John Hughes

Im planning on painting my car once I complete the body work. Anyway, I havent done a lot of painting (ive painted a couple of cars for friends in the past) but I have never sprayed any pearls before and thats what I want to try. Anyway, I bought a quart and decided to do some practice before I tackle a full car. It laid out pretty well, and Im fairly satisfied that my technique and the darker color Ive picked will allow me to get a satisfactory paint job.

That said, I ended up with a few water drops. Let me say that I did have a small water catcher on the gun, but that was all. Also, I just put the stuff together today, so I might have some loose fittings and such that could have played into the drops today. I will work harder to make sure that I have all of that taken care of before I do the actual real paint job.

So, Im just trying to prepare for a case where everything I do doesnt work well enough and I end with a drop while painting the car. What is the best way to handle that? I did a bunch of searching all over the net and I must just not be typing in the proper questions because I just get let in directions that dont really relate to what Im wanting to find out.

Anyway, any helps or tips will be greatly appreciated. I intend to add more filtration and such before I get to the big job...but Im actually glad I had this come up today so that I can possibly get ahead of it when it really matters.

Thanks in advance.

porchdog

any leaking air fitting goes in the trash. those little ball filters last about 5 min if your making water the restrict flow. water in your lines will lead to all kinds of problems. as for drips keep qtips in your pocket .

John Hughes

Yessir...trust me. I will do my best to address the problems before hand, I just want to have a heads up incase I fail at that and this issue arises again. Might as well prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

porchdog

water is your worst enemy . i just redid my whole air system .
q tips , tooth picks and tweezers are a must.

John Hughes

So instead of assuming I know what to do with your list of must have tools, would you mind explaining to me how best to use them? I know what assuming gets me...

DUB

You did not mention the air compressor you have. If it is a small one that runs all the time...water is going to happen no matter what you do due to the storage tank and the head of the compressor can not keep up with the volume of air you are using.

Q-Tips used to dab out a drop of water that is on a top surface

Tooth picks and or tweezers are used to pull out trash.

And obviously CARE must be used when using any of the above 'tools'

I do AGREE..those filter ***** are only good for about an ounce of water and that is it. They are air restrictive...but you can somewhat work around that...but I would not use them...they are only masking a bigger problem...or can cause problems you do not need.

I also a while back revamped my air system and I used an air blower ...blowing air onto a mirror and looked for water droplets and or a fog on the mirror. Aftercooler, refrigerated drier, ,moisture and oil separators.

I am still on the fence on getting my air quality to the point where I can consistently shoot waterborne paint. I can shoot waterborne now....but I am thinking of gettign away conventional solvent based paint.

DUB

porchdog

i ill retire before i go water . but then i am mostly retired now . i keep those tools in the booth . the toothpick i use after a coat in case i find a crater in the clearcoat. i take a small drop of clear and put it in the crater with the toothpick .

John Hughes

While my compressor isnt large so to speak, Im not sure I call it small. I think it will work.

http://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-2-HP-...ressor/3824207

Ive already picked up a larger water and oil separator to add at the compressor side. I just happened to have one of those small ones handy to try practicing with.

Thanks for all of the tips. The more I know, the better chance I have of a satisfying job.

Dt86

Hate to say it but 6.5 cfm is pretty low for painting cars. Your compressor is going to run constantly and the 30 gallon tank will empty out fast. I had that one before and I wouldn't even consider painting anything big. I moved up to a 220v 60 gallon compressor and that's what I'd call bare minimum.

John Hughes

Thanks Dt86,
Im actually trying to arrange it so I can rent a booth and such...but just trying to cover myself incase I cant make that happen.

Dt86

For practice you can get yourself some in line water separators to remove it before it gets to your gun then use the screw on type for extra insurance. The problem is that your compressor is going to run constantly and push hot air out into the line. As the air leaves the compressor it cools and creates moisture in the air line. I run two in line water separators and the screw on filter for my sandblaster and it works great.

porchdog

get a snake . they are 3 ft long and work much better. remove when done and cap the ends and they will last a week or so.

https://www.amazon.com/DeVILBISS-080...++filter+snake

DUB

I felt the same way until I went to the certification school of ICI AUTOCOLOR many years ago and the stuff is quite impressive...and that was before they actually got the amount of toners they have now.


This is going be able to work but you WILL have to get it dialed in...the head is too small and will work like crazy and get hot due to running all the time.


And you seem like you are aware that if you can not get this 'dialed-in' and you are still spitting water...to fall back and go a different route.

DUB

John Hughes

Thanks again Dub,
Yes Im aware that if I cant get it "dialed-in" that I will have to stop and punt...thats for sure. I should learn more once I put the car in primer. If Im having trouble at that point...time to rethink it all for sure.

DUB

REALLY WATCH IT when you are priming. THAT step is just as important as any other. You do NOT want water in your primer (as I am sure you know).....that can be a problem that will HAUNT you for a VERY LONG TIME!

I have used compressor similar to that and when I used them in the past..I could only shoot for short period of time and let it cool down...so only a few panels could be shot...then the next day or later that day...depending on how hot it was...I could shoot more. I watched it like a HAWK!

DUB

John Hughes

I didnt mean to belittle the priming part...but I figure Id rather have the mistakes there, earlier if Im going to have them so that again, I can change and fix and such if that turns out to be an issue. Better to learn it now then later...at least thats my thoughts.

DUB

I did not mean to come a cross that you were not being concerned about the condition of your air during the priming stage.

I just had to write what I did....because I would be pissed off at myself if I had not mentioned it and you had a problem.

Also..hopefully you can understand where I am coming from. I stop by some shops in my area where they are priming stuff out in the main shop where grinding and other work is going on... and crap is getting in the primer and you would be amazed on the condition of the primer when they are doing this....KNOWING that the bodyman spent time in getting things ready for primer......and I hear: "Don't worry about it...keep shooting the primer and bury that stuff...its only primer."

SO...hopefully now you can see why I responded the way I did. I did it for you and others.... who many not know much about this stuff.

DUB

John Hughes

Oh, I understood totally. I think we are both just trying to explain the same concerns and we both know that not everyone has the common sense to get it. So I totally understand your post and never for one second took it in a negative way. I havent painted anything in years, and while I know that even the worst job I ever did will be better than what this car had on it when I got it, I would like for it to be the best job I can possibly do. Its a lot of work as you very well know, and the better I can do the prep and such, and the more Im prepared, the better chance of me pulling off something that will last me for awhile and not make all of this work Im doing end up a waste of time, money and effort.

Thanks so much.