Solvent Pop...

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kwest187

New member
I have what I believe is solvent pop, in the clear on a helmet I'm doing. This is my 1st helmet...so far not the hugest fan of working with gel coat and and not bare metal...
Any way-I did not buy the paint-so only info I got on the paint...was on the label-
Its dupont stuff-
Anyway....BC went fine
Directions for clear said to spray at 6-10 PSI for HVLP...wow that is low-I can spit that hard...
Anyway sprayed at around 8...then bumped up to 10/11-
at 1st this stuff was spitting out of the gun...went on pretty thick
Didn't run...seemed to flash fine...but-I could see hundreds of little air bubbles...ahhh-
I checked on the forum last night and believe what I experienced was Solvent POP...
I sanded this morning with 600-wet and some dry..
Holes still visible...do I clear now or do I sand to BC and try to eliminate bubbles all together?
ALso This time when I clear I'm going to try using my touch up gun with 1.0 tip...my reg. clear gun has a 1.3 tip-
Thanks for any suggestions=
 
S

ScottieB

New member
If you could see the bubbles soon after you sprayed, it is probably not solvent pop. My guess you may have gotten contaminates in your air supply. This is an educated guess.
 
Brian Dee

Brian Dee

Super Moderator
From what you said ,to me it sounds as though your air pressure was too low and it was not atomizing correctly. You said 8 psi. Was that at the gun or the reg on the compressor. I usually set the comp at 35-40 psi ,which drops it to about 15 at the gun.This setting is what I use for the Sata mini jet. In view of the fact you said it went on too thick it's probably is a combination of a couple of things. Air pressure,clear not reduced enough,and maybe your nozzle was too large for what you were trying to do. Wet sand what you have done and giver another go,adjusting the things mentioned. I have a feeling you well be suprised.We've all been in the same boat. If you can sand out the bubbles great. Just go easy. You mentioned a 1.0, thats the size I alawys use on the mini jet and a 1.2 on the full size gun if Im' using a production clear. Which is a clear that has a little more resin in it. For the high flow clear I'll use a 1.1. I also find that by using these two sizes of fluid nozzles you will have to reduce your clear just a tad more. This will allow more flow out of the clear. Apply a couple of tack coats then a medium coat,then the final coat. Just don't pound it on, and wait for the proper flash times. Hope this helps you,now go gett'em and let us know how it turns out.
 
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araig82

New member
i agree with brian, you must have had the pressure to low, they want 6-10psi at the aircap. going by the wall guage is ok but different length hoses, sizes, air fittings can change the result at the cap, but i think close will count for what your doing. i just wetsand it down like you did and reclear it, be careful cause now you have a very flat surface and the clear can run quick. Also use the proper reducer/hardener for the temps your spraying at. I think the main problem was your pressure. goodluck
 
K

kwest187

New member
I was going by the reg gauge on I have on my filter...but...I realized by adjusting the pressure while having the trigger fully pulled on the gun I get a reading of what the PSI is during "full pull"
I set that at 10...without any pull the gauge needle jumped to close to 20 PSI-
I wet sanded the entire thing...and re-cleared-
Went on very well and I'm calling the job a success-
I still used the 1.3 tip...and-in the right light you can still see some white specs...a bit hard to notice b/c of the metallic of the second BC layer-
I showed the helmet to the owner after a good wet sand (1500 then 2000) then buff.
He was very pleased...I tried to show him the White specs I could see and he was still happy-
I said if he wanted I'd strip it down and fully redo...he said no worry...I said at least let me check for some final high spots in the clear and give it one more Final buff...he said..."if I wanted to"
So I took the helmet back and will finish this week...hope the clear doesn't get to hard on me...just one spot on the back on the bottom...
So...I do agree prob not solvent pop...just bad pressure-
I guess this is what happens when you spray paint you're not used to...
From now on I think I'll let the customer tell me what they have in mind...then I'll buy the paint-
thanks for the responses guys...happy spraying and stay ventilated-
 
K

kwest187

New member
araig82 said:
i agree with brian, you must have had the pressure to low, they want 6-10psi at the aircap. going by the wall guage is ok but different length hoses, sizes, air fittings can change the result at the cap, but i think close will count for what your doing. i just wetsand it down like you did and reclear it, be careful cause now you have a very flat surface and the clear can run quick. Also use the proper reducer/hardener for the temps your spraying at. I think the main problem was your pressure. goodluck
Click to expand...

yes it did run...totally surprised me...I was like huh...However...I backed off the the flow nob a touch...and kept going-
the run i did have sanded out completely-I was sweating this job for awhile...live and learn the GF kept saying...
 
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