# Devilbiss gti pro lite set up & hardest colour's to paint.



## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Me again ....

I've currently ran out of things to paint. I've done 5 different paint jobs over the last few weeks, nothing major just single panels & bumpers, all have came out excellent but not perfect. 

Been following "the gunman " on YouTube I liked his tutorial on orange peel. I'm thinking of testing a few different gun setups end paint mixtures on an old bonnet marked into sections.


Taking into account I don't have a heated booth can anyone recommend the best set up for 2k on my gti pro lite? (I assume painting 2k clear needs the same setup as 2k colour?)

My current set up is 

Te20 aircap 1.3mm tip
2bar pressure regulated at the gun 
Fan wide open.
Flow 2.5 turns out 

I've been mixing my 2k 2:1 with no thinner as recommended by my supplier. Any opinions in this ?(I have an air fed resp and plenty of air flow just to avoid the h&s comments.)

Also what's the hardest colour to paint In terms of showing up orange peel. So I can judge the best setup?.(I'm thinking black 2k?). 

The Finish I've been getting has been more than acceptable but I've still got some work to do. I think I could get a little less orange peel. I've been painting around 8cm away from the panel as recommended on the gunmans channel. 

Thanks in advance !


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## JCoxy (Dec 21, 2011)

The gunman is very good to learn off, but it's equally important to learn what works for you, while he says the gun is 8cm away to me that's very close, I prefer a hand's span away from the panel with smaller overlap, almost a double pass but still moving up (or down) the panel.

White many will agree is the hardest to clear coat, because you can't see where you're going, black or generally dark colours are easier to clear you can easily see where you're going


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## JCoxy (Dec 21, 2011)

You may not nail a fully glass like finish especially on a vertical panel, as long as it's acceptable factory orange peel that's good enough for me (as I work in a bodyshop)

Play with gun settings, normally when you're after 2 turns out it's fully out anyway, so I have my fluid turned all the way out all of the time unless I'm doing intricate bits, basically the knob turned in a thread to stop it pinging out.

Have a play around, faster hardeners can make it more peely because it has less time to flowand settle, many things affect peel


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Thanks for the reply, I do get the feeling there's not enough fluid coming out, ive also been going quite slow and haven't had a run yet so it's definitely possible more fluid is needed. Would the addition of thinners help it to flow out ?


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## JCoxy (Dec 21, 2011)

Each time you spray the clear is may be drier and needs pounding on to get a wet coat on, other times it's easily wet and you need to move fast, so you have to adapt to each occasion, usually the viscosity so yeah do a viscosity check with DIN4 measuring cup refer to TDS, a faster hardener can also make it harder to spray, as well as temperature


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Excellent thank you


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## ed87 (Apr 6, 2015)

The gunman is awesome, his channel is great a real archive of useful information


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## SamD (Oct 24, 2015)

theshoe202 said:


> Thanks for the reply, I do get the feeling there's not enough fluid coming out, ive also been going quite slow and haven't had a run yet so it's definitely possible more fluid is needed. Would the addition of thinners help it to flow out ?


If the pressure is to low you will be just applying dusty coats and a good finish will be harder to achieve I generally keep it around 1.5 to 2 bars depending on the weather I'm working in.

I always say do what works for you as long as the end result is the same. And no matter how good you are you will always get the odd sag or run I suggest you get an old panel and see for yourself how far you can go until you get a run it will teach you more about the application of clear.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

SamD said:


> If the pressure is to low you will be just applying dusty coats and a good finish will be harder to achieve I generally keep it around 1.5 to 2 bars depending on the weather I'm working in.
> 
> I always say do what works for you as long as the end result is the same. And no matter how good you are you will always get the odd sag or run I suggest you get an old panel and see for yourself how far you can go until you get a run it will teach you more about the application of clear.


I've just got some old panels off a mate I'm gonna paint them 2k black so they show up imperfections and orange peel . Do you use pot filters in your guns? I noticed mine was a bit clogged with clear which defiantly won't be helping. I filter all my paints into the gun just wondering is gun filters are the norm ?


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## SamD (Oct 24, 2015)

I use 3m pps cups one use and bin, generally around £50 for 50 cups and filtered lids.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Hardest colour ..... if you can blend a gold within a reasonably small area then you're doing ok.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

squiggs said:


> Hardest colour ..... if you can blend a gold within a reasonably small area then you're doing ok.


I've had some quick lessons with silver recently. Might give gold a try on a scrap panel


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

I run a gti pro lite but 1.2 set up, it did have a te20 air Cap but found it gave a very orange peel finish so changed it for the T110 which lays clear down alot smoother. A 1.3 set up should be out about three turns any more than that you'll find it will be to heavy and very peely, but with it wound in it will be alot slower spraying panels just depends what your spraying style is and how fast you like to move the gun across panels. Spraying pressure we run around 2.2 bar for clear and 2 bar for base coat.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

perfect, thanks Andy . Are you spraying with the fan wide open and what kind of distance are you away?


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

theshoe202 said:


> perfect, thanks Andy . Are you spraying with the fan wide open and what kind of distance are you away?


Yes fan is wide open, with a spraying distance of around six to eight inched from panel.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Decided to paint a scrap bumper I had 2k black and see how far I could push it.

Pic 1 and 2 came out really nice but got a killer run 


















Pic 3&4 still has orange peel but I'd be comfortable to paint to that finish consistently


















Are pics 3&4 an acceptable gun finish or should I aiming for pic 1&2 with no runs ?

Thanks in advance !

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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Managed to get this scrap panel flattened polished up nicely . No orange peel at all just a few tracers from grit in the wet & dry that wouldn't come out .

What kind of finish should I be looking for straight from the gun ? Should the orange peel be about the same as factory or will it always need some flat and polish to get it to factory finish . I'm just trying to benchmark where I am and what I need to do to improve .


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## SamD (Oct 24, 2015)

It's all down to the operator including factors such as speed, pressure, distance, temperature and even the car you are working on.
For example a Honda, most have a fair amount of orange peel and you are trying to replicate a factory finish. You are heading the right direction and I can tell you now no matter how long you have been in the game you will still get the odd run unless you are me.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

Thank you pleased I'm on the right path , should most factory finishes be possible straight from the gun or is it usual for an element of flatting & polishing other than for nibs and fisheyes. 

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## SamD (Oct 24, 2015)

theshoe202 said:


> Thank you pleased I'm on the right path , should most factory finishes be possible straight from the gun or is it usual for an element of flatting & polishing other than for nibs and fisheyes.
> 
> Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk


I wouldn't say it's possible but getting very close to the finish you are a looking for yes. A panel with a lot visible orange peel and if it has enough clear applied it can be flattened to the point of a glass like finish.

Gunman on YouTube has a video explaining application of clear and how distance and pressure effects the overall result.


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

I think that's the one I've been looking at, he's around 6cm away which seems very close, I enjoyed using a scrap panel , no pressure to do a good job and even kicked it around a bit to practice polishing scratches out  

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## JCoxy (Dec 21, 2011)

He does get very close with the gun but that's his style, an open hand span is roughly where I am


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## theshoe202 (Mar 3, 2016)

How long do you find it takes for the paint to flow out ?

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