Newbie: No gloss on test panel

B

Barrett P

New Member
First off, this bumper cover isn’t going back on the car. It’s only being used for me to learn. With that said, I didn’t bother worrying about bugs and trash.

The runs, I’m almost sure is from putting the SPI Epoxy 1:1:1 sealer on too heavy. I was trying to cover, and now understand to not do that.

The base is a cheap Shop Line I’m using for practice, and looked okay to me before I put on the clear.

I think my issue is that I put the universal clear on too light, and should have gone heavier. I’ll say I may have overcorrected from the sealer runs earlier.

I guess my questions are:
1. Am I close to understanding what’s wrong here?
2. What’s the lowest effort method for testing on this same part? Scuff, and clear again?

I know this will bother some, but I’m spraying with a homemade 6 stage turbine and a bleeder gravity fed gun.

Closeups are after 2 coats of clear.
Far image is before clearing.
 

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Definitely looks dry sprayed. If you have an air pressure adjustment, try turning the pressure down a bit. Are you reducing the clear?
 
This is unreduced. I can choke off the air some next go round.

I forgot to mention I also used a 1mm tip, again, trying to keep the runs at bay.

Can I throw more clear on top, or do I need to scuff/sand?
 
Alright. I feel a little better after 600 and some heavier spray with a 1.4 tip. It’s much better, with still some room for improvement.

I think I’m going to spray my other scrap bumper cover and see if I can get more gloss and less peel.

Unfortunately this one got some heavy rain about 15 minutes after the 2nd coat. Wups.
 

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May be your turbine. With a turbine source you have warm dry air. Clear may be drying before it hits your panel. Adjusting distance might help. Adjusting reducer - slow, extra slow, glacial, etc might help.
 
Mapman said:
May be your turbine. With a turbine source you have warm dry air. Clear may be drying before it hits your panel. Adjusting distance might help. Adjusting reducer - slow, extra slow, glacial, etc might help.
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I think you might be right. I'm doing all the things to try and mitigate that concern; 58 ft of hose and very slow activator. My plan was to move in closer and move a little slower on my next test. I really think the biggest factor is going to be my inexperience causing poor technique. I'm being too cautious to avoid runs, when this particular clear really wants to be put on wet according to all the reading I've done.

I only wish I could reuse the materials I was spraying with each test. :confused:
 
All urethane topcoats like to be put on wet. The skill level comes in when you learn to toe the line between wet and running. It's good to practice like you are doing. I don't know if there is much of a knowledge base here about using turbines, otherwise I think you'd get more help. With urethanes and conventional spray guns, you need to get close, 4-6 inches. I'm not sure if that applies to turbines, but I think it might.
 
I use a turbine too. Extra slow reducer is a MUST. I adjusted the fan power to about 3/4's of full.
 
ct71rr said:
I use a turbine too. Extra slow reducer is a MUST. I adjusted the fan power to about 3/4's of full.
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I might need to lean on your experience a little. In general, are you sticking to the coating’s recommended tip sizes? I found that I liked the results of sorating base with a 1.0 tip, but not so much with clear. They both recommend closer to 1.4, but that seems entirely too wet with the base.
 
I have a Fuji 5 stage. I used the 1.3 tip for BC/CC, 1.8 for epoxy and 2.0 for high build (if I remember correctly, I'll double check after work). Take a look at autobody101.com. DarrelK has a section dedicated to turbine spraying. He is very knowledgeable.
 
ct71rr said:
I have a Fuji 5 stage. I used the 1.3 tip for BC/CC, 1.8 for epoxy and 2.0 for high build (if I remember correctly, I'll double check after work). Take a look at autobody101.com. DarrelK has a section dedicated to turbine spraying. He is very knowledgeable.
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That's where I got the bug to build a homemade sprayer, and am getting a good deal of insight so far. I mainly came here for the more nuanced expertise from the actual manufacturers of the coatings. I think I read Barry saying, "Make sure the first coat of clear is wet, and looks like you want it to look when you're finished". Lots of other advice you get is to first put a dust coat down, which is what I sort of did here.

As the conversation steers back toward the turbine setup specifically, it's probably best I head back that way.

Thanks again for taking the time.
 
When I sprayed my clear, I used Euro, I sprayed the first coat wet and tried to watch for it flowing into each pass. If that makes sense. I’m no pro.
 
It's very dry. You're moving too fast and probably not overlapping enough. Slow down and overlap 50-75%. If you like to spray faster, then do more overlap and that fill add more material. You're not adding enough material to flow out. It needs to be able to flow out, just short of running. It takes a lot of practice to learn the feel.
 
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