Orange Peel Pics and Questions

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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 5:13 pm
OK....I have read a LOT of posts and watched youtube videos, but I am still not sure what I am doing wrong.

I am using the Harbor Freight purple gun and the Duplicolor lacquer paint shop system paint to learn with, so maybe worst case scenario. I am 52 years old and have had better luck with spray cans over the years. I tend to start too light and then compensate by laying it really on there when I see orange peel. Seems to be my muscle memory over the years from painting rockets and such. Most of my rockets come out nice. Usually enamel from the can.

This is my first crack at a paint gun. My compressor is a 30 gal 3.5 hp old unit that is keeping up fine with the gun. Pressure maintaining at the gun just fine. I have two bumpers I am painting.

I sprayed the primer and sanded with 600 the next day until smooth. I then painted on 3 color coats and 3 clear coats with no sanding in-between. First 3 coats were about 15 minutes apart and then waited over 30 for the next 3. Gun pressure close to 30. I then backed it down to 27 or so and it seem to go on wetter, making me think I had too much air. Fluid knob was about 1 turn closed from max.

I don't think this is going to sand out. I wet-sanded quite a bit with 1200 and worried I might get into the color, so I rotary buffed with Meg 105 to see how it looked. The shine is amazing. The pot holes are way too pronounced to bother with polish or finish. I am attaching pics for suggestions. This was painted some weeks ago and just started the sanding this morning. Worst case, I go for more sanding and pray.

Am I going too thick or too thin or what? It seemed that at lower pressure on the cardboard box, it splattered, but on the bumper, it came out really wet looking, compared to other coats. I had zero runs.

Temp was around 70 and humidity less than 50%. Sprayed in a garage.

Thank you.
Before sanding:
topbeforewetsand1.jpg

After Sanding:
topwetsand1.jpg

After 105:
topafterwetsand1.jpg



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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:29 pm
Just my opinion...

I think you don't have enough thinners and it's not getting the chance to spread out and lie down flat.

But as you can see by my post count, I'm a new boy here and are more into learning than giving advice.



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PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2021 8:46 pm
:goodpost: the new boy is probably right. you might experiment with more thinner what are you mixing it at now? and what temp range is the thinner? you should be useing a good slow thinner. a good rule to go by is use just enough air pressure to get it to atomize good. sometimes this can be down around 25 -35 psi at the gun. thats an old school suction gun so i don't know how it will work with your Horrible Freight gun. your going to get a some orange peel with lacquer but as you have found it buffs easy. when you get the desired coverage with the color don't be afraid to put 4-6 or more wet coats of clear on. with the lacquer thinned to spray properly your not getting much millage per coat. you can also if your seeing O/P that getting heavy sand between coats like put 3 coats of clear on then let dry for a hour or so then sand with 600 or so we use to use 400, apply 3 more coats. or the trick is to sand your next to last coat then thin you clear a little more and shoot a good wet coat.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:43 am
ttbit wrote:
Am I going too thick or too thin or what? It seemed that at lower pressure on the cardboard box, it splattered, but on the bumper, it came out really wet looking, compared to other coats. I had zero runs.

]


atomization isnt good enough. iirc, them purple paint eaters can have different tip sizes. i had one that had a 1.9 tip. that would be way too much for that paint. 1.3 in my old devilbiss startingline worked good for that duplicolor. i think the purple paint eater is about as good as the startingline


it might seem like your 30 gallon is keeping up but it might not be. the gun shows 6 cfm@ 40 psi. 30 gallons is 4 cubic feet.

hang some cardboard or paper on a wall. get the fan pattern, fluid control and pressure set.

do you have a regulator at the gun or using the one at the compressor?

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:25 am
Basics:
Spray guns require a certain volume of air to operate correctly. Volume is not the same thing as pressure and is measured in cubic feet per minute or CFM (SCFM) at a stated pressure (PSI).

A spray gun or any air tool will state what it needs to operate properly. Example: 12 CFM at 30 PSI

If your gun requires 6 CFM at a stated pressure, your air compressor must be able to provide that much and preferably more than that so your compressor isn't running all the time.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:00 am
Uh oh. My compressor is rated at 8.5 scfm @ 40 and 6.8 scfm @ 90. I thought it was higher than that, but I just checked the label. The gun is rated at 12 scfm @ 45 avg. I honestly thought I was good there. The pressure drop pulling the trigger is not much at all and it seemed consistent. I have a regulator at the compressor set to 80 or so and a regulator at the gun where I have been playing around with psi close to 30. Going to 30 seems to just blow the paint completely dry and comes out rough on surface even when very close. The difference in a couple of PSI is pretty dramatic. Also, the compressor doesn't even kick on until I am about done with a coat on the bumper.

The duplicolor is pre-mixed, so I have not added any thinner. but to be honest, I have been tempted to add some lacquer thinner in there to see if it helps lay it down.

The tip in the gun is 1.4...the purple paint eater (hahaha).

So....my cfm rating is likely causing this? If so, I feel pretty stupid now and should have checked all of that in the first place.

Thanks again.



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 3:27 pm
I just went to the HF website and depending on the link, the purple gun uses 6 CFM or 12 CFM. Frustrating. My box says 12 and came with the regulator.

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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 8:01 am
ttbit wrote:Uh oh. My compressor is rated at 8.5 scfm @ 40 and 6.8 scfm @ 90. I .


Just remember, your compressor, once filled, is running against the tank pressure
which is usually way higher than 90 PSI, so the recovery rate is way lower than
the 6.8 CFM.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 6:39 pm
JCCLARK wrote:
ttbit wrote:Uh oh. My compressor is rated at 8.5 scfm @ 40 and 6.8 scfm @ 90. I .


Just remember, your compressor, once filled, is running against the tank pressure
which is usually way higher than 90 PSI, so the recovery rate is way lower than
the 6.8 CFM.


Thank you. I was wondering what the CFM rate potential would be on my compressor full vs. recovering. As long as there is no strange restriction somewhere, I should have the air that is needed until the compressor comes on to recover, and then....game over. Is this a correct assumption? Meaning that I should have over 6.8 when the tank is full? Or is there something else I am missing here.



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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 3:51 am
ttbit wrote:
JCCLARK wrote:
ttbit wrote:Uh oh. My compressor is rated at 8.5 scfm @ 40 and 6.8 scfm @ 90. I .


Just remember, your compressor, once filled, is running against the tank pressure
which is usually way higher than 90 PSI, so the recovery rate is way lower than
the 6.8 CFM.


Thank you. I was wondering what the CFM rate potential would be on my compressor full vs. recovering. As long as there is no strange restriction somewhere, I should have the air that is needed until the compressor comes on to recover, and then....game over. Is this a correct assumption? Meaning that I should have over 6.8 when the tank is full? Or is there something else I am missing here.


it is quite confusing. only way i can answer theze questions:
get at least a 60 gallon 2 stage compressor. no more questions.
about cfms anyways. :)
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