The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Using a "High Volume Low Pressure" spray gun

I'm using a Husky HVLP spray gun. The gun calls for no higher than 40 PSI. I tried 40 PSI and got a finish that is best described as sand paper. Should I use 30 or 35 PSI? Do I have to sand all of the "base coat" off before I start again? Your suggestions would be appreciated. It has been a long time since I have tried to paint.

That's a great reference.
Personally I like the trigger stop wide open until all the other adjustments are made. Then adjust it in if it is shooting too wet.
Also make sure your mixture is correct. After decades of using a big glass measuring cup, I switched to mixing cups with all the ratio scales. Takes all the math away.

Manufacturers have a 'psi at the cap with recommended nozzle size' on the can label. Or somewhere in the 'how to use our product' literature. Also a good starting point.

I tool one of the EPA mandated spray gun classes put on by SATA a few years back. In many cases the MFR recommended pressure settings are less about optimal performance and more about meeting a federal regulation. You may find bumping the pressure slightly beyond what is recommended will give a smoother finish to what may appear as a slight orange peel. I'd also say this would not apply as a fix to your sandpaper finish, first guess would be that your fluid tip is not tight enough to the housing or the seal needs replacing..

Thank You all for your comments. I especially appreciate Robert's information and am planning on going forward with those specs.

Tighten up that fluid tip first, see if that gets rid of the sandpaper texture. Then fine tune your settings.

Are you matching the tip size to the paint data sheet?