There are times when we think about painting our favorite objects by ourselves at home, but the paint available in the market is very thick, and most of us are always searching for a way to get the perfect consistency that we need.
Don’t worry; here we have discussed the solution to our problem. An explanation about the workings of the viscosity cup would definitely help you thinner your paint to the exact consistency that you need.
Painting a spray gun at home is a fun activity to do with your family, friends, kids, or relatives. The most common thing that people know is the fact that a variety of paint colors are required while painting a spray gun at home.
You may need to paint in different patterns and consistencies to get your spray gun painted perfectly.
But very few of you might also know that you can get paint in a perfect consistency by just diluting the paint colors at your home. This is one of the most practical ways that you can adopt to cut your costs while planning to paint your guns at home.
But if you are looking for something about mixing water-based colour for Squirt Gun Painting for your kids, then this article will be helpful for you.
Materials Required:
1.) Ford viscosity cup 4 mm
2.) Viscosity Guide
3.) Primer Paint
4.) Water
5.) Watch
6.) A Tumbler
Steps To Follow:
Following are the steps that one must follow to get their water-based paint diluted perfectly to be applied on their spray guns:
Step 1: Know About The Viscosity Cup
The most important thing before diluting paint for the spray gun is to know about the consistency of the paint that would be ideal to use.
A viscosity cup is equipment that is used to measure the consistency of a liquid with the help of a watch.
There is a small opening on the bottom of this mug-like cup through which the paint flows out, and a viscosity guide is used to understand the exact time that the liquid must take to come out of the cup. This is how the ideal consistency of a liquid is measured through a viscosity cup.
Step 2: Understand The Concept Of Viscosity Guide
A viscosity guide is a written statement that gives an idea about the ideal time that a particular liquid must take to flow out of the viscosity cup 4 mm.
| Paint Type | Time in seconds | Paint Type | Time in seconds |
| Auto | 18-20 | Primers | 30-40 |
| Lacquers | 18-20 | Standing Sealers | 20-22 |
| Enamels | 20-25 | Stains | undiluted |
| Latex | 20-30 | Creosote | undiluted |
| Oil-based | 20-25 | Polyurethanes | 20-25 |
With the help of this viscosity guide a person can check if a liquid is in its proper consistency or not.
If the liquid takes the exact ideal time to flow out of the viscosity cup, as mentioned in the guide, then it is definitely in its proper state and consistency.
Step 3: Use The Viscosity Cup
After you are well aware of the use of a viscosity cup, the final thing you have to do is to make its use properly to measure the consistency of your paint. Here, we have used a primer, and according to the viscosity guide, it must take 30-40 seconds for the primer to flow out entirely from a full viscosity cup.
Step 4: Add Water If Needed
If you feel that your paint is taking longer than the time expected as per the viscosity guide, then there is a need to thin your paint.
Just add some water to the paint until it gets thin enough to pass the viscosity cup at the times suggested by the viscosity guide.
As per the guide, the primer will take 30-40 seconds to flow from the viscosity cup. So make sure it takes the same time; otherwise, the consistency of your paint/primer will not be accurate for your spray gun.
Step 5: Start Painting
After you get the perfect consistency of the paint that you need, you can start painting your spray gun and enjoy this fun activity with your loved ones.
