TR2/3/3A Air compressor crud

Air compressor crud, I have been getting some small pieces of something coming out of the spray gun. I was think of getting one of those little filter balls that go in line to filter out the whatever. Anyone have any suggestions.

Steve,
I doubt any crud coming from the innards of your compressor is small enough to fit through your gun tip. -Nothing hard anyway. It may be water, or it may be something thickening in your paint. When I mixed mine, I always ran it through a filter before putting it in the gun. It's surprising how much crud is left in the filter.

It you decide to use an inline filter, know it will also have an effect on the pressure your gun sees. I used a filter/water separator after the regulator and sprayed in the morning while the air was cool to compress. Once the paint is on, it doesn't matter how hot it gets.

Jer

Those in line ball filters are good insurance. Before I set up the copper piping with triple water filters, I would use one on each end of the hose. The newest would be at the gun. I swapped in a fresh one at the gun for each important spray, and the previous ball would move to the front end of the hose.

Thanks you guys I posted this without looking at what Dave and John had posted, but anyways I have a triple pipe with 3 out let drains. In addition, I have the compressor in the daylight light basement with the main line going up, out, and uphill for 15 feet right after the water trapping line system . I have not had water problem with this set up unless I get lazy and do not drain the system.

Jer I think you hit it because the stuff looks like little tiny paint cruds. I was not straining; plus, I could see them once and a while pop out. Maybe I will pick one off and see what it made of I pray they buff out without leaving a small crater.

Do you scoop or poor your paint out of the can? I had stopped straining because I was using primmer and had trouble with the learning curve of getting the gun to spray plus primmer is a courser way to go and I stopped being concerned with imperfections. Now I feel more comfortable with the paint gun, at least a little, and the perfection bar is back up; this stuff really has a lot of variables when setting things up from nothing. I am going to strain this batch plus a ball for insurance if it does not slow my air down too much. I am so glad all of you are here to help.

I used to pour...but I am sure your know first hand how messy that is!?! The paint stores sell these small measuring cups, in 2-3 different sizes. They are translucent plastic with all the different mixing scales printed on the outside. I buy a box of a hundred, and they last a decade or more. I can often even talk the supplier out of a half dozen or so (as a trial to see if I like them??!?). If I have these cups, I scoop out using a clean, new cup...and then toss the cup rather than try to clean it in the middle of a spray. I use... and indefinitely re-use...another cup to fill with thinner and clean the gun components. So the “scooping”cup is always new and absolutely clean. The “cleaning cup” is not that fresh, but not too bad.

As for the dirt and buffing...I said to sand without a block when buffing. Dirt (or little bug mummies) should be very carefully blocked out with the 600 grit. That is to prevent “cupping” that would happen if you tried by hand. Once the “bump” is flat, switch back to hand sanding with no block.

And by the way, Steve, what you have shown us is looking fantastic. During the painting it is VERY stressful as you try to bring everything into alignment for each spray session. But your finished work is showing the time and detail you have invested. I have stripes, dry patches, and dirt, bugs, in every job I do...since I don’t have a professional spray booth. But so far your flaws are well within buffing tolerances...so keep it up!!

I have accepted that, until I can afford a dedicated spray booth in a shop, I am going to have dirt and bug issues. For each spray I say a little prayer that I can get ONE layer down before a significant flaw. By getting one layer on the panel, you will have the paint thickness later to buff it out. If you get a bad flaw during the first layer...I first attempt to pick it out using one of those little barbed wire pickers from the suppliers...If the picking gets too messy, I just stop and let it dry, only to re-sand and do it again later. Writing off a spray session is one of the hardest decisions to make...but once in a while it happens. Too many bug strikes, bad mix on the paint, rain (if outdoors), or any number of problems pop up.

The more you paint, the better the feel you get for flaws and how bad they can be before they are terminal. Again...your work is looking great!!

I painted the doors and rear fenders yesterday in my outside makeshift paint both I built off the barn; I mixed 12 oz. paint 1.5 oz. hardener, and 1.5 oz. reducer then used a screen to filter the paint. The pieces are not perfect, but the doors should buff out niece. Those rear fenders were difficult for me because of the tapering arch. If I do that again, I might hang the fender from the skinny end and just paint down because of the arch and I missed a little section on the ½ return from the main panel because I could not get to it comfortably.

I came up a little short and only got 2 coats on one of the rear fenders, but 3 on the others. I keep a panel piece off to the side to paint the back side if there is extra paint. In this case I had one of the front fenders out on the other side of the barn and was able to get 80% of that painted. I almost went for it and tried to get that 3 coat on the last piece and maybe would have made it.

The fear of running out of paint has been a factor; not because of the cost (I am using over the counter enamel), but because of the color match and I hate to waste. I purchased one gallon of paint and had that put into 4 quart cans because I did not know how long things would take and what I was up against.

In addition, I went to HF and got their polisher with an assortment of pads for less the 100.00; I really do not like shopping there because in all my years of carpentry-tools were tools- not some Chinese shinny fishing lure-but that money thing had its way. Anyways, I do have some Liquid Ebony 27 left over from a paint job that the painter gave me, and he claimed it was the best- plus his work is beautiful. I googled product and it is available but an older product sold on eBay.

I wanted to let the paint cure some before I tried buffing, but really do not if that is the way or not.

Your bodywork is just great. I don't see any lows/highs at all in the lighting angle you took the pics.

An old trick to extend pot life is to place any remainder in a jar in your refrigerator. It lets you re-use the batch if you paint later that day. I also like your idea of setting out extra work for any extra paint...like planning a concrete job!?!

Your buffer looks perfect! The only pad I ever use is the cotton one. The others would be higher abrasive to, say, cut into a finish that is highly oxidized. For our paint work on fresh, soft paint, the soft cotton is the way to go. Also, when you are ready to replace the cotton pad, go to a paint supplier and they have double-sided cotton discs, which screw right onto the stud on your buffer. You use one side until it gets too cruddy, and then unscrew the disc and flip it over. The only thing to remember with the double-sided discs is that the stud is open in the center, so you can never put the disc flat on the work. That is not how you should use the buffer anyway, so it won't be an issue once you train your muscles to run it...or unless you let your son buff without reminding him!?!