Hey guys, i have this issue when i spray clear coat. i'm not a professional and my jobs i do are far in between. i sprayed a hood yesterday for my truck. and i get these fisheyes in the clear. this all started with a used gun that was giving to me it's a devilbiss finishline 4 with a 1.3 tip.

i sprayed the primer and epoxy on the hood from a husky professional hvlp gun (not sure of the model) also sprayed the base coat with it.

when it came time to clear i grabbed the devilbiss and sprayed the clear and these fisheyes show up after some flash off time. when it came time to the 2nd coat i swapped back to the husky gun and sprayed the clear and the problem did not return.

my thought was previous owner somehow contaminated the gun. i've cleaned it with laquer thinner several times.

i'm using a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor with sufficient cfm for both guns. have those little water catchers on the inlets and regulators.

the cap on the devilbiss says 23psi inlet max and thats what i sprayed at.

i'd really like to figure this out as the devilbiss sprays much better than the husky.

any help is appreciated.

Where did you get your lacquer thinner? Big box stores mostly carry reprocessed thinners that have only gone through simple sand filters. They can have all kind of contaminates in the mix. Try either cleaning it down with a dedicated gun cleaner or urethane reducer.

i'm wondering usually a fisheye problem won't cover up on the second coat they just keep coming back. now base coat you can let it flash good then lightly fog a couple coats and they will cover.
Jay D.

i got the laquer thinner from hd a while ago, but i cleaned out the husky with it also. if the previous owner used fisheye remover would the laquer thinner clean it? i always heard once you use it you have to always use it.

i get no issues with the basecoat or the clear with the husky gun although i don't like how it sprays. again i'm a diy'er and i would like to spray clear coat without having to wet sand it all the time.

i'll have to setup a test panel and try some things with the finishline gun including cleaning it with reducer.

The problem with the hd lacquer thinners is they may not be "hot" enough to get any previous fish eye additives or contamination out of that gun. The urethane reducers and gun cleaners are "purpose" built solvent mixes.

badsix wrote:i'm wondering usually a fisheye problem won't cover up on the second coat they just keep coming back.
Jay D.

I agree a 100%
I Might add without seeing a picture of what he had its impossible to figure out.
Solvent Pop comes to mind but it cleared up with a second coat weird? Like you said Fish eye would have came right back.

perhaps they are not fisheyes then. they do not show up right away. i feel like i've waited the appropriate flash off times.

i sprayed 2 coats black base with 10 minutes in between using ur50 reducer, temp was about 83 degrees in garage. i then waited about 50 minutes before spraying the first coat of clear. which is some cheap clear i'm trying kustom shop kc210 clear with the overall hardener.

it wasn't till after about 15 minutes when i returned and i saw the craters. i then grabbed the other gun and hit it with a second coat which made them appear to disappear but after wet sanding the craters are evident.

A Picture is worth a thousand words

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... onHjOyKy_-

so i did some more testing spraying reducer out of the gun on a hood. it looks like there are tiny air bubbles when it hits the hood...

i got pissed off and bought a brand new anest iwata bellaria spray gun with 1.4 tip and i did a quarter panel with the same clear and same setup aside from the gun and it was unbelievable how good it came out.

something must be wrong with the debvilbiss finishline. perhaps the fluid needle seal? i think i'm just going to sell it now..

another thing i noticed was the air compressor was not kicking on as much with the iwata as the devilbiss that thing is an air hog!

there is probably nothing wrong with your Devilbiss gun other than set up and adjustments. also in the equation would be product temperature compatibility and application. without seeing pictures i'm thinking solvent pop caused by above ^ your new gun just happens to be set up to work with your clear.
Jay D.