Spraying Face Frames in Upright Position
To minimize runs when spraying onto vertical surfaces, start with a fine mist coat. April 20, 2011
Question
We usually spray everything horizontally, but we are spraying some face frames which have an attached return and must be sprayed vertically. We are spraying Becker Matador and the problem is there is a super fine line between spraying too light (resulting in orange peel) or spraying too heavy (resulting in runs in the finish). Is there any way to troubleshoot other than familiarization through repetition? Any tips on spraying vertical?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor P:
I say don't do it. Find a way to lay flat.
From contributor A:
If you're nervous about spraying vertical parts, there are a few things you can do. I was taught to spray one or two tack coats before a full wet coat. Don't even attempt to cover the surface completely, but try to evenly cover the surface with finely atomized droplets. You can then speed the evaporation by blowing the surface with about 35-40 PSI through your spray gun or blower for a minute or two. Repeat this step if desired. Then you spray a medium wet coat. If you see any runs forming, you can dab them away with one of those 1" foam brushes. With practice, you can avoid this problem, and when it does happen, make a graceful recovery. No big deal really.
From contributor M:
Spray a light mist coat, then let it tack for a few minutes. Long enough for it to tack but not dry, then hit it again with a regular pass.
From contributor G:
Matador is meant to be sprayed flat, but if you have to, I've had success spraying two half coats, back to back, moving the gun really, really fast.
From the original questioner:
Thanks for the responses. It seems the consensus is to spray a sequence of fine coats, but these fine coats are still wet coats, right? If you spray a couple of mist coats with a wet coat on top, it seems that the mist coats will telegraph through the final wet coat, no?
From contributor G:
Wet on wet - they flow together.
