Painters. What am I doing wrong?

[dannyual767]

I've got to admit that this painting thing has to be about the most frustrating thing I've done. Recently, anyway!

I'm painting 4 boats and I'm using PPG Omni paint. I'm using an inexpensive Harbor Freight Tools HVLP gravity feed detail gun with a 1mm needle. Maybe this is my problem. I shot color yesterday and it went okay. I had some dry looking spots but most of the boat surfaces were smooth. Still, the dry spots bothered me because I knew it wasn't supposed to be that way. I ended up using way more paint than I thought I would, too :unsure: !

Today I clearcoated. For the life of me, I couldn't get the paint to lay down nice and smooth :angry: . If I tried to apply a little more to one area, the outer edge of my spray pattern (overspray) would mess up the adjacent smooth area. Then I'd have to spray some more to wet out and smooth that dry area creating another dry area at the edges of that spray pattern. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm trying to describe this as best as I can. I ended up spraying 24 oz of clear along with 6 oz of activator for a total of 30 oz. I didn't think that it would take that much paint!

Anyway, my boats are okay looking. I'm not real satisfied with them but they are okay. Certainly not professional ! I've got nice big spots where the clear is smooth as glass and other areas that are kinda pebbly and not as shiny. They're not real bad but being a perfectionist, they bother me. As I said earlier, when I was trying to fix these dry pebbly areas, I'd create new ones.

Okay, its time to go eat. Thanks for reading my vent!

Danny

 

[drwayne]

I've got to admit that this painting thing has to be about the most frustrating thing I've done. Recently, anyway!
I'm painting 4 boats and I'm using PPG Omni paint. I'm using an inexpensive Harbor Freight Tools HVLP gravity feed detail gun with a 1mm needle. Maybe this is my problem. I shot color yesterday and it went okay. I had some dry looking spots but most of the boat surfaces were smooth. Still, the dry spots bothered me because I knew it wasn't supposed to be that way. I ended up using way more paint than I thought I would, too :unsure: !

Today I clearcoated. For the life of me, I couldn't get the paint to lay down nice and smooth :angry: . If I tried to apply a little more to one area, the outer edge of my spray pattern (overspray) would mess up the adjacent smooth area. Then I'd have to spray some more to wet out and smooth that dry area creating another dry area at the edges of that spray pattern. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm trying to describe this as best as I can. I ended up spraying 24 oz of clear along with 6 oz of activator for a total of 30 oz. I didn't think that it would take that much paint!

Anyway, my boats are okay looking. I'm not real satisfied with them but they are okay. Certainly not professional ! I've got nice big spots where the clear is smooth as glass and other areas that are kinda pebbly and not as shiny. They're not real bad but being a perfectionist, they bother me. As I said earlier, when I was trying to fix these dry pebbly areas, I'd create new ones.

Okay, its time to go eat. Thanks for reading my vent!

Danny

you need to add some wetting agent ( thinners) to the mix.

Id use 10-15%.

This helps adhesion and helps it spread out on the surface..

The 'dry spots' sounds like it's drying on contact.

Wayne

 

[gil sonsino]

Hi Danny

Do not feel frustrated for your painting ..youre not the only one that probably is discovering the mysteries of this art.

I´ve been doind that for aprox 30 years and at every new project I figure out a new thing.

IMO youre using a small unappropriate gun for this kind of job....sometimes inexpensive means that.

I would suggest to you go to a painting shop and ask for some advice on a new ´ painting tool´.

Gill

 

[Wesleys Custom Graphics]

I've got to admit that this painting thing has to be about the most frustrating thing I've done. Recently, anyway!
I'm painting 4 boats and I'm using PPG Omni paint. I'm using an inexpensive Harbor Freight Tools HVLP gravity feed detail gun with a 1mm needle. Maybe this is my problem. I shot color yesterday and it went okay. I had some dry looking spots but most of the boat surfaces were smooth. Still, the dry spots bothered me because I knew it wasn't supposed to be that way. I ended up using way more paint than I thought I would, too :unsure: !

