Earlex HVLP System. Basic spray finishing advice

[Dissolve]

Hello,

I've got the Earlex 5000 HVLP System and I own the 1,1.5 and 2mm tip sizes.

I'm looking to finish an instrument soon using nitrocellulose lacquer, does anyone have some advice on thinning/spraying lacquer on a system like this?

The info Earlex offer suggests to use the 1.0 mm tip for fine finishing so I guess both colour/clear coats should be done using this?

I've tried spraying cellulose based paint previously and couldn't avoid terrible Orange peel, I got nice even coverage but certainly not as smooth as I'd like, does a smaller tip/thinner lacquer reduce these issues?

Does applying thinner coats more often generally work out better for fine finishing?

Thanks

 

[n0legs]

Orange peel is usually caused by over application or being to close to the work piece. Try moving back a bit from the piece and try lighter coats, allowing sufficient time for the coats to flash off.
HVLP has a higher transfer rate, so less really is more on this occasion.
Don't worry to much about the finish as you can flat and polish most issues back out when it's fully cured. Trust me I've seen a lot of bad paint fixed with a good flat and polish.

Had to go check this bit. My brother in-law owns a body shop and his opinion is to thin your paint to a 50\50 ratio max. He's not familiar with your earlex gun but in his guns it's smaller needles and tips for thinner/lighter paints. The fluid tip and needle control the amount of paint, so if you've had orange peel before try the smallest setups you have.
He did say though you could over thin the paint but you'll just be applying and applying coat up on coat and just wasting materials. Paint it, let it dry out then flat it out with 1500 wet and dry with some soap in the water. Wipe it over and polish with Farecla G6, either by hand or with a machine. Give it a coat of wax and shine it up.