100th paint job told me I was rushing clear coat

I hit my 100th insurance job last month and it really made me stop and think. Took a step back when I saw orange peel on a rear panel I just sprayed. Realized I was pushing clear coat on too fast because I wanted to hit numbers. I'd say three out of five jobs before that had some tiny flaw I was ignoring. Anyone else ever look back at a milestone and notice a bad habit you picked up without realizing it?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel47428d ago

The_derek is right that it's usually technique but I'd push back a little. Speed is PART of technique if you think about it. If you're moving too fast you're not giving the clear a chance to level out before it starts to flash. I had to learn that the hard way after about 80 jobs when I finally stopped and watched a good painter on a slow day. Question for you though: what gun are you running and what's your tip size? Because I've seen guys fight orange peel forever then switch from a 1.3 to a 1.4 tip and suddenly their coats lay down way smoother even at the same speed. Just something to think about before you redo everything you learned.

the_derek28d ago

Orange peel's usually from bad technique not just speed.

the_alice28d ago

Wait, hold on. Are you telling me that's actually a skill issue and not just from rushing? I always figured it was the paint drying too fast or me laying it on too thick, like when I tried that cheap HVLP gun from Harbor Freight and it looked like a golf ball. So all those times I blamed the cheap paint or the humidity, it was really just my technique? That's wild, I need to rethink basically everything I learned from that one YouTube video.