Hi,
I’ve recently got into spraying as I’m a carpenter making fitted furniture and I’m hoping someone can help me, I’m having a nightmare with it!
I was recommended and sold a wagner 5000 xvlp after taking back an airless gun that was unsuitable for what I’m doing.
The problem I’m having with it is after applying the paint (Tikkurila helmi 10) there’s thousands of little air bubbles on the work piece. A lot of them dissappear after drying, but some don’t, and it’s enough for me to see/feel them. I’m dreading paint something for a customer that gets rejected because of it.
I’ve tried warming the paint, thinning it, warming and thinning it. Reducing the air pressure,.increasing the air pressure, messing around with the material output, moving closer/further away whilst spraying. Nothing seems to work and I’m at a loss. Is it the way the gun works?I feel like I can see them forming when I pass the gun over the workpiece.
I’m also wondering if there’s something wrong with the paint, as it appears to have little bubbles in even after stiring for a while, but I’m new to this so could completely wrong. I’ve got a couple of photos just after application on a test run…
Replies
Those don't look like air bubbles on the painted surface -- they look like little gobs of solid paint. But I can't be sure from that small picture. If it's paint gobs and not air, it means the sprayer isn't atomizing the paint well enough.
Sprayers have a hard time with most paints. Lower end sprayers don't have enough power to do a decent job. Those who spray regularly use a 4 or 5 stage turbine for paint. I think it's likely your Wagner isn't up to the quality you are looking for.
If those are little gobs of paint, they can be filtered out. I filter everything as it goes into the paint cup after thinning, etc. - no exceptions.
I also use a little Floetrol to help with leveling, about half as much as is recommended.
It's likely not a filtering issue. There's no detritus. Just larger droplets. Underpowered sprayers just can't make all the droplets fine enough in thicker liquids.
My wife is spraying cabinets with an airless. She got a fine finish tip and has been great. Paint from a professional shop for gun application. She did have some air bubbles just as you describe and felt it was too much pressure and the gun was too close to the door. Think it went away after that. Jeff Jewit (spelling may be incorrect) has a fabulous book for spray painting. Guns... 2-3 or three stage can do it with paint but 4-5 stage are much better with thicker product. Lastly consider borrowing a friends sprayer to see if it makes a difference.
Have you considered using a water-borne pigmented lacquer like Kem Aqua from Sherwin Williams or M.L Campbell? I use a Fugi HVLP with a 1.8mm tip with good results
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