Bad regulator?

[ymurf]

I sprayed some epoxy primer last night with a new Performance tool HVLP Gravity feed gun from Orielys. It was only $100 so figured it would be fine for primers.Came with a 1.5 tip. Paint called out for 45 pounds to the gun and 7-10 at the tip. When I would get 45 pounds to the gun and then adjust regulator with trigger squeezed to 10 pounds when I let off the trigger it would only show about 25 pounds? Is my regulator bad? there was no way with regulator set to 10 pounds that I could get it to show 45 pounds when letting off the trigger.I even turned regulator up to 120 at compressor and still wouldnt work.Whats the problem and what should I do?

[Len]

I sprayed some epoxy primer last night with a new Performance tool HVLP Gravity feed gun from Orielys. It was only $100 so figured it would be fine for primers.Came with a 1.5 tip. Paint called out for 45 pounds to the gun and 7-10 at the tip. When I would get 45 pounds to the gun and then adjust regulator with trigger squeezed to 10 pounds when I let off the trigger it would only show about 25 pounds? Is my regulator bad? there was no way with regulator set to 10 pounds that I could get it to show 45 pounds when letting off the trigger.I even turned regulator up to 120 at compressor and still wouldnt work.Whats the problem and what should I do?

Did you watch the spray gun adjusting video at the top of the General Discussion forum?

You should be able to pull the trigger and adjust the inlet pressure to 45 lbs, you don't need to worry about the 10psi at the tip, that comes automatically.

[ymurf]

Did you watch the spray gun adjusting video at the top of the General Discussion forum?

You should be able to pull the trigger and adjust the inlet pressure to 45 lbs, you don't need to worry about the 10psi at the tip, that comes automatically.

I thought I needed 45# on the regulator with trigger not pressed and then squeeze trigger and adjust regulator at the gun to 10#? So I actually want to run regulator to 45# with trigger squeezed?
I better check out your video again.Maby thats where the orange peel came from.

[ymurf]

So please help me get this straight. The book I got with this gun says to start by setting inlet pressure to 40-45 P.S.I. The paint spec sheet for the epoxy primer has Application Equipment
􀂃 45-55 PSI
􀂃 HVLP: 7-10 PSI.

So am I correct that I leave my compressor turned up to around 100# or so and squeeze trigger on gun and set the pressure at the gun to 40-45#??
Where does the 7-10# come from?
Also my gun has an air volume control knob at the base of the handle,How do I set that??I appreciate any help you guys can give me before I start priming again today.

[Jayson M]

Yes,set your wall reg at 100psi,set the gauge at the gun with trigger pulled and air running through it at 40-45psi on the gauge.For the other reg in the handle leave it wide open.Don'worry about the 8-10psi at the cap,it is automatic when you adjust it by the gun makers recomended operating pressure.The only way to test it is with a special air cap with a gauge on it.Just set it and forget it

[ymurf]

Yes,set your wall reg at 100psi,set the gauge at the gun with trigger pulled and air running through it at 40-45psi on the gauge.For the other reg in the handle leave it wide open.Don'worry about the 8-10psi at the cap,it is automatic when you adjust it by the gun makers recomended operating pressure.The only way to test it is with a special air cap with a gauge on it.Just set it and forget it

Thanks for the response.I had that all wrong last night.Probably why I have some orange peel in my epoxy primer.Guess that will transfer into my single stage metallic..I have allot to learn before I start on my 68 mustang.This jeep may turn out so bad the wife may make me take the mustang some place to get painted.lol

[xtremekustomz]

Thanks for the response.I had that all wrong last night.Probably why I have some orange peel in my epoxy primer.Guess that will transfer into my single stage metallic..I have allot to learn before I start on my 68 mustang.This jeep may turn out so bad the wife may make me take the mustang some place to get painted.lol

Your epoxy primer is going to have to be sanded before you put the single stage on. Get some guide coat and block it down. You will be able to remove the orange peel in the primer.

[ymurf]

Your epoxy primer is going to have to be sanded before you put the single stage on. Get some guide coat and block it down. You will be able to remove the orange peel in the primer.

Two questions.I didn't think you were suppose to wet sand epoxy primer??
Also I didn't know I was suppose to spray a primer over my body filler before I shot my epoxy primer and you can see where the body filler is through the epoxy.Kinda a slight rougher finish where the filler is..Can I hot those spots with 600 wet sand then paint?

