It is strongly recommended that our products are applied indoors, in a dry, well ventilated environment. This area should be free from dust, and other contamination and preferably should be segregated from other work spaces.
The ambient temperature should be maintained as stable as possible throughout the painting process. Any heating should be left on throughout the job, and should be provided by dry fuel. Liquid fuelled heaters cause condensate to form which can enter the paint and lead to eventual blistering.
This is designed to adhere to bare steel and iron, without the prior use of etching primer, and provides a sound base for Craftmaster High Build Undercoat. Like most such primers, Grey Primer is porous and can absorb any atmospheric moisture. However it will release the moisture through evaporation. Therefore, before over coating, the material must be allowed to ‘breathe’ in an ambient temperature of at least 2 degrees above the dew point. This is entirely normal practice, and we are happy to provide (on request) a dew point calculator to assist in ensuring the correct environment.
If the substrate you are working on has been supplied in primer, we strongly recommend that the primer is removed and you start from bare metal to ensure a moisture free base for further paintwork that will be compatible with our products.
All advice relating to these can be found within the specific technical date sheets on each product, which are available on the ‘products’ page of our website.
Craftmaster Clear Varnish provides a fantastic layer of protection, particularly in terms of colour retention via its 98% UV reflective properties (see data sheet for details).
Do not add White Spirit to any of our products (with the exception of our Extremely Pink Wood Primer).
Synthetic Thinners can be used for spraying most of our products, please see the technical data sheets on the products page for specific advice. Do not use Thinners when brushing or rollering.
A typical paint build on steel or iron would be two coats each of Primer, Undercoat, and Coach Enamel followed by two coats of Clear Varnish if required. For a finer finish use an extra coat of undercoat and perhaps two more of enamel. This allows for more thorough rubbing down and better coverage on weaker colours. Please see the individual product data sheets for specific advice on the number of coats required, to achieve the minimum recommended dry film thickness.
Please refer to product data sheets, for the limited information available on spray application of our paints.
This is a very hard area to offer solid advice on. Our firm recommendation must always be to remove all existing paintwork and start from scratch. All advice in this section is offered on the understanding that we can offer no guarantee on the longevity of the results. If in any doubt please call us to discuss by telephone.
Provided the existing paintwork is well adhered to the substrate thoroughly wash the surface removing any loose materials, stains, or general contamination. Follow this up with a thorough degrease and then a thorough rub down with P240 paper.
At Craftmaster we don’t just sell our products, we use them.
Our company was founded by Phil Speight, a traditional narrowboat painter. Phil was looking for a product that suited his purposes as a trained coach painter, engaged in the hand painting of boats and other vehicles.
Failing to find a paint of sufficient quality he contacted HMG Paints in Manchester to see if they could develop a bespoke paint. Phil worked closely with HMG to develop a range of products that could be applied by hand (though they also roller and spray with excellent results). Others painters got to hear of Phil’s efforts and wanted to buy the paint, and so Craftmaster Paints was formed.
Phil retired from major painting work in 2010 and sold the paint business to the Brown family. Though we have little involvement with the inland waterways, we have long been involved with historic vehicles and have a collection that we show regularly.
Currently two of our fleet of vehicles are painted throughout with Craftmaster products. We have a 1953 Morris 8 ‘Z’ Van which is presented in Craftmaster livery, and was painted by James Ragsdale of Retford (who was 18 at the time). Our half size Foden Steam Wagon was painted by Adam (who runs the business) and his sister Charley. Pictures of both are featured on this page together with details of the colours used.
Phil is still with us and is engaged as our technical consultant, putting his 40+ years of practical experience to good use assisting our customers (and us!). This, together with our own experiences of using Craftmaster’s product range mean that we can give you the best possible advice on your own personal projects.
