Spraying Paint with LVLP Question - Touch up and Top Coat

[bpatters69]

Hello All,

I am spraying a cabinet I am making for a friend with Benjamin Moore's Aura paint. Its good stuff for those who are wondering. Anyway, the color is a fairly deep blue (think the blue on the Greek flag) and all is going pretty well so far. I just finished the second coat which is all I planned to do and I noticed that the base white coat is showing in the seams where the panel meets the rails and stiles in the doors. Argh! I should have looked at the entire door!!! 

Question: Would you all paint the entire surface or just touch up the areas that need it?

I am using the R500 LVLP gun for those who are interested. I don't have too much experience (this is my 3rd or 4th time spraying) but it is going pretty well. I like the LVLP as it does not require as much umpf in terms of CFM and there is a lot less overspray. 

Once I am done painting, I plan to use a Water Based, Satin Based Top Coat. I have a 1.3mm tip as that is the smallest I have and I think its appropriate.

Thanks, Bill

[fredhargis]

Personally I would go with another coat. My fear of trying to touch it up (for me) would be that an otherwise nice paint job would be screwed up with my attempts to repair the missing paint.

[jteneyck]

How is it you can spray that stuff with an LVLP gun?  What's your setup?  I tried spraying a similar SW's paint yesterday with my pressure feed HVLP gun with a 1.5 mm needle/nozzle (the largest I have) and couldn't get more than spatters even with 10% thinning.  

I would take a brush and touchup that edge.  A foam brush should do it fine.  

John

[bpatters69]

How is it you can spray that stuff with an LVLP gun?  What's your setup?  I tried spraying a similar SW's paint yesterday with my pressure feed HVLP gun with a 1.5 mm needle/nozzle (the largest I have) and couldn't get more than spatters even with 10% thinning.  

I would take a brush and touchup that edge.  A foam brush should do it fine.  

John

I am using a 2.0 mm needle and I thinned to about 5 to 6%. I am using Benjamin Williams paint.

Editing to add the specs on my compressor. The compressor has plenty of CFM and I use a regulator to lower the CFM to 30 which I found on a youtube channel. It seems to work well. The issue is the tank size (4 gallon) which is not really suitable for spraying. I can spray about 3 lines of a cabinet side or door and then the compressor has to cycle. Its not a huge deal as I simply wait for the compressor to stop running and then continue spraying. I have continued to spray with the compressor running and it keeps spraying decently so I am probably being overly cautious but I am a hobbyist so I can take my time. Lastly, the compressor is light and fairly quiet.

Husky Compressor
Item# 1001-622-795/1000-857-793
Model# C041H/C041H.C
MFG CSA File# U3A2257H

[jteneyck]

I am using a 2.0 mm needle and I thinned to about 5 to 6%. I am using Benjamin Williams paint.

Editing to add the specs on my compressor. The compressor has plenty of CFM and I use a regulator to lower the CFM to 30 which I found on a youtube channel. It seems to work well. The issue is the tank size (4 gallon) which is not really suitable for spraying. I can spray about 3 lines of a cabinet side or door and then the compressor has to cycle. Its not a huge deal as I simply wait for the compressor to stop running and then continue spraying. I have continued to spray with the compressor running and it keeps spraying decently so I am probably being overly cautious but I am a hobbyist so I can take my time. Lastly, the compressor is light and fairly quiet.

Husky Compressor
Item# 1001-622-795/1000-857-793
Model# C041H/C041H.C
MFG CSA File# U3A2257H

Thanks for the feedback.  The viscosity of the paint you were using is about the same in the can as the SW's one I used.  It must loose viscosity far more with thinning than the SW's paint.  I'll keep it in mind in the future, or maybe I'll finally buy an airless sprayer.  Thanks again.

John

[tomsteve]

I am using a 2.0 mm needle and I thinned to about 5 to 6%. I am using Benjamin Williams paint.

this some new hybrid paint?

[MKepke]

Bill - I'd plan on recoating, rather than only spraying the missed area. But I would try feathering to avoid a total full-thickness recoat.

John - FWIW, I've sprayed Inslx's Cabinet Coat using a cheap conversion HVLP gravity gun with a 1.8 or 2mm nozzle. Thinned 6%.

Worked fine.

Cabinet Coat is 90-95 KU viscosity.

-Mark

[jteneyck]

Bill - I'd plan on recoating, rather than only spraying the missed area.  But I would try feathering to avoid a total full-thickness recoat.

John - FWIW, I've sprayed Inslx's Cabinet Coat using a cheap conversion HVLP gravity gun with a 1.8 or 2mm nozzle.  Thinned 6%.

Worked fine.

Cabinet Coat is 90-95 KU viscosity.

-Mark

Thanks for that info., Mark.  90 KU is similar to Duration.  Amazing how much easier it was for you to spray than Duration was for me.  I'll keep that in mind.  

John

[Gary G™]

Anyone tried Floetrol to facilitate spraying?

[jteneyck]

Anyone tried Floetrol to facilitate spraying?

Yes, but I didn't see any benefit.  When I need to thin the paint, I use water.  Most all paints I've used can be thinned up to 10% w/o an issue.  Sometimes that's still not enough to lower the viscosity enough to spray, at which point I punt and use a different product or a different application technique.  

I use BM's Extender when I need to extend the time window before the paint sets up.  That can help paints that don't atomize all that well to have more time to flow out into a uniform film.  Sometimes I've used both water to thin the paint plus Extender to increase the open time.  

I'm on the fence as to whether I should buy an airless sprayer.  For heavy bodied paints, they are a better choice than conversion guns using compressed air.  

John