Prepped and sprayed my inner bed walls today. Bad Idea. Orange peel out the wazoo. Looking at lotsa block sanding and buffing. Fender mounting carriage bolt heads will be a pain. borrowed my buddy's HVLP gun and I believe had the pressure too high. I'm bummed.

 

Ouch ! Maybe it'll turn out better than you expect afterwards. I tried a HVLP gun for the first time .....little did I realize that the last user failed to clean it properly......sand sand sand. Goodluck!

 

I feel your pain, the first time I sprayed with a HVLP gun was a disaster. After using it a few times though, I got to where the Binks #7 never comes off the shelf now.

 

was i supposed to have set the regulator at the gun air inlet to 10 psi??

 

There are differences in guns.I would call the tech rep at the company that makes the gun you are using. Also call paint company rep. for suggestions. In many 10psi is max with 4-5 normal. Does your rig meet the CFM requirments, etc. If your buddy can't help. To thick of paint can cause orange peel. So many variables for the first use of a gun and paint unless you have a expert to walk you through it. I am not. Hope this helps. Have a great day,chuck

 

most hvlp guns need 60 or so pounds of air at the gun inlet. the gun interanaly reduces the pressure at the tip to 10 psi. however that said it depends on the model of gun used. the only way to know what your tip pressure is is if you have a guage on the tip (air horns).

 

I had the guage at the inlet regulator set to 40 psi. The tip is stamped "10 psi max" I mixed the single stage urethane to the specified ratios. 8:1:4.. Anyway, it's done now so there's no use whining about it. I simmply dread the sanding and buffing due to the fender bolts. I cannot remove them because of the amount of paint sprayed over them, which wil "tear" on removal, I think.

 

the term orange peel is often mistaken for fuzzy or dry application, you always want just a bit of orange peel as a perfectly smooth paint job is a bugger to maintain , shows even the most minute scratch and dulls easily.
if you got a fuzzy dry looking finish you may be better to sand and re-do than sand and polish. when you sand for repaint make sure i is absolutely flat and no remains of the fuzzy dry finish remain, else it may show thru, making the next coat fuzzy.
hvlp guns can be persnickity, if they are new to you but i have gotten as as good a results from the $25 fleamarket taiwan gun as i have from a $900 brand name gun. results have alot to do with the environment temp, humidity and the like. personal preferance on setup has a lot to do with it too. always have a scrap piece handy to set up your gun on. test and wait for flow out...
i tend to shoot higher psi than recomended, i take it you are shooting single stage acrylic urethane, i'll give you a quick 411 on the setup assuming you are using a lower priced gun with a larger fluid tip... if so you should dial the needle adjustment to where it feels that the trigger just isn't pulling back far nuff' and set the fan adjustment while spraying on into the air to where it just starts to close in
a little extra or a slower reducer will also help the paint to flow out a little nicer
a fish eye eliminator can also help the paint to flow out smoother and particular good idea for painting @ home as airborne contaminates and likely you dont have an air drier in line so water can sneak thru.
givver a try and hopefully you will get very good results.
another common mistake is people are soooo worried about getting runs they often put the paint on to dry, lemmee tell ya...s'lot easier to sand out runs in spots than it is to watersand and polish an entire panel or car, they even have special shavers now that use a razor to nip runs off, within 24 hrs or so of painting whilst the paint is still soft and workable.
anyhows...thats my paintin lesson for today, hope it helps, been workin in bodyshop for over 24 yrs now so kinda picked up a thing or to (heh heh)
mikie!
near ottawa canada
58 merc 100 panel 64 econoline p/u

 

Another common problem when new to HVLP is trying to put on too much paint/coat. The correct quantity will result in the first couple coats looking like you haven't hardly used any paint at all. Shouldn't start seeing full coverage in less than 4-6 coats, only the last coat goes on a little wetter. DON'T try to get coverage in 1 or 2 coats!

 

Some of the lesser HVLP guns are almosty incapable or doing what you described Chuck. Which doesn't make your post wrong. The Harbor Freight HVLP guns are one that will tend to orange peel if you mix at anywhere near the paint manufactururers guidance, no matter what you do. They just won't atomize well enough. I have a new Devilbiss that is supposed to be a good hobbyist gun (affordable). We'll see. I colorsanded and buffed my entire truck when I painted it with the HF gear. It took a week.

Hang in there Jim, you can still make it look like a million bucks. Your arm is just going to ache.

 

Paint is too expensive to waste with a cheap gun! The new "reduced pressure" guns is where it's at for the hobbiest painter. Sata makes one they call their RP and Sharp makes one I hear is just as good called the Razor. The gun manufacturers claim you can paint sucessfully with one of these with a 3HP compressor. Combines the best features of conventional, HPLV and turbine guns. That's what my next gun will be.
If you watch the car build shows like Overhaulin, watch the paint booth sequences and you'll see what I mean. Their first coat looks like they've dusted on a guide coat.

 

yep.
this is true, the 1st coat is like a dusting coat, ya let it set it up to almost touch dry.
2nd coat will remelt the 1st coat creating a thick consistancy that shouldn't run when you wet it out, but still be thin nuff' to flow out same goes for subsequent coats. as i mentioned b4 by adjusting the needle in to maxumum and increasing pressure it atomizes the paint finer thus a smoother paint job from a cheap gun.
most hobbyists dont paint nuff' to justify guns in the hundeds of dollars, these tv shows mentioned elsewhere in the thread using all these great products are totally bogus i know a heckuva lotta car people no one but no one has these perfect shops totally set up with the best of everythin'........well i do know a couple of guys set up like that but they are millionaires and either hire out all of their work so they don't get their shops dirty or they have a backshop that no one sees out back somewhere, or at another address. and the "supershop is only used for washing waxing storage and the very odd oil change, but this is ok too cuz i am often the fella who the work gets sent out to (heh heh). ...good sidecash for me.......and my not so perfect shop is a busy, fun & profitable shop. oh ya...... and as far as wasting paint goes, again the typical hobbyist is always gonna go thru a heckuva lotta more paint than someone who does it daily for a living.......... more ya do somthin' the more efficient yer gonna get @ it.
now lets go munch on some choc'lit rabbit!

mikie
near ottawa canada
58 merc 100 panel/64 econo pickup

 

I am pleased to report that after much sanding, ( 1000, 1500, 2000 grit) and buffing, the interior of the bed looks terrific. I hope to get my woodwork completed in the next week or two. I am doing an album of sorts, so there will be PICS! Thanks for the gun tips.
Jim

 

Good to hear it turned out well, lots of work.

 

yep
a well sanded & machine polished finish always looks soooo good........feels nice to the touch too.
most of the 100 pointers that i have ever been involved with have all been sanded & polished, just goes with the territory.
mikie
near ottawa canada
58 merc 100 panel 64 econo p/u