Do the new water based paints require a different gun tip?

175K911 · 12-07-2012, 03:48 PM

Or do I need to buy a new paint gun?

962porsche · 07:51 AM

there is so much more to waterborne paints than just the gun .
so will your run of the mill spray gun work well yes to some degree . if it has metal in it it will rust in no time so if you plan on spraying it more than a hand full of times you will need a gun for waterborne paints . the tip and fluid caps are the same as you would use for a solvent base product but your going to want a gun made from plastic's and or stainless steel . check your TDS to see what tip size is best for the product your spraying .
most are a 1.2 to .14 tip in the gun but not all paint CO's are the same so again check your TDS .

but like i said there is so much more to it than just your gun . your air has to be not just clean and dry but very clean and dry any contaminants in your air supply will raise havoc with the finish . in my shop i have two desiccant dryers and i thought it would be fine with them but when i had the air supply checked it still was not as dry as it needed to be for my to have BASF sign me off for there color source user . so they added in a refrigerated air dryer too just for the air line to the spray booth . you need cool very dry air ! the compressor is a 10HP just for the booth and nothing else .
then there is the flashing off of the base coats . heat has nothing at all to do with drying the waterborne base coats you need air to dry it so you have to have air blowers BASF installed 4 of them in the booth one in each corner and then we have a proable set with 3 blowers on a stand that we can move around the booth as needed .

then you need all HVLP air lines and fittings right from the compressor to the gun if you don't you will never get your finish to look the way it should and you will end up with many other headeachs too .

if your a DYI person mail order solvent if you can't buy it in your area .

175K911 · 12-08-2012, 04:39 PM

Yea, it's supposedly illegal to sell solvent based paints in the people's republic of Illinois now. Guess I'll need to smuggle some old Glasurit paint in if the DeVilbiss guns I have won't work with the waterborne paints.

962porsche · 12-08-2012, 07:13 PM

old glasurit is still not old . it's still offered and used . i have every BASE sysytem in my shops . in my body shop i have the glasurit 22 , 55 , and 90 lines along with RM's uno and diamont lines .
it is not illegal to sell use or any thing else in any state CT and CAL are the worst states for solvent products but you still can get them and use them . most jobbers will tell you they can't or won't but it is not in any way illegal for them to do so .
there are some products i have my jobber order for me that they don't sell to other shops . but no on can really tell you you can't use it .
that is not to say just because a jobber will not carry it they can't order it for you .
i did post a place for people to get glasurit if you want solvent base products still .

175K911 · 12-09-2012, 05:02 AM

You're correct re Glasurit. What I meant was the old tried and true paints. I haven't painted a car in probably 10 years but did a lot of painting back in the 70's and into the 80's. Remember painting with Imron when it first hit the market, made the mistake of leaving a bit in the bottom of the gun overnight. Ooops.

The three regional body shops that I know and trust, and who do a lot of work on high end cars as well as patching together wrinkled race cars have all told me that they are no longer allowed to use solvent based products. As body shops they've had to invest heavily in new paint mixing systems etc. But I know I can order in Glasurit or other solvent based products. Just thought if it wasn't too much of an expense I'd try the water based paints. Just ahve two things I need to paint and they're both track cars- a red Spec Miata and my Grand Prix White 911. No metallics. Guess it's solvent based or invest in new equipment to paint just two cars.

Thanks for your thoughts