HVLP Spray Gun Settings for Every Coat (Free Setup Advisor)

Primer, base, clear: three setups Epoxy primer: a one point six to one point eight millimetre tip. Metallic base: one point three to one point four, and a little less air, for control. 2K clear: one point three to one point five, two coats, five to ten minutes between them. That's AutofxMart's free Spray Setup Advisor. In the booth, a painter setting up for a panel; in the driveway, someone spraying one bumper. Same question: where do I start? Pick what you're spraying, and it gives you a starting point: the tip, the air, the fan, the distance, the coats and the flash. It's free, at autofxmart.com, Spray Setup Advisor. The link is below.

Three numbers, one cap Three numbers set a gun, and they all meet at the cap. The fluid tip: the thicker the material, the bigger the tip, from one point two millimetres for a waterborne base up to two for a primer surfacer. The air: an HVLP gun is high volume, low pressure, and the page says its cap stays at ten psi or less; so set the inlet, then check at the cap. And the fan: medium to wide, at six to eight inches. Every sheet gives all three.

Nine coatings, three stages Pick the one that's in your cup. Nine coatings, in three stages: primer, color, and clear.

Primer: the bigger tips Primer first. Epoxy: one point six to one point eight, twenty-six to twenty-nine psi at the inlet, two coats. A surfacer goes bigger: one point seven to two millimetres, up to forty psi, a wide fan, two or three coats. The sheet says why: a larger tip flows the high-build material without heavy texture.

Color: solid, metallic, waterborne Color. A solid base: one point three to one point four, reduced about one to one, flashed to matte; the sheet says spray to full hide and stop. A metallic takes the same tip and a little less air, and finishes with a lighter control coat to orient the flake evenly. Waterborne: one point two to one point four, force-flashed with air.

Clear: 2K and high-solids Clear. 2K: one point three to one point five, twenty-six to twenty-nine psi, two coats, five to ten minutes' flash; the sheet says a full flash between coats prevents solvent pop. High-solids clear: one point four to one point seven, twenty-nine psi, a wide fan, and often no reduction.

Single-stage on a project car A project car in single-stage? One point four to one point six, twenty-nine psi, about ten percent reduction, two coats. And strain the mixed paint before you spray it.

The sheet, and a starting point Each sheet lists the gear to run it, and prints for the booth wall, with a QR code back to the tool. Every number is a starting point, the page says, for trained refinishers: confirm the product's technical data sheet, from its maker or the store's Technical Library, and your gun maker's tip and pressure.

Start from the right setup Primer, base or clear: start the gun from the right setup.

Next: the Cure & Bake Schedule What do you spray most: primer, base, or clear? Tell us in the comments. Once it's sprayed, the next question is when it's ready: flash, tape, cut and buff, from a booth bake to a garage air-dry. That's the Cure and Bake Schedule, next on this channel. Subscribe so you don't miss it.