Reducing Orange peel

M

MAKZ06

Newbie
I sprayed spi epoxy reduced for the first time this week. 25% reduced as a sealer and I was amazed how nice and flat that laid down. My Motocryl single-stage however is a different story with orange peel. Trying to figure out what adjustments to make, and after reading all the posts I can find I’m still confused. Not sure, but think I should adjust the pressure up just a bit and the fluid down just a tad?
The last spray was basically the same settings I used to spray the 25% reduced epoxy. Iwata Lph400 2.75 turns out on fluid, fan just under full open, and pressure with trigger pulled at 26psi. Regulator on wall is open to 120psi. Pass overlap at 50% about 5-6” from the panel.
Suggestions to this newbie will be much appreciated. Thanks
 
"Real" orange peel is the result of spraying too dry or not enough overlap. Not enough overlap is one of the main causes. Other texture can come from spraying too wet but it's not orange peel. Wetter=slick. Dryer=Peel. Overlap is perhaps the biggest cause. If you don't have enough or not consistent then it will be peely. If you have tighter overlap, even spraying with less fluid it will be slicker and less peely.

Refer to any late model Ford truck for what orange peel actually looks like. :)
 
Maybe my terminology is wrong. Here is a pic that shows what I’m talking about.
thanks
 

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Chris_Hamilton said:
"Real" orange peel is the result of spraying too dry or not enough overlap. Not enough overlap is one of the main causes. Other texture can come from spraying too wet but it's not orange peel. Wetter=slick. Dryer=Peel. Overlap is perhaps the biggest cause. If you don't have enough or not consistent then it will be peely. If you have tighter overlap, even spraying with less fluid it will be slicker and less peely.

Refer to any late model Ford truck for what orange peel actually looks like. :)
Click to expand...
Added a photo that illustrates what I’m dealing with. Thank you.
 
MAKZ06 said:
I sprayed spi epoxy reduced for the first time this week. 25% reduced as a sealer and I was amazed how nice and flat that laid down. My Motocryl single-stage however is a different story with orange peel. Trying to figure out what adjustments to make, and after reading all the posts I can find I’m still confused. Not sure, but think I should adjust the pressure up just a bit and the fluid down just a tad?
The last spray was basically the same settings I used to spray the 25% reduced epoxy. Iwata Lph400 2.75 turns out on fluid, fan just under full open, and pressure with trigger pulled at 26psi. Regulator on wall is open to 120psi. Pass overlap at 50% about 5-6” from the panel.
Suggestions to this newbie will be much appreciated. Thanks
Click to expand...
i have the same gun . i do 2,75 turn out on fluid 2.5 turns in on fan from wide open and about 30 psi at regulator. and as high as i can go at the wall like 140 you can lay clear slick with it
 
MAKZ06 said:
Maybe my terminology is wrong. Here is a pic that shows what I’m talking about.
thanks
Click to expand...
Looks pretty darn good for your first(?) time. Yup that is orange peel. What I would recommend is to leave your fluid where it's at, along with the speed of your passes and just tighten up your overlap. Something around 75%. Meaning spray your first pass, then your second pass overlaps the 1st by 75%, and so on and so on. Tightening overlap should get it looking really good.
When you don't have enough overlap, the clear can't "fill in" so to speak. Tightening/narrowing the overlap will let the clear/SS fill in and not leave that texture.
 
zachm said:
i have the same gun . i do 2,75 turn out on fluid 2.5 turns in on fan from wide open and about 30 psi at regulator. and as high as i can go at the wall like 140 you can lay clear slick with it
Click to expand...
Thank you. I definitely need to keep working at it. I’m going to try increasing my overlap first and then if unsuccessful will try bumping the psi at the gun.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Looks pretty darn good for your first(?) time. Yup that is orange peel. What I would recommend is to leave your fluid where it's at, along with the speed of your passes and just tighten up your overlap. Something around 75%. Meaning spray your first pass, then your second pass overlaps the 1st by 75%, and so on and so on. Tightening overlap should get it looking really good.
When you don't have enough overlap, the clear can't "fill in" so to speak. Tightening/narrowing the overlap will let the clear/SS fill in and not leave that texture.
Click to expand...
Yes, first time. Not as bad as I had feared but not good either. I’ll try increasing that overlap to 75% because I’m definitely only at 50% if that much. I actually just took a closer look and checked the areas that know I had much more overlap due to location and how I made the pass… they seem to have less peel.
Tomorrow I seal the bed sides and Friday will be my chance at redemption.
Really appreciate the advice and help over my many posts.
 
'68 Coronet R/T said:
Try shooting the SS like you would clear coat. It needs to go on a bit wetter than base so it flows out. Slower activator would also help.
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This is the first time I’ve sprayed anything other than epoxy. I had tried more open with the fluid control on my practice hood but was having worse results. I’ll keep trying. Thank you.
 
