Hi all, i usually don't post on forums but i am a little desperate for help at this point.

Ordered a gallon of single stage black paint from summit and i cannot get the paint to lay flat at all. Does anyone have any experience with this type of paint? I've been working on this project for over a year trying to paint this car and i just cannot get it to lay down right.

When i mix it 4:1 with activator it lays down really dry looking and TONS of orange peel.
When i thin it down 4:1:1 with thinner it lays down great but i get solvent pop everywhere.

Using a 60 gallon compressor with a bunch of filters and a was using a harbor freight gun but in hopes of solving my problems, ordered a Devilbiss finishline, and it sprays just about the same as the harbor freight gun.

I can post pics of all my equipment if that would help, i am very frustrated right now...
I think i may have to start all over and order a different type of paint..

http://imgur.com/a/lh7ej

i will try again on the other fender tomorrow with the finishline and thin it down a little bit and see if i still get solvent pop with that gun.

What is the psi at the gun handle, with the trigger pulled? Also does that compressor provide at least 15 CFM at 40 PSI?

11.8 cfm @ 40psi, i have the regulator at 60psi, and the one on the gun when trigger is pulled is at 23 psi per specs of the finishline.

Tip size should be 1.3 or 1.4. Up the pressure to 26-28 and reduce it 4:1:1/2 with lots of flash time between coats, see how that behaves. A couple of practice pieces would be good, to sort this this out.

Thank you for the advice i am using 1.3 tip.
I will report back tomorrow.

Used summit single stage...like chris said bump up your pressure and make sure gun distance and atomization are both good... it Will lay down nice... its very decent paint, especially for the price...just watch this>>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8D9F6ngRuM

Looking at your pic, it looks exactly like something I painted with that same paint with my pressure about 10 pounds lower than it should have been. Dont be afraid to bump up the pressure higher than the spec for the gun, that is what you have to do sometimes to get the good atomization. I use a 29 psi spec gun now, I usually set it at 35 to get it to spray nice.

^ that hood looks pretty good!!! I can get mine to look like that for about 30 seconds before it gets bubbles everywhere! lol!

http://imgur.com/a/z5JhB
Todays attempt. Mixed it 4:1:1.
You can see the white specs is solvent pop...
I bumped the pressure to 26 psi, maybe i will try 30 next time.
Am i holding the gun too close or some thing? I hold it roughly 8 inches away, but it seems like it shoots out tons of paint. Should i adjust the flow on the gun?

There is also still some orange peel.

I think adding that reducer is causing the solvent pop. I wouldn't do it. Summit says 4:1 no reducer. As far as the other problems, it's all gun setup and spray technique.

Trust me on this one, the paint is fine...I did 3 cars with it. The only time I got some solvent pop was when I experimented and added reducer.

I think that 1.3 tip might be a bit small for the paint. I use a 1.4