Hi guys I’m new to this forum, and need some help with my clear coat. I have been painting in my garage for quite a few years and have sprayed different brands of paint/clear. I’m getting many small bumps in my clear, doesn’t seem to be solvent pop and they will sand out with some work. They appear to be dirt nibs but I don’t know how. I am spraying transtar kwik gloss with the spot and panel activator and I’m only painting one panel at a time. I keep the ceiling and area clean and wet the floor before spraying. I drain my air compressor regularly and I’m running a filter right off the compressor, then a filter dryer combo. I even run a filter right at my gun. I wipe down the panel with wax and grease cleaner then tack cloth before painting,I tack cloth after my base coat also. I’m just tired of all the sanding and wanted some input. I will grab some pics tomorrow. I’m spraying with a Devilbiss gti by the way with a 1.3 tip. Any tips are appreciated I’ll get pics ASAP, thanks.

Post up your pic.s. The more we can "see" the more guys can help you here.......

i recently helped a guy with a dirt problem, i found that he was using blue shop towels to wax and grease, they leave a lot of lint. i had him blow the car off after wiping down wait 15-20 minutes for everything to settle then tack. he called me a few days later telling me it helped a lot. maybe you can try it as well. just use a adjustable gun and very lightly blow after wiping then wait 15-20 minutes to tack

DarrelK wrote:Post up your pic.s. The more we can "see" the more guys can help you here.......

Your description could make a number of problems so pictures are necessary to see what is going on.

Like I said above I’ll get pics ASAP I’m just not around the shop until later in the day.

some more questions , do you wear a paint suit, gloves and head cover? do you have air removal with a fan?
Jay D.

No I don’t wear a paint suit just gloves, I do have an exhaust fan built into the wall. I’ve never had this problem before except a spec of dust here and there.

I painted all this stuff last night.







In the whole lot there was only one nib worth mentioning:



But....

I clean the booth, hose the floor, wear a paint suit with hood and gloves and tack and blow, similar to the way that Dave described, above. I also make sure my guns are spotlessly clean but don't bother too much about filters, other than those on the wall. You have to attack every possible source, but it pays off.

are the "bumps" up or down in the surface? What air pressure are you using? outside of a booth it helps to learn how to spray with lowest air pressure you can as well. (lvlp gun would be good for garage) any color to them? clear specs can collect in a dirty gun and be applied to surface as well.

Dirt nibs are "up".

I used a Devilbiss Pro Lite with 1.3mm fluid tip and T110 air cap. That's an RP setup and I run 2 bar/28psi at the inlet with trigger pulled.

My booth is end draught, so needs a bit of care, but nice clean jobs can be had.

Yes, all Devilbiss guns suffer from an accumulation in the neck which comes out as great ugly lumps next time you spray. Like this:


For that reason I remove the cup and make sure I clean inside the neck, every time. Other guns tend to accumulate in different spots, like the back where the needle comes in. A clean gun is a happy gun.