Hello, my 16 yr old son and I are painting his '86 Mustang in Ford factory color Kona Blue Pearl. We have an old hood that we shot with ********** 2K Epoxy primer today and followed that with the 4 coats of base. It looks kinda splotchy.

Not sure if this is normal and will look good with clear or if it is a problem.

We shot the base coat with a Devilbiss Tekna Copper w/ 1.4 tip @ 27 PSI.

The base was reduced at 1:1 according to the tech sheet.

Here's some pics of the hood after 1 coat, 4 coats, and about 4 hours after applying:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtOX0vLkrneigrRpGVI ... Q?e=btxedf

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You need a compressor that puts out 13 CFM minimum for that gun to spray correctly.
Did you adjust your spray pattern on paper before spraying the hood?

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:You need a compressor that puts out 13 CFM minimum for that gun to spray correctly.
Did you adjust your spray pattern on paper before spraying the hood?

I've got a 60 Gallon 3 HP 2 stage compressor that I used with this gun to successfully paint the engine bay in my '68 Mustang with a metallic gray paint. Came out great. I think it's probably gun adjustment problem.

I did a test pattern and it did seem a little skinny instead of the football or cigar shape.
Fan pattern was adjusted maybe 1/2 turn in from full and fluid about 1/4 in from wide open. Could that have been the issue? If so what do I need to adjust to fix it?

Thanks!

That's probably your problem. I have the same Tekna gun and it shoot a nice patter but needs a large volume of air.

Look at your air compressor, there should be a tag on it that states the CFM (SCFM) at 40 PSI.
Like this:


Or this one that's on the backside:


Setting up the gun empty. (Note: if there is a plastic screen in the bottom of your cup remove it.)
Apply pressure to the trigger and back the fluid knob out until the trigger is full open.
Turn the knob in until you feel it start to lift your fingers. Release the trigger and turn the fluid knob in another full turn. This will be a good starting point.
Hook up the air line to the gun. Set PSI at the gun to 26-27 (30-32 for clear) with trigger full open.

Mix your paint as required on your tech sheet. Using a screened paper funnel put some paint into the cup.
Tape some masking paper on the wall of your booth and hold the gun 5-6" from the paper.
Pull the trigger full open for 1 second. The pattern should be fairly long top to bottom and a pretty even in width. No runs and no bare spots.

If you see a run, turn the fluid knob in 1/2 turn and repeat.

Thanks for the gun setup procedures, I will try those out.

Here's the info on my compressor


The motor burned out on my a couple of years ago so I got a really good motor from an industrial motor supply in Phoenix and it has been great every since.

I talked to another guy that has shot this particular base and he said it takes 5-6 coats for even coverage, especially over a light gray base. I'll scuff and shoot another 2 coats after setting up the gun as you advised and see how it looks.

When we go to shoot the car I'll probably mix black and gray epoxy and reduce to shoot as a sealer as that will be closer to the base color.

Thanks a ton for your help

Study up on your application of your base. you don't want to spray it WET like you would a S/S urethane. wet coats and short flash times usually will cause the problem your having.
Jay D.

badsix wrote:Study up on your application of your base. you don't want to spray it WET like you would a S/S urethane. wet coats and short flash times usually will cause the problem your having.
Jay D.

Thanks - I'm shooting Matrix MPB basecoat and it calls for a medium wet application. If anything it might have been applied a little dry as it flashed in about 5-6 minutes. Temp was about 70 degrees here in AZ yesterday and I used a medium reducer. Is it better to err on the side of wet or dry?

The more I am researching this color I'm finding that it takes 5-6 coats over a lighter substrate for even coverage. I think that's probably the biggest factor. I'll shoot a few more coats and see how it looks

Thanks for the advice

Looking at the pictures again, I would say you need to set the gun up properly.
Not enough fluid being applied. Also be sure to keep the gun at a consistent distance to the surface and perpendicular so the spray pattern is even.

Darker colors generally cover very well.

I'll follow your set up procedure and give it a try tomorrow

i have the tekna,too, and set it up as coronet said. ive sprayed a bit of matrix base- whatever 2009 honda crv metallic blue is really called. laid it down great. 2 coat coverage. gun set up properly,maintain distance from the surface, keep speed of movement and overlap consistant.
i got into a habit of shaking/stirring the cup before shooting the next coat when using metallics,too.