New to Euro 2020 - Setup and mix ratio advice

[Velvethamma]

I have been following the SPI forum for a while now and decided to order some Euro 2020 for my small collision jobs. Got tired of spraying the majors watered down clears and wanted to try out the Euro due to all the good feedback on this site. Sprayed the front bumper cover over the weekend and it turned out almost perfect. With a little tweaking the gun settings and mix ratio I think I may have found my new clear. I did get a little bit more peel than I wanted (even though it's better than the roller texture on the rest of the vehicleand a few runs so I am interested in a little bit of direction. I spray my clear with an Iwata LPH 400 LV4 1.4 tip and the silver cap. Shot the Euro 4:1:1 on this Chrysler van with slow activator and slow reducer in an 80 degree shop. Gun was about 2 1/2 turns out on the fluid and 1 turn back from full open on the fan to clip the split out of the fan. Air pressure around 24-25 ish. I know some have posted their starter setup for this clear but I cannot find it for the life of me. This being the first time I sprayed it, I think I did pretty well. Maybe choking the fluid a tiny bit and or speeding up my passes may be all I need but any input would be appreciated.

Shawn

 

[El Toro]

Looks good and can cut and buff easy as it stays a little on soft side. I use it every day on collision and resto work and keep playing with it and you can control the finish and the dry times.

 

[Barry]

Looks great!
Photos are tough to know what you are seeing BUT here is what I'm thinking.
Gun is set perfect but make sure wall is 125 or higher and try at your normal air pressure and if not improve try 2 or 3 more Lbs at gun with trigger pulled in 26 to 28 range.
Of course the other option is add a little more reducer like 4:1:1.5

 

[crashtech]

I use an illegal amount of pressure with all SPI clears, like at least 5 lbs more than you are using, plus I found that for me, 4:1:1 plus about another 5% reducer made it as good as it gets as far as a compromise between ease of handling and keeping good gloss and texture.

 

[Velvethamma]

Looks great!
Photos are tough to know what you are seeing BUT here is what I'm thinking.
Gun is set perfect but make sure wall is 125 or higher and try at your normal air pressure and if not improve try 2 or 3 more Lbs at gun with trigger pulled in 26 to 28 range.
Of course the other option is add a little more reducer like 4:1:1.5

Thank you Barry for the tips! Wall is set at 150 but compressor cuts in right around 125. I will shoot the next one a couple psi higher or around 28 and or speed up a bit on my first pass. If that doesn't put me in the zone I'll give the 4:1:1.5 ratio a shot. Like I said- not disappointed at all but wanted to pick a brain or two to see what others were doing to dial it in.

Crashtech- You running a LPH 400 with a 1.4? If so, are you running full fluid or choking it back? I'm afraid to over reduce and run er' wide open. I'm sure I'd be putting plenty of flow indicators on the floor

 

[crashtech]

Crashtech- You running a LPH 400 with a 1.4? If so, are you running full fluid or choking it back? I'm afraid to over reduce and run er' wide open. I'm sure I'd be putting plenty of flow indicators on the floor

I haven't found the need to restrict fluid on the LPH400 when running the extra air pressure. Even wide open it's still a slower gun than the SATA RP that I used to use. Of course, my results got a lot better when I retrained myself to spray much faster with 75% overlap instead of the 50% that we were taught in the olden days.

 

[Velvethamma]

I hear what you're saying about overlap. I find myself losing track of my overlap at times due to my poor lighting and overspray extraction. Probably has quite a bit to do with my finished results. Always seems like my first coat is barely closed up over the basecoat. I've been a part timer/hobbyist for many years but it seems like old habits die hard when I only get behind the spray gun for a half dozen jobs a year.

 

[crashtech]

If I could pick one thing for you, it would be to start by just bumping your spray pressure up a little. Air pressure gauges are notoriously inaccurate also, if you have more than one, it would be interesting to see if they agree at all.

 

[Velvethamma]

I'm definitely going to try increasing pressure on the next job. Funny you mentioned how inaccurate regulators can be. I just did a test of my collection of regulators.
I came up with the idea to test all of them against the digital one in my Sata 3000 HVLP gun. I tried each on the Sata and set the test regulator at 25. The 3 devilbiss analog ones and one digital were either equal to to or within 1 lb of the Sata display. I also tested an Iwata diaphragm style on the Sata and when set on 25 the digital display read 18. A 7 psi difference which kind of amazed me. Bad regulator maybe or inaccurate test on my part. I even swapped gauges from one regulator to another and no change.

 

[elwood]

One way to test your overlap. If you have some junk paint spray opposite colors over each other. Such as black over white, etc to see how tight your pattern is. Base coat would be easiest to do. This might also help with distance and fan width also. Just a suggestion someone gave me in the past.

I hear what you're saying about overlap. I find myself losing track of my overlap at times due to my poor lighting and overspray extraction. Probably has quite a bit to do with my finished results. Always seems like my first coat is barely closed up over the basecoat. I've been a part timer/hobbyist for many years but it seems like old habits die hard when I only get behind the spray gun for a half dozen jobs a year.

 

[Velvethamma]

One way to test your overlap. If you have some junk paint spray opposite colors over each other. Such as black over white, etc to see how tight your pattern is. Base coat would be easiest to do. This might also help with distance and fan width also. Just a suggestion someone gave me in the past.

That sounds like a great idea. I've got a cabinet full of miscellaneous base that would work perfectly for that! Awesome suggestion

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Just a thought, I do 75% overlap for most everything (like Crash I kinda found that out on my own) If you don't move fast enough when doing 75% you are going to run the heck out of whatever you are shooting. (ask me how I know) This clear flows much more than a lot of the clears out there. I think if you are still getting used to it a 50% overlap and really watching the panel will be safer and keep you out of trouble. As you spray more try creeping up on 75%.
Also if you are spraying it (or any urethane for that matter) with your booth floor wet try not wetting the floor down. I actually get little to no trash by simply sweeping the floor of the booth. (our booth would not be considered pristine either) plus you'll find your clear will lay down better without that extra humidity in the air.

 

[Velvethamma]

Just a thought, I do 75% overlap for most everything (like Crash I kinda found that out on my own) If you don't move fast enough when doing 75% you are going to run the heck out of whatever you are shooting. (ask me how I know) This clear flows much more than a lot of the clears out there. I think if you are still getting used to it a 50% overlap and really watching the panel will be safer and keep you out of trouble. As you spray more try creeping up on 75%.
Also if you are spraying it (or any urethane for that matter) with your booth floor wet try not wetting the floor down. I actually get little to no trash by simply sweeping the floor of the booth. (our booth would not be considered pristine either) plus you'll find your clear will lay down better without that extra humidity in the air.

I go back and forth between wetting the floor and just sweeping. I don't have a booth yet... just an open shop that doubles as a dust tunnel. I did two bumpers and a quarter panel on a Cadillac hearse last month and only dust mopped without wetting floor. Looked like I threw dirt on the quarter on the first pass. So I went back to the damp floors. I'm aware that humidity plays a part in the curing process and have been warned that excess can cause issues. I keep a booth thermometer/ humidity gauge on the wall near where I spray so I can keep an eye on it. The shop humidity was around 40% when I shot this. Is 40% too much moisture?

 

[jlcustomz]

Where I live , only 40% humidity can be a good day.
You may want to look into doing something like I'll be doing at home for occasional spraying. Suction fans on 1 end of the room & temporarily attaching drop cloths between floor & ceiling to close off with a panel of ac filters in 1 spot to filter incoming air. At home, I've generally wet some surrounding areas & not the actual work area.