I have been working on my friends 1986 Monte Carlo and have been in the final stages for a week, I sprayed 3 coats of Euro with Iwata LPH 400 3 turns out on fluid, Fan 1.5 turns in and air pressure at 28 lbs. I sanded with 800 after 5 days, got everything cleaned up and used the exact same settings with Universal and boy I can say that I suck spraying this clear. I sprayed the Euro the slickest I have ever sprayed it, The Universal has several runs and not nearly as slick as Euro. I am not complaining about products but about my inexperience, I am a perfectionist and have a hard time satisfying myself especially when I have to reclear an area or sand through to base coat or even worse to epoxy, I don't know if I will do an all over for a long time. I guess I need to do fenders and bumpers for several years to get better at the trade, I just get down and out when I spray good one time but suck at others. Thanks for listening to my complaining and know I really appreciate all you guys friendship and help. Should I use different settings for the Universal?
I SUCK AT SPRAYING UNIVERSAL CLEAR
- Thread starter JC Daniel
- Start date
'68 Coronet R/T
Oldtimer
Need a little more information. Speed of activator, did you add reducer, temperature when spraying, etc.
Clear always sprays different over sanded clear. It tends to flow more easily hence the term "flow coat."
Clear always sprays different over sanded clear. It tends to flow more easily hence the term "flow coat."
Well JC, I don't know if this will make you feel better, but sometimes I suck at spraying Universal myself. I just sprayed a 2-tone bed on a '85 long bed Chevrolet. I sprayed the bed with the main tan color, then sprayed 3 coats of Universal. It sat for 2-3 weeks, then was sanded with 400 and the red middle color was sprayed and 3 more coats of Universal. Sat 2 more weeks, then I started sanding to buff with 1200 on a semi firm hand pad. Then I used 1500 Tolex followed by 3000 trizact. The slicker I got it, the worse it looked. The urethane wave was terrible. I can't for the life of me figure out what I did wrong, other than starting with 1200 rather than 1000, but the bed didn't look bad at all so I skipped the 1000 step. I have 100's of hours in this truck as it was a frame off, and I sure couldn't leave it like that. Yesterday I blocked the whole bed starting with 320 dry, then 400 and 600 wet. Only went through in 1 tiny spot on an edge, so I spotted the sand through and went home. Went in this morning and sprayed 2 coats and it came out flawless. What is so strange is I did the exact same procedure on the rest of the truck and it came out great.
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Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
It takes time JC. And even with time it can still be a struggle like Texas related. Sometimes you can do almost exactly the same type job on two different days and one turns out great, one horrible. Trick is figuring out what you did differently. Sometimes it obvious, sometimes it's not. Weather plays a factor as well. For me I've tried to control it by doing the exact same thing step by step each time. That was the only way I could get consistent enough to have consistently good results. But that took time. Do the best you can and keep trying to improve each time. Analyze what you are doing and try to do things the same way each time. Don't beat yourself up though if you don't always live up to your expectations.
AAE
Learner
Euro: what activator and reducer did you use and to what reduction?
With Universal, and, really all of SPI clears, it's best to use a step slower of products. So, the slow activator is the same range as the 885. Going with the very slow would be a great choice. And, even adding a little bit of retarder on the last coat would be helpful.
Jim C
Oldtimer
euro just has more flow to it. universal i think will always have a little peel to it until you put very slow activator in it. that stuff changes the clear significantly. the universal just flashes really quick. i have used sikken autoclear pc which is their production/speed clear and universal will flash faster than that stuff lol. i have shot literally hundreds of gallons of universal over the past 20 years and i dont get it to flow out like glass either so dont feel bad. only time i get it looking real good is on really curvy parts. motorcycle tanks, helmets, etc. however when you cut and buff it, that stuff look deep and awesome. its a fantastic clear but i think its more for show car jobs that will be cut and buffed. euro is more of a spray and walk away type clear as is the new speed clear.
May not be urethane wave and can be fixed easily if Im right.
Call me and let's figure out then you can post it if it works.
Whats air wall pressure, so much bs out there about run wall 40 to 80 lbs but not with a high solid clear that not loaded with fillers to make more profit, won't work.
125 to160 at the wall, now we are talking.
Get bored sometime and have a scrap fender set up a call with a gun in hand, and we will do what I use to do in technical schools and show the kids how to lay slick wet coats with no flash times.
Some of the kids could do 4 to 7
Eight was most I could go with no runs.
sprint_9
Rookie
I know who Im calling when I get a booth set back up.
I still tend to think mastering the 75% overlap with a thinner but still full wet coat is something to strive for. I believe it was Chris Hamilton that mentioned in another post about clear, about being able to take a small part and put multiple light coats / overlapping more and to have it come out like a piece of glass, watching it fill in. I was able to have that type of success on small areas, but how to transition that to a large panel is the real trick. Easier said than done.
Exactly!
If your pitching or bowling or throwing a football, all the same, you dont aim it. You let it go like you just dont care.
Do you know I assumed I was a 50% overlap painter than I watched about a few months ago when I saw a post on here, im 75 to a 90% overlap
If you had told me that I would have never believed you but too old to change now.
You can't keep us in suspense like this
I cant even begin to express how accurate this is right here. I went back an looked at the first few jobs I shot with UV back in 2010 I think, laid out so flat and even though I had air issues the past few years, one thing changed with me. I was trying too damn hard.... I need to get back what I used to think when spraying.....and that was nothing. I cant help but to think that looking at pics on IG non stop has me thinking too much about my finishes.
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
Barry when you first mentioned this (pressure adjustment) I racked my brain trying to figure out why I was doing it different, but thinking about it the other day I realized that I wasn't really doing it different. I got 150 psi coming into the regulator at the wall. Only difference is I adjust it there not on a regulator at the gun. That and the hose So I guess I do it closer to your way than I realized.
Lot of you guys who are learning this on your own should be proud of yourselves as trying to teach yourself how to spray is a lot harder than working with someone who you can learn from. Just keep spraying, using the proper technique and sooner or later it'll be like a switch going off in your head. And once you "get it" you'll get it. Like riding a bike it won't go away.
@orangejuiced86 an OG(old guy
) I worked with in the 90's used to tell me when I got worked up, nervous, whatever when I first got a chance to spray some overalls (these were high end cars too) to not think about it, "just go in there and spray it like you don't care". (I miss that guy) Exactly what Barry said. So you got the right idea. Just like if you are playing baseball and trying to hit a home run if you are trying to hit one you won't. Once you relax and just swing was when good things happened. You do good work and you are only going to get better.Anyone struggling, just keep using the proper technique, keep spraying, think about what you are doing and it's effect. Sooner or later it will click. Plus you got this forum to ask questions and get good answers.