Do you clean your gun between coats?

DanMcG

Promoted Users
I sprayed some epoxy yesterday and for a beginner it went ok. but starting the second coat the paint came out more of a spatter then a spray. I took it apart and cleaned it and all was good. How long can ya go without cleaning between coats? This was after the recommended 30 minutes.
spatter.JPG
 
First-time painter as well so I would defer to the pros, but I would rinse the gun between coats of the epoxy every time. I wouldn't disassemble, but I rinsed it out with lacquer thinner and blew that through a few times with air. I also was using the DeKups system towards the end, so that allowed me to take the cup off instead of dumping the epoxy back into the mixing cup, but I would also dump the epoxy back into the cup.
I was just too afraid that the paint would gum up in the flow path and I would fling out partially dry epoxy spots. I suspect that's what you are seeing, but again, I'm no pro.
 
I don’t usually have a problem with epoxy. Sometimes when it’s hot though, you have to take a paper towel with some reducer and just wipe off the nozzle- paint can dry there while spraying - also make sure your hole in the lid isn’t plugged
 
Epoxy has a long pot life so I don’t clean the gun between coats. I just wipe down the nozzle.

Never had an issue spraying a lot of SPI epoxy that way over some 15 years on multiple builds. Not even close….

Don
 
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Between coats of epoxy I’ll pull off the PPS and cap it, and flush out the paint gun. While the epoxy is setting up on the car (or parts) between coats, why wouldn’t it be setting up inside on all the paint gun components? To me that will change orifice sizes inside the gun and could very well be causing what you describe. Also, if you’re using the paint cup that comes with the gun, don’t use the small filter inside the cup. This will indeed choke off paint flow out of the cup and cause splatter finish.
 
I always spray lacquer thinner between coats. I put the primer or paint back in the cup to see how much I used so I know how much I will need for the next coat. When I'm finished I have very little or no material to throw away.
 
wipe out and rinse the cup . flush the nozzle .
 

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Thanks everyone for the advice, I figured this painting journey would have a huge learning curve and I really appreciate all of your input.
 
I sprayed some epoxy yesterday and for a beginner it went ok. but starting the second coat the paint came out more of a spatter then a spray. I took it apart and cleaned it and all was good. How long can ya go without cleaning between coats? This was after the recommended 30 minutes.
View attachment 16571
What air pressure are you using? What gun and nozzle?

Don
 
I was afraid someone ask that, LOL
around 25psi, Harbor freight cheapo, and 1.4 tip
I think all you needed to do was wipe the nozzle and you would have been fine. As I said, it’s all I’ve done for 15 years of backyard hack jobs….

Does the air cap and nozzle get a lot of paint buildup on it?

Don
 
I think all you needed to do was wipe the nozzle and you would have been fine. As I said, it’s all I’ve done for 15 years of backyard hack jobs….

Does the air cap and nozzle get a lot of paint buildup on it?

Don
Not much build up at all. Today I cleaned it between coats just to be on the safe side.
 
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