I have a Warwick 904 HVLP gun first of all if that helps. I believe it to be a copy of the Iwata 400 W ?

Anyhow, everything I have ever painted I use pretty much wide open settings and about 30 PSI (trigger pulled), and it does great... Now, how to I go about dialing it in to spray small parts where I don't need a big fan pattern and hopefully less pressure too? While still getting good atomization.

I painted some wheels with tires on them last weekend and realized I need to figure this out! I had notecards taped together and stuck around the edges and they all went flying!!

This is one of "those" subjects where there are opposing points of view.

Some say you can paint anything with a full sized gun and I guess you can. But, I'm a subscriber to the belief that using the right tool for the job is far better than compromising the design of a tool that is meant to do a different job altogether.

At the extreme end, when was the last time you saw someone airbrushing with a Tekna Copper or Sata 3000? Or doing a full respray with an airbrush? I have no doubt it could be done, in fact I have painted a full bar with an airbrush - just for the fun of it. The job was actually ok, but would have been much better with the right sized gun.

If you have no other choice then go ahead and dial down your full sized gun. You will need to reduce air pressure (at the risk that it won't atomise fully), air volume (so you don't blow the part off the bench), fluid flow (at the risk of a dry finish) and fan (because reducing everything else won't support the normal width). There are no hard and fast rules or a specific set of settings - just start with fan size to suit the part, air pressure and fluid flow. You may find that you will also need to change reducer to one that is a touch slower. Test a few different combinations first and remember that the settings you use for base probably won't work for clear.

Frankly, I don't have time to stuff around doing all that and then have to reset the gun up for full panel use.

I use a whole range of different guns. For example, here are two guns. Both 1.3mm and both RP, but completely different animals. One has a nice even fan out to 350mm, the other a bit over 200mm. The smaller one actually atomises better than the Tekna and is a joy to use, being small and light, plus it uses maybe half the paint because it all goes on the job, rather than being wasted in over spray. Perfect for bars, mirror shells, sill covers, door frames, etc.

Thanks very much for your detailed response Chris.

Great info!!! I'll give 'er a whirl.

i have a small star branded touch up gun, it has a 1mm tip and a small pot, it works great for smaller stuff and im sure it only cost me $79au, so maybe around $40 your money, a great investment, mine dont get used much, maybe 4-5 times over the 6yrs i have had it, but its great when you need it
krem

Geez Krem, our dollar hasn't dived to 50c US, yet.

But you're right. I have a Star S2 with 0.8mm tip and it's beautiful. Perfect tulip shaped spray, but just 100mm wide

lol, its on its way tho!!
makes for shopping overseas pretty crap now!!
krem

Thanks for taking the time to walk me through it Chris. I dialed the gun down and it did a wonderful job on two wheels I painted today. Finally getting comfortable with gun adjustment, and knowing what to look for on my test sprays. Thanks so much!!!