# Working through orange peel with BM Advance + Earlex 5500 HLVP



## tallcedar (Feb 7, 2021)

I've been troubleshooting orange peel issues in my BM Advance white Satin finish. This is my first time spraying instead of rolling (kitchen cabinets) so looking for advice on troubleshooting and whether I'm working in the right direction. I am using the Earlex 5500 HVLP. I suspect the issue is that I'm just not getting the paint sufficiently atomized when it comes out of the gun, which is causing the finish to go onto the surface unevenly. The first photo I've added shows the edges of my spray pattern on some test cardboard. I am thinking the presence of the larger blots of paint scattered around the edges means it's not atomizing properly, but wanted to get some feedback on that.

The second photo shows the texture in the dried paint.

At this point I have the paint diluted 15% with water and I'm using the 1.5mm tip on the gun. The 5500 doesn't give me air pressure control, so all I can change is how open/closed the gun is when I pull the trigger using the screw on the back, which I've played around with a bit, but not seeing great results even when I have it really tight. Paint is being applied and dried in a room at about 75 F and 40% humidity, which seems to be in the comfort zone for drying in the TDS. That said, my air flow is not great in the room, so I guess that could also be causing issues?


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## Masterwork (Sep 13, 2020)

Is it taking as long as Advance usually does to dry?


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

If your gonna go hvlp, try atleast a 2.0 tip. Also get closer to the surface as to keep a wet edge. If your too far away the paint will be half dry before it hits the surface. Either that or switch to airless.


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Your picture on the cardboard sample shows dry spray, due to the paint drying before it has a chance to level and flow. This is always the biggest hurdle we face when trying to spray pigmented finishes with turbines; the hot air from the turbine hose that pushes the paint. Things you can do to minimize the occurrence of dry spray are doubling the length of the hose, placing the turbine unit in the coolest place that hose length allows, and incorporating a retarder of some kind. Butyl Cellosolve is my go-to retarder, though I've never used it in Advance. 

Your second picture showing orange peel is tough to remedy given the sprayer you're using and the lack of adjustments it has, (or doesn't). If you have an airless or conventional rig, I'm sure you could get a better looking finish, but not sure if that's an option. As @finishesbykevyn mentioned, make sure you're not too far from the surface, especially when using a turbine. I wouldn't try to dilute it anymore than you already have. You'll have to check your technique, consider using a different rig, or possibly add a retarder and get an extra length of hose. Doubling the length of the hose allows the air to cool substantially before reaching the gun, which helps a lot when trying to spray pigmented finishes with turbines.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

You can't expect to get a nice finish with that hvlp set up. It's just too small, sorry to say. It may have looked great in a video, but not in the real world. You will have to over thin your product to get a decent spray and that leads to super thin film builds. You need a rig that will spray a film build equivalent to your PDS, two coats.


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## tallcedar (Feb 7, 2021)

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions. I did notice the hose getting warm at points, but didn't realize that was part of the equation. I have no doubt that my technique is not perfect so I will try to improve in the consistency on that.

I tried another round of spraying today, this time trying to ensure a more even technique (really getting that 50% overlap) but making relatively fast passes over the painted surface. I also diluted the paint a bit further, this time to 20%. I think the results I got were smoother this time but still not perfect.

@finishesbykevyn, thanks for the suggestion. My instinct was to go to a smaller tip because I thought I had issues with atomization but given the points folks are making about paint drying to quickly I will give the 2.0 tip a try.

@MikeCalifornia yeah that makes sense and I'm starting to see that with my setup one of the few variables I can control is the viscosity of the material. I assume that with thinner film thickness I will not see the self-levelling properties of the product?


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