Overspray using lph400 1.3 and epoxy

rustover

rustover

Member
The other day I shot some epoxy and decided to use my Iwata lph400 1.3. I want to use this gun with epoxy as a sealer. So I decided to start using it for my full strength epoxy so I could get the hang of it. I've shot epoxy with some cheaper guns with so so results. Let me first state that my wall pressures vary at 90-135 psi because that is where my compressor cycles at. Barry mentioned that I may have to run a higher pressure at the gun to compensate for this. I do run a RTI regulator at the gun. Here is where I had the gun set at, Fan was max out and then turned in .25 a turn, Fluid was a 2.75 turns out and my air was set around 25 psi at the gun inlet. I was about 5 inches from the panel and used a 50% overlap.

The epoxy laid down really nice, no orange peel at all and it had a nice shine to it. The best I've done so far. After it was over I noticed I did get a lot of overspray, more than I had in the past.

What would be your recommendation to lower the overspray without comprising the results of the finish. Should I try to wind the fluid in some or try to lower the air pressure some?

Thanks, Russ
 
Lower air may be an option and it may only be 3-5 lbs that makes a lot of difference. Now the other side of my mouth says, If it was me, I could care less as long as what I'm shooting is doing what I want it to do.
 
Remember the 1.3 tip is going to put out a finer pattern then the larger tips so you should expect alittle more overspray then with larger tips. The smaller the droplets the more they can stay airborne. Lowering the air might help but you will give up the fan pattern, because of the thicker material being sprayed you end up with larger droplets. You can also use a heavier tip and don't give it a full trigger pull and if needed also increase the air by just a smidge to get smoother results doing that will give you smaller droplets.

So you can say it's 6 in one hand 1/2 dozen in the other. I personally would use the larger tip and less trigger pull to find the texture I want with full epoxy. When using it as a sealer I would use the finer tip and practice on scrap to find the sweet spot.
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I'm going to try them out practicing and I will let you guys know how it goes.
 
try 20lbs at the gun w/trigger pulled, with the fluid set 2 turns out, 4" from the panel surface. Your overspray will be cut down substantially but you may also have to slow the gun down, or do a 75% overlap
 
Bob Hollinshead;n74942 said:
try 20lbs at the gun w/trigger pulled, with the fluid set 2 turns out, 4" from the panel surface. Your overspray will be cut down substantially but you may also have to slow the gun down, or do a 75% overlap
Click to expand...

Just now saw this Bob. Thanks. I will give these settings a try next time I spray.
 
Something else I was wondering about. I'm using the silver air cap. I also have the orange. Which is better for epoxy or does it matter at all?
 
I spray epoxy all the time with the LPH400 Silver cap (1.4 tip). Usually shoot it straight 1:1 mix. About 22 psi with trigger pulled full open, fluid all the way out and full fan. Like Bob said, you need to stay about 4" from the panel with that gun.
 
[QUOTE='68 Coronet R/T;n75578]I spray epoxy all the time with the LPH400 Silver cap (1.4 tip). Usually shoot it straight 1:1 mix. About 22 psi with trigger pulled full open, fluid all the way out and full fan. Like Bob said, you need to stay about 4" from the panel with that gun. [/QUOTE]

Thanks guys. I sprayed again tonight and first coat I used the orange cap and lowered the pressure to 20psi. I was about 4 inches. It did ok, but there was a few places I was getting it to heavy and it barley started to swiss cheese on me in a few spots. I let that coat flash for an hour and then put the silver cap back on and bump the pressure to 23 psi. Seem to spray really nice. I think that 23 is the magic # for me at 85 degrees. Also my wall pressure varies from 90-135 because that's where the compressor cycles, so I probably need the higher pressure at the gun. I love the fan on this gun and how the paint hits the surface while watching the wet edge.

On this tonneau cover when I start at one end and bring the paint across to the other side, my wrist is killing me. That middle area is a reach.

 
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