12/13/2006
I came home during lunch today and painted the white part of the right wing. This time the quality was really good. No runs, no orange peeling and perfect coverage. Best of all, it is done - no need to continue to fiddle with it as I had to with the other wing. Here are some lessons and observations:
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The el-cheepo Harbor Freight gravity feed HVLP gun doesn't atomize the paint when mixed as per PPG's instructions and the pressure at the tip of the gun is as per Harbor Freight's instructions.
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Thinning the paint to get better atomization and reduce the amount of orange peeling results in spotty coverage and more runs.
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Cranking up the pressure at the tip works great. I used 100PSI at the gun's regulator inlet and cranked up the gun's regulator as high as it would go (which wasn't much). I think doing this converts it from an HVLP gun to a HVHP gun. Whatever - it works.
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Priming with K-36 requires that the surface be sanded afterward. This might be obvious to those in the tight-lipped professional painters guild but for a newbee like me it is an exciting new discovery. After sanding the surface should be wiped, blown down with air and then wiped again with a tack cloth.
Should have I have plopped down $300 or more for a better gun? I really don't know. I am not a professional painter and I will never use it again. Right now it most definitely not worth it. Would it have been worth it before mostly learning the idiosyncrasies of the Harbor Freight gun? Probably yes.
My estimate on paint costs for doing one wing is about $175. About 1 pint of primer is needed as well as 1 1/4 pint of paint to do two coats. Other chemicals needed is about a pint of reducer, and much less of hardener for the paint and primer. So far I think I am on track to spend about $1000 to paint the plane - this includes spray guns, tape, etc.
At the end of the day I had to go on a business trip to California. I'll paint the red part of the wing when I get back on Friday.