Mixing lacquer in the right ratio

Speaker 1: Can we get some lacquer on these panels?

Speaker 2: No problem.

Speaker 1: The wings have got to go on before the doors.

Can you get them lacquered by the end of the day?

Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll get that done.

Speaker 1: Thank you.

Speaker 2: (TO AUDIENCE) OK, so I need to measure out enough lacquer mix for these two panels.

I know this room is well-ventilated, so I will be able to mix up the lacquer safely in here.

OK, so I need to measure out enough lacquer mix for these two panels, so I'm going to measure out a litre of lacquer, then I'll add the hardener and thinner.

I need three parts lacquer to one part hardener.

Then I'll need to work out what 25% of the total amount is, and add that much thinner to the mix.

I'll have to measure out a litre of lacquer, or clear coat as it's known as the starting amount and the three in my ratio.

Then work out what volume the one part is by dividing the one litre by three.

Then finally, how much the 25% is of that total amount.

That's the thinner. I'd better get to it.

Speaker: So for this three to one ratio I'll need three parts lacquer, one part hardener, and 25% thinner.

I need to work out what one third of one litre is.

To do this I'll first convert one litre to millilitres.

So that's 1,000 millilitres in a litre.

I need to divide 1,000 by three. That's 333.33.

I'm rounding that down to 333 ml.

So I need to add 333 ml of hardener to the lacquer to complete this mix.

Right. Next I'll have to add the 25% thinner.

Speaker 1: (TO AUDIENCE) Now to get this right I need to add 25% thinner.

I need to work out the total amount of liquid I have here, then work out 25% of what that will be.

So that's one litre plus 333ml, so 1,333 millilitres.

So, 25% is the same as one quarter.

So I can divide that total by four to find out what 25% is.

But hang on, if it's a quarter, that's the same as one part of this mix.

That's equivalent to 333ml of the hardener.

Now I'll add that to the mix.

Speaker 2: (TO OTHER PEOPLE) How you getting on?

Speaker 1: Uh, I think I got it about right.

Speaker 2: Did you use this mixing stick?

It's really handy. It's got all your measurements on it.

Here's your 3:1 ratio, and your 25% thinner.

Fill your lacquer to there, your hardener to there, and then thinners up to there.

Speaker 1: That's easier. I'll use that in the future.