It should be observed that the varnish is applied in a separate room from that used for the application of colour. This is done in order to exclude dust, and also to maintain the temperature at 90° F.
In considering the essential points of this method of finishing motor bodies, it is clear that the system might be successfully applied in very many other industries to a great variety of goods. The apparatus is so simple in character that no engineer would have the least difficulty in designing a plant suitable for any particular requirement.
It must be admitted that the crux of the whole situation is the kind of paint or enamel used. It must be sufficiently viscid to hold on to the surface to which it is applied, sufficiently liquid to run off freely without leaving runs, tears or "fat edges." And, above all, it must flow out uniformly. All these conditions, however, apply also to a dipping plant, and only require careful consideration on the part of the paint manufacturer who has made a special study of the subject. The varnish applied by this method must also be of a special character so that it may flow out nicely without yielding too thick a coat, which would be likely to lead to blemishes. Ordinary paint, enamel or varnish, then, will not answer for this class of work, but special products must be employed, and when these are obtained, the rest is comparatively easy.
The Floco Process.
This process is in some respects similar to that above mentioned, the difference being that it is intended principally for the application of varnish by flowing over a painted surface done by spray. The essential difference in the apparatus is that the varnish, instead of being discharged by gravity, is pumped up from a tank. It is largely used in America, and is manufactured by the DeVilbiss Manufacturing Company, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A. It is particularly suitable for automobile bodies and large surfaces generally.
The process flows such materials as varnishes, enamels and japans, when it is impracticable to spray them. It has superseded the inadequate, inefficient flowing systems used in the past, and is also replacing brush and dip methods as practised in many instances.
The equipment of the process comprises a 15-gallon tank, drawn from one sheet of steel and heavily tinned; 1-6 H.P. motor, housed in, driving a rotary pump; regulator; nozzle; electric fittings; flexible fluid hose, and galvanized iron drain trough on rack. All parts, excepting nozzle, hose and trough, are mounted on a castered truck for moving about. The truck is equipped with a rack around which to wind the hose when not in use, and a holder for the nozzle.
Fig. 122.—The "Floco" System of Painting Motor Bodies.