Today I clearcoated. For the life of me, I couldn't get the paint to lay down nice and smooth :angry: . If I tried to apply a little more to one area, the outer edge of my spray pattern (overspray) would mess up the adjacent smooth area. Then I'd have to spray some more to wet out and smooth that dry area creating another dry area at the edges of that spray pattern. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm trying to describe this as best as I can. I ended up spraying 24 oz of clear along with 6 oz of activator for a total of 30 oz. I didn't think that it would take that much paint!

Anyway, my boats are okay looking. I'm not real satisfied with them but they are okay. Certainly not professional ! I've got nice big spots where the clear is smooth as glass and other areas that are kinda pebbly and not as shiny. They're not real bad but being a perfectionist, they bother me. As I said earlier, when I was trying to fix these dry pebbly areas, I'd create new ones.

Okay, its time to go eat. Thanks for reading my vent!

Danny

Shooting clear is an art form in itself. They have made it easier to use than it used to be but it is still tuff. As someone else stated, a cheap gun sprays like a ....well....a cheap gun, Also cleck the ratio and catelist temp. If you are using cold or fast in a warm area it will set up too fast and you will get over spray. Every paint job has some orange peel in it. (except for new Corvetts) You just wet sand with a soft pad and 1000 grit. Then 2000, then buff with compound, then finess or some other swirl remover. OR you can take it to a body shop and let them do it. While you are there you can tell them how much you appreciate their tallent. A little suck up and they may do it for free

 

[Ron Jefferson]

Danny,

I tried spraying a friends boat with a HVLP gun once and had the same sort of effect. Make sure your pressure is right and that the "fan" and "volume" adjustments all full open. Spray a piece of cardboard and see if the pattern is wide and straight up and down. Nice even and consistant overlapping coats will do the trick. A pattern that is too concentrated will cause a huge amount of overspray next to the wet area. And, make sure you are close enough. Once you have dry strips it's next to impossible to wet them out. If you painted over a dry paint job with clear. The clear will only enhance the problem areas and not fix them. Painting can definately be frustrating. However, once perfected it can be the most gratifying. A nice shiney paint job is what gets noticed before any of the work previous. Hope this helps...

Ron

 

[Don Ferrette]

Hi Danny Do not feel frustrated for your painting ..youre not the only one that probably is discovering the mysteries of this art.

I´ve been doind that for aprox 30 years and at every new project I figure out a new thing.

IMO youre using a small unappropriate gun for this kind of job....sometimes inexpensive means that.

I would suggest to you go to a painting shop and ask for some advice on a new ´ painting tool´.

Gill

An HVLP detail gun works just fine. I shot for a numbers of years with cheaper guns I got on Ebay but was using a touch higher pressure & shooting it wetter with good results. Beginning of last year I bit the bullet & bought a SATA Minijet 4 and all I can say is WOW!!! By far an amazing gun to shoot paint. Regardless, the problem may be in your gun settings, how much pressure directly at the air inlet of gun? How wide of a fan pattern are you trying to spray?? Sounds like you're trying to go too wide. On a test pattern the width should be about 3 to 4 inches wide when sprayed about 5-6 inches off the surface. Remember this is a DETAIL gun so don't think you're gonna color it in a few passes like a bigger gun.

 

[Glenn Quarles]

A slower thinner has always fixed the problem for me.

Glenn

 

[Tom Foley]

Has the classic sound of too much inlet presure to the gun itself , causing partial drying of the material before it hits the surface . Try a few test pieces next time before the final product .

 

[Rusty]

I've got to admit that this painting thing has to be about the most frustrating thing I've done. Recently, anyway!
I'm painting 4 boats and I'm using PPG Omni paint. I'm using an inexpensive Harbor Freight Tools HVLP gravity feed detail gun with a 1mm needle. Maybe this is my problem. I shot color yesterday and it went okay. I had some dry looking spots but most of the boat surfaces were smooth. Still, the dry spots bothered me because I knew it wasn't supposed to be that way. I ended up using way more paint than I thought I would, too :unsure: !

