Good afternoon guys,I stumble across this website while doing a search on the Devilbiss Plus 670.
First let me say that I am a beginner at spray painting and just can't seem to figure it out. After purchasing my gun couple yrs ago so its been seating cause I though I just purchase the wrong gun.What I spray is metal lathes,table saws anything that needs some TLC to bring it back to life.Basically I refinish old metal/wood working machines for myself and some others and sometimes I make some pocket change along the way.The few yrs that I have painted its been mostly cast iron which the finish is not smooth but just plain shinny and thats great.But I have been doing some old metal shop desk that maybe the old shop foreman would keep an eye on the workers back in the day.These desk mainly is made up of thick sheet metal which requires a smooth finish without orange peel.Spraying high gloss black is tough,it shows all my mistakes then add my painting mistakes to the problem.
Paint that I mostly use is SW's industrial enamel paint,Sher-Kem paint and alittle lacquer which I figure by purchasing the 670 plus with 1.2,1.3,1.4,1.6,1.8 tips I would cover all the bases.
OK before my chops get busted,I know this forum is automotive finishing but while visiting the home page I notice metal working section and dvd on how to paint cars.Well there's no better place to learn than from car guys who paint cars worth several thousands of dollars.I want my projects to look as good,I want to start using body filler and prep the projects so that I can get that so smooth finish.This is what landed me here,I want to learn all the procedures to get to that fantastic finish.First thing I need to learn is how to use the spray gun I have on hand,so that is where I will start.Enough for now,short questions to follow.I see I also have alot of reading here.Guys sorry for the long winded first post----karo524

Tips on setting up the gun.

I use the needle style regulator connected to the gun. I can't remember the pressure recommended for the plus gun, but it's written on the Guage.

Set the PSI at the gun with the trigger pulled. With out it pulled it should go way up to whatever your tank is set to.

Open up your fan control knob ~3 turns. Open the fluid knob to about the same.

Check your pressure at the gun. Adjust if nesassary.

If you are using an automotive paint it will prescribe the reducer for the ambient temp in your shop. Don't guess. Use the recommended reducers/activators on the tech sheet.

If you are using a 1k product, add enough reducer until it takes ~4 seconds to stop dripping off the stir stick (if I remember correctly).

Add some reduced paint to the cup.

Tape up some masking paper to the wall. Hold the gun about 8-10 inches from the paper. Pull the trigger for 1.5 seconds. You should see a nice cigar pattern on the paper. It should have even coverage from top to bottom. The paint shouldn't run. If the pattern is more circular, open up the pattern control a half turn. If the paint runs, close the fluid control.

Check the pressure again. Adjust if nessasary. Once you have a good pattern, use a tach rag and spray air on the surface to be painted by pulling the trigger half way while wiping the surface gently to remove any dust. Go over the entire surface before pulling the trigger all the way.


Now you can start spraying. Use a 50% overlap. Start in one area and work your way around. Pay attention to the look of the paint as it goes on. "Chase the dry edge" as they say. The fist coat should be very light usually. Let the solvents flash off. You can test it by touching a masked area. It should be tacky but not leave any paint on your finger.

Spray more coats until you have full coverage.

Some industrial paints don't need primer. All automotive paints require an appropriate primer for bare metal.

That's the basics. Go slow. Make a plan. Read all the documentation of the materials you are using. Practice on something small that doesn't matter. Most of a good paint job comes down to the quality of the prep work.

I paint quite a bit on non-automotive projects. I use tractor paint or industrial paint.

Body filler isn't too hard to get the hang of. Mix it properly, apply to bare metal. Shape it with a cheese grater type of file just when it starts to set up. Use 80 grit to finish shaping, work up to 400 grit for solid colors and 800 for metallics.

My best advise is to start on small projects until you get it figured out. So many people jump into "the big project" and have do it twice and waste tons of money and time.

-Vetsen

Thanks for the advice,I really like the ideal of hanging up some paper and spraying some test.Yesterday I was doing some spraying using the 1.6 tip but had alot of orange peel,I watch another Utube where someone said to use a 1.4 tip to help control the orange peel.Tomorrow I will give that a try spraying some panels on the back side where no one will see them.My manual says to set my psi at 30lbs with the trigger pulled,I will use a stir stick and kinda time it as it drips off(another good ideal).Thats one of my problems trying to figure out how much to thin it.On the can it says to thin 10-20% but even at 20% I really get the orange peel effect so using your ideal will give it a try.Thank you for that,but now I am going to read "Advice for beginners" Dang there is so much to learn here I have along way to go.-----karo524