Commentary on paint finishes, varnishes, and infra-red drying techniques.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 117\4\ scan0244 | |
| Date | 17th January 1944 | |
| To.....Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} EV {Ivan Evernden - coachwork} /RG. {Mr Rowledge} 4.JMA. 17.1.44 1021(4) Coach Ptr Paint Finishes etc. I have now read A.G.Smith's article in Canadian Paint & Varnish Magazine and from my own experiences wish to make the following comments. 1. Smith states that oleo-resinous varnishes had poor durability, one that could almost be measured in days. I feel that their statement may be viewed from the Canadian aspect rather than British. It is perfectly true to say that coach painting was a slow process. I would go further. It used to be a highly skilled and very tedious job. In fact the personnel applying finishing colour coats and varnish were worth their weight in gold. But I feel that it is wrong to say that coach finishes had no durability. Personal experience makes me contradict that theory. 2. Infra-red drying equipment was of course, introduced by Ford's in America who also introduced synthetic resin enamel to the Motor trade. Up to the present time very few people are using the synthetic. I feel that the two (synthetic enamel and infra-red) are inextricably bound up together. The combination does supply the speed so necessary to very high production. I am speaking in terms of hundreds per day. (a) We do not anticipate production of that capacity. (b) Dockers at the present time do not recommend infra-red drying with nitro-cellulose. (c) Nitro-cellulose is the application I would recommend for the class of finish we require. Incidentally I had better make this quite clear. To use a much hackneyed phrase. Dockers are the "Rolls-Royce" of the British paint world. To comment on the "Infra-red by gas" paper as discussed in the Institute Bulletin, I feel that this theory needs expert investigation. Messrs Andrew and Chamberlain have produced a beautiful array of figures and graphs which can only be fully appreciated by a paint technician. Frankly I would not care to try to explode their theory. They may be right. The illustrations in this paper show semi-circular heating units diametrically opposed, thus giving ideal radiation. I do not quite see how this design can be successfully applied to the variation of shape usually experienced -Continued- | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).