Today I clearcoated. For the life of me, I couldn't get the paint to lay down nice and smooth :angry: . If I tried to apply a little more to one area, the outer edge of my spray pattern (overspray) would mess up the adjacent smooth area. Then I'd have to spray some more to wet out and smooth that dry area creating another dry area at the edges of that spray pattern. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm trying to describe this as best as I can. I ended up spraying 24 oz of clear along with 6 oz of activator for a total of 30 oz. I didn't think that it would take that much paint!

Anyway, my boats are okay looking. I'm not real satisfied with them but they are okay. Certainly not professional ! I've got nice big spots where the clear is smooth as glass and other areas that are kinda pebbly and not as shiny. They're not real bad but being a perfectionist, they bother me. As I said earlier, when I was trying to fix these dry pebbly areas, I'd create new ones.

Okay, its time to go eat. Thanks for reading my vent!

Danny

Ok lets start with the paint the reducer shouldn't be too fast for a small object like a boat so I dn't think thats your problem. Make sure you are adding enough reducer too little and the paint won't flow out that could be part of your problem. Make sure the paint is warm not cold this effects the flow out when I say flow out I am talking clear base should dry almost but not quite as fast as it is sprayed on . Now for the gun first make sure it is clean especially the air cap. Check your pattern a white piece of paper this will tell u how the gun is spraying. I use a full fan pattern and I adjust the paint flow out all the way. I regulate the paint flow with the trigger but this takes a little experience. A pretty good job can be had with a cheap gun but a dirty out of adjustment gun and nobody can make it look good. AS for your technique make sure to spray a tack coat on first thing this is very important to avoid runs. Use a 50 % overlap pattern on all bases and clears. Just make sure u are spraying wet enough is the main thing if everything else is right. Spray in a definite pattern and not jump around on it this always keeps you spraying from wet to dry. If you do have some orange peel u should be able to sand it out with 1000 then 2000 and buff with compounds and polish. Some clears will not lay out real flat and glassy if they are a high solids clear. Dn't wait too long in between coats on your clear either follow the paint manuf. specs on this monitor this very closely.

good luck

 

[Dan Kramer]

how much air pressure? at the gun and at the nozzle

did you reduce as per the directions?(exactly)

what temp was it?

how far did you have the gun from the surface?

how was your spray pattern? narrow or wide?

did you full stroke the panel or did you "spray bomb" the panel?

did you have a fan or a lot of air blowing across the surface?

did you spray a mist coat to tack up and a 2nd coat to lay it out?

if you used 30 oz of sprayable clear , you used enough to do a large size hood, 2 fenders. how big is this project?

omni sprays ok, i have used it.

the gun you used sprays ok also, assuming it was cleaned properly after each use. is the vent in the cap plugged? the 1mm nozzle is a little weak for me , but i spray for a living. i use a gti exteme 1.4 or 1.6.

the dry spray says reduction is wrong, hence the dry spray crumbles on the edge. also overlap is probably not enough.

a good , cheap tecniqe to learn to spray is tape a sheet of paper down (news paper works well). put water in the gun. practice a pattern that with a stroke of about 3' by 3' ft. start at top left and cross the panel. dont stand directly in frt of the panel, lt or rt of center which ever hand you spray with. you have develop a swing with it, you have to be loose. left to rt and then back rt to left. drop about 1/2 of the spray pattern each pass. spray beyond the panel(cover to the edge and beyond) at the end of each stoke , just crack the material trigger and back across the panel. dont stop, go top to bottom. gun distance as per manafacture suggested distance, usualy 5-8 inches. dont arch at the end of panel, keep same distance.the panel should become uniformally wet.

clean your gun with thinner after doing this, lube the gaskets with spray gun lube, blow it out real well. some people leave thinner in a gun after each use, i personally consider this a no-no. unless you use it hourly, it can dry and leave a residue(contaminent). i dry mine completely after each use with a clean towel and it ready to go the next time.

hope this helps

 

[Dan_Cousin]

Maybe an example would be worth something here. I've been using OMNI for years and have zero complaints about it. I don't put a clear coat on my race boats though so I cant help you there.

