[CharlieWaffles]

I am about to paint my fuselage interior and canopy top interior. I have a Sharpie Finex 3000 with a 1.5 tip. I am using JetFlex primer and paint. I have seen some reports of people who have painted with HVLP and wound up with a "textured" surface as opposed to a smooth one. What causes this? Too high a pressure or too low?

I am going to practice on some pieces but I'm wondering if theres a good set of recommendations someone has used before?

 

[Bushcaddy]

Charlie, I used a hvlp system and had never painted anything previously. What worked for me was flowing a maximum amount of air and just enough paint to see the color on the aluminum. I did light coats, waiting approx 30 minutes between coats. It was a lot of work but I am very happy with the paint job. You should not see a textured surface. I would assume this is orange peel. If that occurs you need more thinner in your paint

 

[KTM520guy]

The textured surface is more commonly known as "orange peel." The surface more resembles the skin of an orange instead of something smooth like an apple. A couple of things can cause this.

Your paint is to thick. The air you are using can't get good atomization. The droplets of paint are to big and the paint doesn't "flow out."

Air turned down. Your paint may be thin enough but without the proper amount of air you get poor atomization.

Poor quality spray equipment. Some sprayers just do a better job than others. The 29.99 purple gun from Harbor Freight just can't compare to something like an Iwata Super Nova.

Another thing that can cause a poor finish is a lack of a positive attitude. Garbage in, garbage out as they say. If your results are not to your liking, don't worry about it. Just do it again. Try to learn from your mistakes and make adjustments to your future attempts.

 

[az_gila]

I presume you are using the JetFlex water based paint....

It is designed to be applied as a textured finish as an option, and it's not orange peel like the previous poster mentioned.

Play around with the settings and find something you like. I got just a little texture when I sprayed it and found it to be a finish I liked. It takes a little while - a day or two - to harden, but then it is tough and can even be rubbed with acetone. Amazing for a one part paint.

It ends up more like a very fine and hard to see version of a spatter paint that could be an interior drywall finish...

I like it, and found a few thin layers best to get the finish. A 10% thinning with water also helped.

I have a DeVilbiss FinishLine 3 HVLP gun with the 1.8 mm tip.

 

[Tom McCutcheon]

Paint

I'm not an expert. However, I have found, while painting, some things that are important.
1. Equipment. There may be some cheap equipment that works well, but not usually. Good guns usually are not cheap. Listen to these guys that have more experience than I do.
2. You can never have enough light. The more the better.
3. Ventelation. Keep the air moving and filtered. Don't blow on what you are painting, but blow away from it.
4. I'm told you can paint at 55 degrees. Do not! 70 degrees is much better.
5. Assuming you have good equipment, enough light and enough temperature, the next thing you need is patience. A few very light coats with increasing amount of time in between. At 70 degrees start at 15 minutes between coats and increase it by 5 minutes for each coat - then the wet coats.
6. Last, but most important, listen to these guys with experience. If anyone else is like me, they have made enough mistakes to go around. Maybe they will save you some.
7. Oh yes, I like the prior post - practice. Good luck.
8. I almost forgot to mention to protect yourself. Not just a dust mask, but a real honest to goodness paint mask.
I'm sure there are many other things you need to know. That's why the good guys gets the bucks. Their experience may be well worth the cost. I'm not one of them.

 

[Bill.Peyton]

The data sheet will tell you what pressure to use for this particular paint using an HVLP gun. Generally not more that 20psi at the feed of the gun.

Be sure to have a good water removal filter right at the gun and prior to.
Practice on several sample pieces until you get the look you want.
I have found that reducing the paint makes the single largest difference in the flow of the paint on the surface. Don't be afraid to experiment with different viscosity until you achieve the result you are looking for. It may take several days for the waterborne paints to dry, so be patient and let the samples dry thoroughly. Drying makes a huge difference in the finished look. The epoxy paints are generally cured in 12 hours or less.

I found the having a slight texture on the interior actually looks better than glossy. In addition, I added flattening agent to the paint to obtain a satin finish. It doesn't show flaws or dirt as much as gloss. Below is a closeup of a section of my interior showing the texture and flattened finish, it's tough to see with the low resolution photo.

 

[bret]

All like the above have said, for me the pressure was too low, I did epoxy primer with a 1.8 base and clear with a 1.4 all at 40 PSI. Lighting is very important!

 

[bkthomps]

get a filter for your air line and some sort of system to remove moisture, i had best success with the jet flex after i spent some time and money in this area.

other than that, make sure to set your tip pressure with the regulator when the trigger is pulled, the pressure when no air is flowing isn't as important

 

[az_gila]

JetFlex WR

The data sheet will tell you what pressure to use for this particular paint using an HVLP gun. Generally not more that 20psi at the feed of the gun.

.....
I found the having a slight texture on the interior actually looks better than glossy. In addition, I added flattening agent to the paint to obtain a satin finish. It doesn't show flaws or dirt as much as gloss......

The JetFlex WR (water based) paint comes in two versions, if you have a custom color mixed just ask for the flat version instead of the "standard" satin version. Saves buying the extra flattening paste.

From the data sheet -
Gloss:
Type II ? Low Gloss (P-colors) 20 - 30 units
Type III - Flat (F- colors) 8 - 12 units

I agree, the very slight texture looks nice for the interior.

I got two colors matched from old Imron samples by these guys - they did a great job color matching and, as far as aircraft paint goes, it's not too expensive...
http://www.alliancecoatings.com/jetflex.php

There is little waste since thinned paint can be kept for a later session - the DeKups are great for this - http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information2/DKups/Dcups.html