It isnt hard to learn to use these. Try it a few times and you’ll have it down. They don’t break, and they don’t clog, unlike most other sprayers. And their spray pattern is nice and uniform. The ones I use, I have had on my bench for over 25 years, at least. Still work fine. Unlike their owner…
hi all,
ok i finally sat down and ordered a mouth atomizer, and it has made my prips experience amazing!
i just had to test it to figure out the positioning of the 2 pipes…and then i tightened/ pinched the collars…i learned the i needed to blow harder than i thought…
it applies a beautiful, even coating of prips flux!
i made a bottle to facilitate easier handling, using a viramin container
Drill another hole in the top and it might go even easier. You need to replace the fluid you spray out with air. Depending on how tight the bottle is, it might be hard for air to get in and replace the lost volume of liquid sprayed out…Rob
haha! I thought about that, and opened the lid to test it out…yes, much better…i am still struggling to get the spray out consistently…i am having to puff out my cheek as i blow…and it still doesn’t always come out/ spray consistently…still trying to figure it out
i originally made the hole, to stabilize the pipe a bit…it was moving at the hinge and becoming un-aligned…
i found a video that explained this “Venturi Effect” in a simple way, in a similar setup as i am attempting it…and in a way i could understand! (his last use of a flammable liquid doesn’t look like a good idea, though!)
Hi Janet,
ok, i will play around with those two methods bext!
thank you!
over-spray has been an issue, while i have been trying to master the blowing…it seems like if i don’t blow hard enough, only air comes out, and if i blow harder, then it comes out, but of course the spray pattern is round and usually larger than my piece…
Julie,
I just didn’t understand why anyone would use a blower to apply flux unless maybe if you need to cover a very large area. A brush is so simple and you get it exactly where you want it.
BTW I wrote “dip and flame” because I was thinking boric acid.
While I have an atomizer and have used it a lot, over spray is a problem. I find that, if I use alcohol and boric acid, I can control firescale most of the time…Rob
well, my experience with Prips flux is that it is far superior in preventing firestain than boric acid/ alcohol flux…the addition of the borax extends the working time, i believe…
and many people have said that the mouth atomizer is a good way to apply it, because it clogs spray bottles for some reason i have not yet figured out…the mouth atomizer applies a beautiful even coating, and has less overspray than my spray bottles did…
so i have been trying to perfect my process with the atomizer…i believe the piece “needs”(?) to be heated first…i have burned brushes trying to brush it on…
I am struggling to improve my application process, so all ideas are welcome, I love to learn and try new things…
I do always have to try to remember to “learn smart” though!…i struggle!
so far, i am at the place where i want to use the Prips because i think it has superior protection…if i am going to spray, i can accept that there will be some overspray…so my current challenge is to control the spray as best as i can
and also to figure out if brushing on is possible, for complete coverage…and how to control the heat if i need to heat piece before brushing on…or if it is possible to get complete coverage without heating first…i am assuming the piece needs to be clean so that liquid flux will st”sheet” and cover the piece…
Most of my work requires very small applications of flux, plus sometimes a firecoat.
I am intrigued by this applicator for larger jobs such as annealing, though, so I purchased the tool.
I may not use it often, but I suspect that it will get more somewhat frequent use, as I experiment.
Getting full coverage for a heavy annealing jobs has always been difficult.
Update:
the mouth atomizer that I ordered just arrived this evening. I played with it with liquids close at hand ( ok, I had beer close by, but it works).
Now I need to play with a firecoat, but I am quite optimistic. It took a second or two to adjust the correct gap, but the results were quite impressive.
I had hunch this was an great idea, since I already had learned how to use the brass blowpipe for soldering.
…i struggle!