Hi, I'm new to this forum (nice forum by the way) and somewhat new to painting about a year or so experience (not much).

I'm currently restoring a 55 ford f100. When I spray the color, I have no issues with orange peel, color seems to flow out nicely and dry flat. For the color, I'm using PPG (omni) and for the clear, I'm using Advantage Euro Max HS Glamour clear (very thick).

My issue is with the clear and extremely bad orange peel. The orange peel is so bad, it takes many hours of wet sanding to get it to flatten out and in some cases end up burning through the clear. The gun I'm using is cheap brand with a 1.4 tip.

If I follow the directions on the clear, 7 to 10 PSI with 2 medium coats with a medium dry activator, the orange peel is terrible. plus 7 to 10 PSI does not seem like it's moving enough material, so I end up spraying at around 20 PSI.

Any suggestions on what I'm doing wrong and what I should be doing differently? I know there will always be some peal, but mine is beyond peal, lol, more like moon craters.

Here is a pic

Are you sure 7-10PSI isnt at the tip?

7-10 PSI at the inlet is very low, I would say 23PSI at minimum, you can spray into the 30's if needed or higher depending on the gun.

thanks for the response, it does not indicate tip or inlet. That is probably why it's peeling bad, not enough air to atomize properly. How can I test PSI at the tip?

Thanks again.

you can't...unless you either make or buy a special air cap for your gun that has a port on it for attaching an air gauge. Some of the higher end guns have that available but they are fairly expensive and usually only used by folks who need to monitor for EPA compliance, etc.

Generally the gun should have a pressure spec for the input pressure at the handle, to achieve the target air cap PSI. If not then follow what f575gtc told you...you should be able to dial it in.

Okay thank you, I will go with his suggestions and try this weekend. Thanks again for the quick response.

Another thought, this isn't a harbor freight gun is it?

I own a few of those, the $10 ones and the more expensive purple with the gold knobs, and they all operate around 35-45PSI, they aren't really low pressure .

Actually I have a mix, a couple from Home Depot, harbor freight and a set I just bought from TPC global. I think they are all about the same. I do have a purple one with gold knobs. I will bump up the air and see what kind of results I get. Is there a good gun I should purchase? I'm really getting tired of redoing my work. that paint is not cheap.

thats a very high solids clear, one i would not recommend for a newb. i use the slow activator for that clear and it helps it flow out a little better, ( not dry so fast). up the air pressure, more is better than not enough for clear!!

I think you are in the same boat I am, I am a hobbyist painter at most. I had a project car I wanted to paint so I tried to pick up on painting.

I think the guns you have are fine to paint, it might be easier to test with some cheaper paint to get a hang of things.

I ended up buying a Devilbiss Finish-line FLG4 with metal cup and 3 tips (1.3,1.5,1. for $180, but I also ended up having to upgrade my air compressor to keep up with the gun.

The problem with guns is there are a bunch in the sub $100 category that are ok and will do the job, but for the good hvlps the prices seem to jump well over $200 quickly.

dgmford wrote:Actually I have a mix, a couple from Home Depot, harbor freight and a set I just bought from TPC global. I think they are all about the same. I do have a purple one with gold knobs. I will bump up the air and see what kind of results I get. Is there a good gun I should purchase? I'm really getting tired of redoing my work. that paint is not cheap.

A couple of questions come to mind in answering your last post. First is will you have other projects that you plan to paint in the future? Second is what level of quality do you expect by doing your own paint work and will you do enough of it to improve your skill with a spray gun? Here's my suggestion if you plan to do more projects and enjoy painting and the satisfaction a hobbyist like most of us are here can get from doing your own paint work and seeing quality results. You need a better gun to consistently get good top coat results. I too have a HF purple gun that I have never used, I also bought the TCP Global 3 gun set purely for the 1.8 gun to use for primer, may never use the other 2 unless the right small project comes along. Being an old siphon feed gun guy who hadn't painted for almost 2 decades and wanting to move into newer technology and looking at the prices of modern day paints, I bought a DeVilbiss GFG 670 Plus gun from Chris here on the site. About $303.00 with free shipping and will do any top coat you decide to shoot with outstanding results and if you add up what you've spent on your other guns and not happy with any of them it's money well spent. Consider the cost of paint products and the time you are spending getting rid of paint work you aren't satisfied with and it would be money well spent. There are guys out there that will tell you to move up to guns that are in the $500.00 plus range but the Plus gun is a great gun and gives great results when used correctly and with some user practice to get the basics down you'll be happy with the job you get. Clean it properly and take care of it and you'll have a gun that will likely last you as long as you will be painting. Just my 2 cents but solid advice. If you want a second opinion ask me twice What ever you decide best of luck and enjoy the learning process / Coy