I live in texas so the weather tends to be on the hot side. I still use meduim dry reducer but I could probably go to slower dry. I use teh ....ahhem... economical $30 touchup gun from lowes but your gun should be fine. It tooks some time to get the fan, pressure and air volume set right but once it is set you get good results. like was mentioned before, practice in some test pieces to make sure yoru pattern is set before shooting the boat.

I built some risers on my table so I can hang the boat tub horizontal and spin it like a rotisserie (sp?). This is for the tub of an outrigger.

I spray the nose and transom first with a mist coat. You can see the color on the wood but its almost transparent. when I'm done with that I spray the paper on the table. shutdone and take a 10-15 minute break. come back and test the spot on the table you sprayed to see if its sticky (tacky). If so, go with the heavier coat. For me, this coat covers it all the way.

Let that dry for a week or more. Then I get the car polish (McGuiers, turtle wax) out and buff it just like waxing a car. Thats it for me. The finish is shinny all around except the sanded bottom) and if not closely inspected, like at a auto show, look top notch. If you add a little extra thinner, it will shine more but will also be tricker to keep it from running.

Its just too painful for me to put a LOT of labor into a paint job and get is ruined on the first or second run.

 

[dannyual767]

Hey guys; thanks for all the replies. I'm going to try to go through them and give you a little more information.

posted by drwayne,

you need to add some wetting agent ( thinners) to the mix.Id use 10-15%.

This helps adhesion and helps it spread out on the surface..

The 'dry spots' sounds like it's drying on contact.

Wayne

posted by Glenn,

A slower thinner has always fixed the problem for me.

The Omni MC261 clear calls for a 4:1 ratio of clear to MH263 hardener. According to the product information sheet, there is no reducer to be added. I thought about adding some anyway but figured that I'd best talk to PPG before I did that.

posted by gil,

Do not feel frustrated for your painting ..youre not the only one that probably is discovering the mysteries of this art.I´ve been doind that for aprox 30 years and at every new project I figure out a new thing.

IMO youre using a small unappropriate gun for this kind of job....

Boy have I learned a lot in the last two days! It has been extremely frustrating, though. I feel that a better gun such as the SATA Minijet 4 that Don F likes would certainly help. However, I still think that I'm doing something fundamentaly wrong.
posted by Wesley's,

Also cleck the ratio and catelist temp. If you are using cold or fast in a warm area it will set up too fast and you will get over spray. Every paint job has some orange peel in it. (except for new Corvetts) You just wet sand with a soft pad and 1000 grit. Then 2000, then buff with compound, then finess or some other swirl remover.

According to the product information sheet, I should've had a pot life of 1-1/2 hrs at 70 degrees F. It made it up to about 65 degrees today so I think that my temperature was about right. I'm considering the wetsand and compound procedure. I think that it would make for a good experience and it just may look like a million bucks. If not, I can always reshoot!

 

[dannyual767]

Ron, Don, Rusty and Dan K. asked about fan pattern and pressures.

I had my fan pattern about 3" tall. I would test shoot onto a cardboard box to make sure the pattern looked right. Using this eliptical pattern resulted in big droplets of paint unless I increased pressure. When I increased air pressure, it just seemed like I was blowing a ton of paint real fast. I still got the dry spots around the outer edges of my paint pattern.

As far as pressures go, I used as little as 10 psi showing on my regulator guage (just prior to the gun) with the trigger squeezed. I increased pressure as high as 20 psi with the trigger pulled. If I would make my pattern a little smaller (closer to a circle) I could get away with the 10 psi and not get big droplets. I did try higher pressures at one time but it just seemed like I was getting huge blasting paint clouds. I was still getting the overspray.

