turco question

Jarrett Fleming

Jarrett Fleming

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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jun 5, 2011
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I've been using turco for a while now in place of stainless foil. I've always dipped the blades and let them dry overnight. It works fine, but I don't think I'm getting the best performance out of it as possible.
I decided to buy an airbrush and start spraying it on with the hopes of having a more uniform coat, and better performance. The airbrush arrived earlier this week but I haven't tried it out yet. The turco is fairly thick. Do I need to thin it before spraying? If so what thinner should I use and how much? I have xylene and toluene.
Any other tips for spraying it on?
Thanks guys.
 
Toluene is the solvent ... but I wouldn't thin it. I used it full strength out of the can and let it drip dry. I now make my own version which is alcohol based and works as good as Turco ( maybe better?). I am getting ready to make a new batch and will try and make a tutorial about it.
 
Hmm .. I have not looked in to this product . So its a liquid for use with stainless ? Kind of like doing a wash coat with 1095 and other carbon steels.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Toluene is the solvent ... but I wouldn't thin it. I used it full strength out of the can and let it drip dry. I now make my own version which is alcohol based and works as good as Turco ( maybe better?). I am getting ready to make a new batch and will try and make a tutorial about it.
Click to expand...

I have always used it full strength too. The only reason I ask about thinning is because I want to spray it.
A tutorial on a DIY version would be great!
 
Marko3 said:
Hmm .. I have not looked in to this product . So its a liquid for use with stainless ? Kind of like doing a wash coat with 1095 and other carbon steels.
Click to expand...

No, I only use it on carbon steel. It won't work above 1650F. It prevents decarb and scale in HT. For stainless, you need a tightly sealed foil packet.
 
I've used it on CPMD2 and CPM154 without any issues. If you try to use it on S35vn you won't have much of a knife left when it is time to quench . . . learned that the hard way :thumbsdown: I think the higher vanadium content is the issue.
 
I would encourage anyone to try Turco (my stuff is from Brownell's - can't recall the name offhand) or some sort of anti scale with their high carbon. It is so nice to grind things a little thinner, don't have to worry about getting ALL of the decarb from all of the surfaces. Dip, dry and go!
 
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