I have the same gun. Try 2.5 turns on fluid and 35psi but everyone technique is different. I noticed a significant difference when spraying vertical panels (hood hanging) between 29psi and 35 psi
 
RosharonRooster said:
I have the same gun. Try 2.5 turns on fluid and 35psi but everyone technique is different. I noticed a significant difference when spraying vertical panels (hood hanging) between 29psi and 35 psi
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Wow. That’s a lot higher psi than I’m at. When trying to dial it in I was up to 28 but came back down. Lots to learn. Would be so much easier being able to work with someone in person to see how it’s done. Thanks for the tips.
can you expand on what difference you saw and mean vertical vs horizontal?
 
MAKZ06 said:
Wow. That’s a lot higher psi than I’m at. When trying to dial it in I was up to 28 but came back down. Lots to learn. Would be so much easier being able to work with someone in person to see how it’s done. Thanks for the tips.
can you expand on what difference you saw and mean vertical vs horizontal?
Click to expand...
Well for starters I don't have a booth. I've never even been inside a paint booth but I've painted about a dozen cars. I hang almost everything to get cleaner jobs. When a panel is horizontal you can really hose it on, but get more trash than if it was hanging. One day I upped it to 35 psi to test and I got better results. Previously I was getting texture that looked like a golf ball. Big droplets. You want small droplets. Smaller droplets with more passes to fill in and connect the dots is what I've learned from this forum which is basically what Chris suggested already. U dont want to just slam the first pass of clear and see instant wet paint. The wet paint part comes in the the next few seconds after spraying. I suggest getting a scrap part. Something maybe a square foot. Base it. Then get ready for clear. Up the psi, and cut the fluid a little. And spray a pass. See what happens. Its going to look dry and incomplete. Dust another pass. And notice the dots fill in. Look at it.from differenr angles. Dust another pass. You will see if filling in and it will start looking slick. When i spray clear i stand off to the side so i can see the material hitting the panel. When I first started and it was time to clear, I'd get nervous. Thinking like this is it! U only get one shot. And would over think it.thinking I didn't have enuff time to think about what I was doing....that is wrong. There's plenty of time. And any mistake can be fixed. Backyard hack disclaimer
 
RosharonRooster said:
Well for starters I don't have a booth. I've never even been inside a paint booth but I've painted about a dozen cars. I hang almost everything to get cleaner jobs. When a panel is horizontal you can really hose it on, but get more trash than if it was hanging. One day I upped it to 35 psi to test and I got better results. Previously I was getting texture that looked like a golf ball. Big droplets. You want small droplets. Smaller droplets with more passes to fill in and connect the dots is what I've learned from this forum which is basically what Chris suggested already. U dont want to just slam the first pass of clear and see instant wet paint. The wet paint part comes in the the next few seconds after spraying. I suggest getting a scrap part. Something maybe a square foot. Base it. Then get ready for clear. Up the psi, and cut the fluid a little. And spray a pass. See what happens. Its going to look dry and incomplete. Dust another pass. And notice the dots fill in. Look at it.from differenr angles. Dust another pass. You will see if filling in and it will start looking slick. When i spray clear i stand off to the side so i can see the material hitting the panel. When I first started and it was time to clear, I'd get nervous. Thinking like this is it! U only get one shot. And would over think it.thinking I didn't have enuff time to think about what I was doing....that is wrong. There's plenty of time. And any mistake can be fixed. Backyard hack disclaimer
Click to expand...
Appreciate all the info. Yeah, I too am without a booth. When I first started with the epoxy and my less than ideal environment I quickly found that was much cleaner. I started with everything laying flat thinking it would keep me from getting runs but they came out much dirtier…
 
Kawickrice said:
Not having a booth do you get a lot of trash in the finish? I don't have a booth either so this post intrigued me
Click to expand...
Surprisingly not near as much as I was expecting. Like Rooster mentioned, I see a huge difference in a vertical panel vs horizontal. Mine will all have to be sanded anyway to remove the orange peel so some dust nibs and the occasional bug probably won’t make that much of a difference for this greenhorn…
 
Kawickrice said:
Not having a booth do you get a lot of trash in the finish? I don't have a booth either so this post intrigued me
Click to expand...
I get trash. I had a professional come out once and he told me my home made booth is cleaner than booths he has sprayed in. I have my rituals...1. Don't blow out the room before paint. Blow it out the day before. I have also learned of certain ways to hang things in my room...and which area gets the least trash. Just things I've learned thru trial and error.

Edit. I also like to paint the big stuff early in the morning while the morning dew holds dust down outside.

But I have also had times where I prep my ass off...and get poor results, and times where I give 10% effort in the prep and things come out great. It's always a roll of the dice when it comes to trash. But if you keep your routine constant you can get predictable results
 
Believe it or not, the cleanest paint job I ever did was spraying a 28' camper outside. Two coats epoxy and two coats single stage, and there is almost no trash in it.
 
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