I bet most of my problems come from my pressure settings. In a perfect world, I would have an experienced painter come over and show me how to set up my gun and show me what things should look like when the paint is going on. In a perfect world!

I had my volume pretty much full open. I was about 6" from the boat surfaces.

 

[Dan Kramer]

for my time and effort. i would sand and re-clear vs buffing. did i mention i hate buffing????????

 

[dannyual767]

posted by Don,

Remember this is a DETAIL gun so don't think you're gonna color it in a few passes like a bigger gun.

Boy did I find this out yesterday when I was trying to shoot white over light grey primer. I couldn't believe how much it took to cover that primer !
posted by Tom,

Has the classic sound of too much inlet presure to the gun itself , causing partial drying of the material before it hits the surface . Try a few test pieces next time before the final product .

It (dry spots) did seem to get worse when I increased pressure. If I decreased pressure, I got big droplets unless I started making my fan pattern smaller. This brought on it's own problems .

posted by Rusty,

Ok lets start with the paint the reducer shouldn't be too fast for a small object like a boat so I dn't think thats your problem. Make sure you are adding enough reducer too little and the paint won't flow out that could be part of your problem. Make sure the paint is warm not cold this effects the flow out when I say flow out I am talking clear base should dry almost but not quite as fast as it is sprayed on .

The product information sheet doesn't call for reducer to be added to this clear. The paint was ambient temp-65 degrees. Maybe warmer would've helped.

AS for your technique make sure to spray a tack coat on first thing this is very important to avoid runs. Use a 50 % overlap pattern on all bases and clears. Just make sure u are spraying wet enough is the main thing if everything else is right. Spray in a definite pattern and not jump around on it this always keeps you spraying from wet to dry.

I tried to spray on a thin, quick tack coat but it just didn't look right. It looked like I had a bunch of drops that didn't seem to be well atomized. I just had to go back over with another pass or two to make it look wetter. I didn't end up with any runs other than once when I pulled the trigger after reloading paint. I had accidentally moved the fan control to the small concentrated circle. Needless to say, I got a run .

My fan control is real touchy. It goes from eliptical to round in just a little bit of a turn of the knob. The knob turns real easy as well. I accidentally moved it several times but only made the big mistake once.

 

[dannyual767]

how much air pressure? at the gun and at the nozzledid you reduce as per the directions?(exactly)

what temp was it?

how far did you have the gun from the surface?

how was your spray pattern? narrow or wide?

did you full stroke the panel or did you "spray bomb" the panel?

did you have a fan or a lot of air blowing across the surface?

did you spray a mist coat to tack up and a 2nd coat to lay it out?

if you used 30 oz of sprayable clear , you used enough to do a large size hood, 2 fenders. how big is this project?

omni sprays ok, i have used it.

the gun you used sprays ok also, assuming it was cleaned properly after each use. is the vent in the cap plugged? the 1mm nozzle is a little weak for me , but i spray for a living. i use a gti exteme 1.4 or 1.6.

the dry spray says reduction is wrong, hence the dry spray crumbles on the edge. also overlap is probably not enough.

a good , cheap tecniqe to learn to spray is tape a sheet of paper down (news paper works well). put water in the gun. practice a pattern that with a stroke of about 3' by 3' ft. start at top left and cross the panel. dont stand directly in frt of the panel, lt or rt of center which ever hand you spray with. you have develop a swing with it, you have to be loose. left to rt and then back rt to left. drop about 1/2 of the spray pattern each pass. spray beyond the panel(cover to the edge and beyond) at the end of each stoke , just crack the material trigger and back across the panel. dont stop, go top to bottom. gun distance as per manafacture suggested distance, usualy 5-8 inches. dont arch at the end of panel, keep same distance.the panel should become uniformally wet.

clean your gun with thinner after doing this, lube the gaskets with spray gun lube, blow it out real well. some people leave thinner in a gun after each use, i personally consider this a no-no. unless you use it hourly, it can dry and leave a residue(contaminent). i dry mine completely after each use with a clean towel and it ready to go the next time.

hope this helps

Pressures ranged from a low of 10 psi (on the guage at the base of the gun with the trigger pulled) to a high of about 20-25 psi.