[Bob K]

I can’t think of a reason you couldn’t wet sand epoxy primer. I can think of a good reason why I wouldn’t dry sand it because epoxy is sticky and plugs up sand paper quite fast. The water will help prevent the plugging. That said epoxy for the most part isn’t meant to be sanded but there are times when it needs to be sanded like to remove flaws. It sounds like you missed a step in your filler work. That step is application of surfacer. Surfacer is often called high build primer but it is different from other primer in that it needs to be block sanded after it is applied. That sanding is the last step in filler application. It sounds like you left that part out and went straight to epoxy. I don’t use epoxy so I don’t want to lead you wrong by telling you what you need to do now because I don’t know if you can just apply surfacer on top of epoxy or not. I don’t know a reason why you couldn’t so that is one option to explore. Spray surfacer on all the areas where marks show up from your filler and block out the surfacer on top of the epoxy. Kind of doing things backwards but it might be a way to salvage most of what you did so far.

Bob K

[Len]

There are several different products called "PRIMER" and they sometimes get confused and sometimes the terms can be different depending on who you're talking to.

Normally "epoxy primer" is a sticky primer and is a "direct to metal" "DTM" primer and can be applied over most sanded surfaces and has a mechanical bond with the surface. Epoxy primer is mixed with an activator before spraying and can be top coated with paint or other types of primer within it's "recoat window" without sanding or can be sanded and re-primed and/or painted.

An "etch primer" is also a DTM primer that bonds to the metal by etching it with an acid. The base and the acid are normally shipped separately and mixed before spraying etch primer. Etch primer is less expensive but has a few more variables than epoxy and offers less protection against moisture.

"Polyester primer" is normally a heavier filler primer similar to a spray-on body filler that is applied over DTM primers and heavier filler applications when the surface needs block sanding to finish the leveling process. Polyester primer is mixed with a hardener prior to spraying and is normally sprayed with a gun that has a larger fluid tip than other types of primers.

"2K primer" is a term that can be a little misleading because all the primers mentioned are two part primers. However 2K is a term normally reserved for a urethane-type primer that is applied as a final primer that is block sanded prior to applying your color coat.

The rules for the application of these different primers can vary. You should always have a DTM primer on bare metal prior to applying a filler primer. However a filler primer isn't always necessary and can depend on the level of finish you want to achieve. On a high-end job with large areas of filler work we usually finish our filler work then apply epoxy primer then polyester prime, block sand, apply 2K primer, block sand again then paint. But on quick and cheap jobs we usually skip the polyester primer and we may even skip the 2K if it's not needed. If the filler work is finished properly we will epoxy prime it and paint it which can save a lot of time and money but doesn't produce the same level of results.

If anyone else would care to add additional information to this thread please do, I've only touched on some of the primer details.

Read the technical information before purchasing and using a primer to make sure you understand the products and their application.

[ymurf]

Thanks Len.I know I have allot to learn.I have been a member here for quite some time and come here often.Plus from what I see your store is very competitive in your pricing.

I have been wet sanding since 10 this morning. First time for me and I just learned it is no fun at all.But it does take the orange peel off.I have went down to the original yellow paint in a few spots..I have a 24 hour top coat window which will run out in about 2 hours..Can I go ahead and put another coat of epoxy on now????I now know how to set the gun up so I hope no orange peel this time.
Also seems to be allot of primer residue from wet sanding.How do I get that off before priming??Keep wiping with a damp rag??

[ymurf]

Wiped it down with a damp rag and dried it and shot another coat of epoxy primer with the proper psi and went on great..Will be shooting color in a half hour I hope.

[Len]

Thanks Len.I know I have allot to learn.I have been a member here for quite some time and come here often.Plus from what I see your store is very competitive in your pricing.

I have been wet sanding since 10 this morning. First time for me and I just learned it is no fun at all.But it does take the orange peel off.I have went down to the original yellow paint in a few spots..I have a 24 hour top coat window which will run out in about 2 hours..Can I go ahead and put another coat of epoxy on now????I now know how to set the gun up so I hope no orange peel this time.
Also seems to be allot of primer residue from wet sanding.How do I get that off before priming??Keep wiping with a damp rag??

The residue from the priming should be rinsed off as you're sanding. Use a bucket of water to keep your block and sandpaper wet and use a hose to rinse off the surface. Once he primer residue dries it can be difficult to remove.

Put more epoxy primer on to help level the surface and extend your recoat window. If orange peel has been a problem you may need to add a little reducer to the mix so that the primer atomizes a little better.