Come on....hurry up and tint, will ya??!!!

[Now I See]

Hi guys and gals!

I have a tint unit (Inland ColorMate II)....lovingly referred to as "the beast"....it's big, it's clunky, but it gets the job done. :shiner: LOL...kinda like me! :bbg: Anyhoo...I'm toying with the idea of getting a new tint unit for a couple of reasons...
1. "The beast" takes at least an hour to heat up to (ALMOST) the right temp.
2. The temp doesn't stay consistant.
3. The machine and the pots are BIG.

The big part I can't change, but I'm wondering if I can control the temp issues by using HTF? Right now I'm using water, and I'm thinking that is why it's not getting hot enough and it's temp is inconsistant. Any thoughts??

[jefe]

Use HTF.

[rcroutch]

Use HTF.

+1

[Judy Canty]

+1

[Uncle Fester]

Beating Mr. Ryser to it-

http://optochemicals.com/main-english.htm

scroll down a little bit to- "Micro Tints"

I rarely tint but when I do I use a converted food warmer with 1 quart dye pots and BPI tints with water.

[optical24/7]

nevermind, Fester beat me to it....

[John@OWDC]

I just swapped our 5+ year old HTF in our ancient BPI Mini 6 and WOW! what a difference it made.
Cleaned up everything really carefully, hit the heating element lightly with a scrubby pad and now it heats like crazy.
Quick, consistent and good results.

[Chris Ryser]

Beating Mr. Ryser to it-

http://optochemicals.com/main-english.htm

scroll down a little bit to- "Micro Tints"

I rarely tint but when I do I use a converted food warmer with 1 quart dye pots and BPI tints with water.

Congratulations Fester...............you beat me and you are right too...............

.....................tinting units come out of the food warmer business and restaurant supplies. Thats all.

Dyes will decompose with the amount of time they are under heat. Therefore turning on the unit in the morning and then leaving it on will make you having to change dyes faster.


In microtint you heat the dyes for 2 minutes then insert the lens for 60 seconds and it will have 70% absorbtion. And the dye has only been heated for 2 minutes. Therfore they will last much longer than with the conventional method. For Poly and high index the time is also only 4 to 8 minutes, which is no comparison to the few hours in the tint tank.

[DragonLensmanWV]

Yeah, use the HTF. Water evaporates and makes it hard to maintain the correct level to heat the pots evenly.

[Now I See]

Beating Mr. Ryser to it-

http://optochemicals.com/main-english.htm

scroll down a little bit to- "Micro Tints"

I rarely tint but when I do I use a converted food warmer with 1 quart dye pots and BPI tints with water.

I've thought about the micro tints, but I do quite a bit of tinting, and lots of them are gradient tints....how do they work with dark gradient tints? Do you need a certain type of neutralizer to lighten the tint up, if needed?

** sorry...I didn't read your post carefully enough...you are using a water bath, not a microwave, right?? If that's the case, then I guess it doesn't matter, they'd work just like any other tint **

Use HTF.

Yeah, use the HTF. Water evaporates and makes it hard to maintain the correct level to heat the pots evenly.

Forgot to mention that my tint "pots" are glass beakers....does that matter with HTF??

[For-Life]

Beating Mr. Ryser to it-

http://optochemicals.com/main-english.htm

scroll down a little bit to- "Micro Tints"

I rarely tint but when I do I use a converted food warmer with 1 quart dye pots and BPI tints with water.

Been using that for about 6 years. Very successful. I would guess takes about 10 minutes from start (begin heating) to finish (lenses are inserted).

[Chris Ryser]

I've thought about the micro tints, but I do quite a bit of tinting, and lots of them are gradient tints....how do they work with dark gradient tints? Do you need a certain type of neutralizer to lighten the tint up, if needed?

As MicroTints work so fast you can make a gradient tint applation. However you can tint the whole lens and then remove dye with the gradient arm.

Regular neutralizer (ethylene Glycols) will emit deadly fumes when heated in a microwave. Therefore we came up with a water and surfactant based products that emits nofumes and does damage any type of lens material. So, one neutralizer for all application and all lenses.