I didn't reduce because the instructions call for a 4:1 mix of clear to hardener with no reducer. I was 6" from the paint surface and the fan was about 3" tall by 1" wide. I did full strokes back and forth. I think that I did that pretty good with my strokes. If it wouldn't have been for the dry spots at the edges of my pattern, I would've ended up with a really nice clearcoat job. Any time I had to go back over an area, I would end up with new dry areas :angry: .

Yes, 30 oz of sprayable clear seemed like a lot to me. I never would've thought that I would spray that much today. I sprayed an large Aeromarine Avenger cat, a 48" long mono hull. A 36" long Dumas SK Daddle flatbottom mono and a small Dumas Lil Rascal outrigger. Thats quite a bit of boats to paint but I still thought that with an HVLP, I wouldn't have used that much paint. On the other hand, what do I know ?

 

[Rusty]

how much air pressure? at the gun and at the nozzledid you reduce as per the directions?(exactly)

what temp was it?

how far did you have the gun from the surface?

how was your spray pattern? narrow or wide?

did you full stroke the panel or did you "spray bomb" the panel?

did you have a fan or a lot of air blowing across the surface?

did you spray a mist coat to tack up and a 2nd coat to lay it out?

if you used 30 oz of sprayable clear , you used enough to do a large size hood, 2 fenders. how big is this project?

omni sprays ok, i have used it.

the gun you used sprays ok also, assuming it was cleaned properly after each use. is the vent in the cap plugged? the 1mm nozzle is a little weak for me , but i spray for a living. i use a gti exteme 1.4 or 1.6.

the dry spray says reduction is wrong, hence the dry spray crumbles on the edge. also overlap is probably not enough.

a good , cheap tecniqe to learn to spray is tape a sheet of paper down (news paper works well). put water in the gun. practice a pattern that with a stroke of about 3' by 3' ft. start at top left and cross the panel. dont stand directly in frt of the panel, lt or rt of center which ever hand you spray with. you have develop a swing with it, you have to be loose. left to rt and then back rt to left. drop about 1/2 of the spray pattern each pass. spray beyond the panel(cover to the edge and beyond) at the end of each stoke , just crack the material trigger and back across the panel. dont stop, go top to bottom. gun distance as per manafacture suggested distance, usualy 5-8 inches. dont arch at the end of panel, keep same distance.the panel should become uniformally wet.

clean your gun with thinner after doing this, lube the gaskets with spray gun lube, blow it out real well. some people leave thinner in a gun after each use, i personally consider this a no-no. unless you use it hourly, it can dry and leave a residue(contaminent). i dry mine completely after each use with a clean towel and it ready to go the next time.

hope this helps

Pressures ranged from a low of 10 psi (on the guage at the base of the gun with the trigger pulled) to a high of about 20-25 psi.

I didn't reduce because the instructions call for a 4:1 mix of clear to hardener with no reducer. I was 6" from the paint surface and the fan was about 3" tall by 1" wide. I did full strokes back and forth. I think that I did that pretty good with my strokes. If it wouldn't have been for the dry spots at the edges of my pattern, I would've ended up with a really nice clearcoat job. Any time I had to go back over an area, I would end up with new dry areas :angry: .

Yes, 30 oz of sprayable clear seemed like a lot to me. I never would've thought that I would spray that much today. I sprayed an large Aeromarine Avenger cat, a 48" long mono hull. A 36" long Dumas SK Daddle flatbottom mono and a small Dumas Lil Rascal outrigger. Thats quite a bit of boats to paint but I still thought that with an HVLP, I wouldn't have used that much paint. On the other hand, what do I know ?

