot makes a clear that might be good for translucent coats. Add a small amount of solid colour to tint it. It may be hard to get off windows though.
 

TimToad

Active Member
What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

Is this a fixed, vertical window or a piece of glass you could lay flat?

If vertical and fixed, I'd be worried about sagging with something too thin. How translucent are you expecting it to be?

You could always start with a clear varnish and then tint that until you got to the right degree of translucency.
 

visual800

Active Member
just you mentioning using one Sh*t makes me throw up. Step up your game and get away from this crap product and the clear that one shot makes needs to be trashed also. There are several alternatives for lettering maybe some of those guys will chime in
 

Sidney

New Member
Hello,

I have the same questions Tim is asking you. One Shot is a fantastic product but thinning it and applying to a vertical piece of glass can be very tricky. You really don't have to make One shot super thin for a light to come through. You only need it to be 40% to 30% reduced in order for the color to "turn on/glow". The secret with allowing the colors to turn on/glow is not to overlap colors.

You have to pretty predetermine you highlights, shadows,outline etc and apply them 1st, then fill in around them (NOT Overlapping or coloring color below). If you over lap it will create dark sections once lit.
I have included a picture(from my archives) of a hand painted window (one shot) that is lit from behind.
Windows-Boars-Head-Meats.jpg
 

sardocs

New Member
I don't understand the hate for 1Shot that always pops up when someone mentions the product. I've been using it since the 70's and I don't experience the issues others mention. Maybe the formula is different in the US than here in Canada. It will always be my preference over the other lettering/bulletin paints.
 

OldPaint

New Member
if you have never used real 1 shot(with lead)you wont see much diff. i still have cans of it with lead........
 

Sidney

New Member
I don't understand the hate for 1Shot that always pops up when someone mentions the product. I've been using it since the 70's and I don't experience the issues others mention. Maybe the formula is different in the US than here in Canada. It will always be my preference over the other lettering/bulletin paints.

Yes, I'm not sure either. One-shot is the Best in the market. I have used many others but their reds, browns seem to burn out with the sun (along with other colors) much, much faster than One-shot.....just my 24 years of experience:)
 

Kottwitz-Graphics

New Member
Yes, I'm not sure either. One-shot is the Best in the market. I have used many others but their reds, browns seem to burn out with the sun (along with other colors) much, much faster than One-shot.....just my 24 years of experience:)

Several years ago, One Shot changed their formula to make the EPA happy. The issue is that without some of these additives, the paint shows signs of premature fading. I have one sign that I did 4 or 5 years ago with a very nice rich blue. I thinned it down according to instructions, and sprayed several coats. It came out beautifully, but the other day, I passed by, and the blue is now a light baby blue. They haven't called, but I am expecting a call to see about repainting it. I think this time I am going to spray an automotive base clear....
 

visual800

Active Member
first off to the OP, WHEN we used one shot we thinned with urethane reducer. and to achive the transluscent goal you wont it doesnt take much. You are going to have to trial and error it.

back in the 80s and early 90s you could paint a damn car with one shot and 10 years later it would still be high gloss. One Shot flowed in a brush like nothing else. we painted murals on raw brick and its still there today! Then they changed it. I noticed reds, burgundy, reflex blue, they just wasnt holdin up outside. I called One Shot and asked WTH! They said nothing had changed. I then tried their clearcoat, its fishscaled off sign within a month. I contacted One Shot and they would not warranty it , saying it was user error. That did it for me right there.

One Shot simply is not the product it was. We have brutal summers down here they can ruin bad finishes within a year on signs.
 

Sidney

New Member
You would be happily surprised how Behr Paint (Home Depot) works. It's thick, pretty much covers in one coat and I have used it up north and down south. It handles the cold and heat very well. I am not a fan of Sherwin Williams (very thin and chips easy). Behr Paint is a Great Product.... :)
 

visual800

Active Member
You would be happily surprised how Behr Paint (Home Depot) works. It's thick, pretty much covers in one coat and I have used it up north and down south. It handles the cold and heat very well. I am not a fan of Sherwin Williams (very thin and chips easy). Behr Paint is a Great Product.... :)


we also use Behr. for murals, painted routed pvc and just about anything else. flows good thru a cargun too
 

Sidney

New Member
we also use Behr. for murals, painted routed pvc and just about anything else. flows good thru a cargun too

You're right ...All my interior and exterior murals are done with Behr. I do use a water based clear coat for my painted pvc products. You and I have similar approaches for custom painted products:). ....they definitely stand the test of time.
 

TimToad

Active Member
first off to the OP, WHEN we used one shot we thinned with urethane reducer. and to achive the transluscent goal you wont it doesnt take much. You are going to have to trial and error it.

back in the 80s and early 90s you could paint a damn car with one shot and 10 years later it would still be high gloss. One Shot flowed in a brush like nothing else. we painted murals on raw brick and its still there today! Then they changed it. I noticed reds, burgundy, reflex blue, they just wasnt holdin up outside. I called One Shot and asked WTH! They said nothing had changed. I then tried their clearcoat, its fishscaled off sign within a month. I contacted One Shot and they would not warranty it , saying it was user error. That did it for me right there.

One Shot simply is not the product it was. We have brutal summers down here they can ruin bad finishes within a year on signs.

You can't compare the atmospheric conditions present today to those almost 30 years ago. The amount of additional UV making its way to earth in even the last five years is more and is increasing faster than anyone could have predicted, including paint manufacturers. We may be the canaries in the coal mines seeing the day to day effects of climate change, but I'm not sure we can blame the paint companies for not being able to keep up.
 

PainterDave

New Member
House of Kolor Kandies

i spray a lot of plex and sometimes glass
i also use them to color chrome vinyl

these will give you a stained glass look.
i can write you up a "how to" if youre interested
 

Kahundred

New Member
What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

Is this a fixed, vertical window or a piece of glass you could lay flat?

If vertical and fixed, I'd be worried about sagging with something too thin. How translucent are you expecting it to be?

You could always start with a clear varnish and then tint that until you got to the right degree of translucency.

Hey, this is a technique that I want to develop, not a specific project. I have used stenciled spraypaint in the past, but I'm moving away from it because I can't control the overlap, so backlighting always looks ugly. Thanks for your response :)
 
Top