Question
Can anybody give me any tips on spraying white varnish? Can anyone tell me the perfect air pressure, amount of catalyzer, and etc.? I’m getting orange peel on the first coat.
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor D:
Do you have experience in spraying C/V of any kind? You will need to follow the manufacturer’s specific ratio for the addition of catalyst to their product. All manufacturers have slightly different formulas and products, so without knowing which products you are using it is hard to give a specific ratio.
Once you have the required ratio it will take a few trials to tweak your gun for perfect spray. This will also depend on what type of equipment you are using. Airless, air-assisted airless, turbine HVLP, compressed converted HVLP? Specifics given will enable this forum to assist you more precisely.
Catalyze a quart of the CV according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Then thin it 10% and see how it sprays. Add more thinner in 5% increments until it sprays nicely. Use the thinner and retarder that the manufacturer recommends to make sure it's 100% compatible.
CV is typically thick, with a high solids content for faster build. Generally two coats of CV will give you the equivalent build of three coats of lacquer. The extra thickness is a problem for a lot of spray equipment because it's more difficult to atomize and requires a little different spray technique (much heavier than you might be used to).