I think all of my HVLP guns call for around 29psi at the gun regulator...sounds like not enough pressure....sounds like your paint is ok make sure your air cap is clean and try more pressure.

good luck

 

[dannyual767]

I think all of my HVLP guns call for around 29psi at the gun regulator...sounds like not enough pressure....sounds like your paint is ok make sure your air cap is clean and try more pressure.good luck

It just seemed like I was getting even worse dry edges with higher pressure. Next time (next week) I'll give it a try though. If it looks like its worse, I can always dial it back down.

I really do appreciate all the suggestions, guys .

 

[Shark]

Danny,

Lots of good advice on this thread..

Lets keep it really simple.. Painting is a balance of chemicals reacting to each other and the air in the gun and in the atmosphere.

1) when you get dry spots, you are simply using the WRONG reducer....If the air is dry, the reducer will "flash" the paint in mid air as it approaches the boats surface, the outer rim will be rough resembling sandpaper...the center will look wet....

To correct this, you must use a SLOWER drying reducer, do not add anyting else to the paint other than a SLOWER reducer... For PPG, there are many to chose from.

The warmer the air, the slower the reactive reducer you must use. Typically, a 1 part paint to 1 1/2 part reducer is the formula, however, if you cut the reducer down to a 1 to 1 mix, you can affect the same result.

As for PSI, a range about 25 psi to the gun is good for pushing metallics thru the gun, base coats can be shot effectively at 20 PSI.

For clear, DO NOT PUT A REDUCER IN THE PPG PRODUCTS....this will cause a fisheye finish which will destroy your work.

When shooting clear, you must use a higher psi than paint as the clear requires more force to spread out thru the nozzle...too little pressure and the gun wil begin jamming and you will then be pulling debris onto the boats surface.

Typically, PPg clears are a 4 to 1 mix ...I imagine you are using a 2010 clear?? Stick with the 4 to 1, never more hardener.... mix it very well before you cap the reservoir.

When you are spraying your boats, look at the texture of the entire spray as it hits the surface, if it appears dry, stop and toss the mix and change reducers...

For PPG, at about 65 degrees, you should be using a 1170 reducer....

Also, be sure to clean the gun very well between colors and such using a H.E.A.T. 1502, 1503 cleaning solvent...this includes breaking the gun down and removing all previous color and debris.

Shoot the solvent thru the nozzle for a few minutes to clear the draw tube...

I only use PPG products and I am painting today and tomorrow..

Rey.

 

[dannyual767]

Rey, you're right, there is a wealth of good advice in this thread.

I'm using MC261 which is from PPG's Omni line. It has since changed name from last summer. My paint shop confirmed this name change. They said it is still the same chemical composition.

You're right again on the no reducer for clearcoat. The product information sheet for this MC261 calls for a 4:1 mix with no reducer. I'm using the standard MH263 hardener rather that the even slower MH264. My hardener gives 1-1.5 hrs of pot life at 70 degrees F and it was only 65 yesterday. I wouldn't have thought that it would dry too quick.

As far as two days ago when I shot color, it was PPG MBC AU paint mixed 1:1 with MR187 slow reducer. It was 70 degrees on Thursday.

Back to yesterday's clearcoat. Since there is no reducer, it sounds like it may be a pressure problem. I'll try more air pressure next time. As I posted earlier, when I tried dialing up the psi, it seemed like I was just blowing more paint in the atmosphere and still getting dry spots h34r: .

I just thought of something! Could it be my clear's hardener? I bought it last June and it has been kept unopened in my house (not the garage!) but when I opened it yesterday, some of it around the spout had hardened or crystalized. I had to pull a chunk of it out so it wouldn't get poured into my paint. Do you think the hardener had gone bad and was allowing the clear to flash or dry too quickly ??