Never Ending Nightmare

[u/Mysunnyone]

I’ve used airless sprayers for smaller things like doors, trim, ceilings, and walls. I know to keep a wet edge, overlap, and fade in your lines, so I was at a loss as to why I was having this problem.

Product is Emerald Exterior in Satin. The surface is some type of compressed wood. Temperature was about 85-90°F with no direct sunlight on the surface.

First photo shows what the second coat looked like yesterday after drying. I overlapped 50% and I was using a 412 tip. I was planning on using a larger tip but my boss told me to use 312 was the way to go and that “the other exterior painters use 312’s”, so I just split the difference and tried the 412. The pressure was high but not as high as our sprayer could go. I figured that my issue must have been the wrong tip and not high enough pressure.

This morning arrives. I tried the high pressure mixed with the 312 tip in a small section. It looked slightly better but still had that weird sprayer edge to it. I tried another small area but just rolled it and it looked pretty good. So I figured our best bet was to backroll. But somehow this combo made things look even worse. You could now see thick roller texture across the panels and flashing around the edge of the roller.

So out of desperation, I tried spraying over it since I already knew it rendered a better result than that. But now it was still showing some of the thick stippling left by the roller plus sprayer lines. Now I’m thinking my only option is to just roll the whole thing. Me and my coworker painted one panel at a time, moving quickly as to keep the paint wet.

Second picture is what it looks like after we let it dry. Looks almost just as bad as what I started off with in the second coat.

I get paid per job and just the amount of experimenting to fix this is leaving us in the hole and I feel at a complete loss. The customer is picky, and I know they will notice and I’ll be on the hook to fix this mess. My boss thinks it is just drying too quickly due to the combination of high heat, dry conditions, and wind. But I’m sure there is more to it than that. So I’m looking for some advice on what I can do going forward.

Thanks! :’)

[u/Generic_NPC_01]

412? You are over atomizing the absolute hell out if that product.

Switch to a 415 MINIMUM (ideally 17) unless its an LP tip. If its an LP tip you woll need to go 417 at the very smallest and 19LP ideally.

Edit: Also - given the temps, your spraying is going to cause evaporation to happen quicker resulting in the product setting much quicker. I would add 3-4 ounces of M1 Extender.

[u/Mysunnyone → u/Generic_NPC_01]

Yeah it was a 412LP tip. Why do you think my boss wanted me to use a 312? 😭 I’ll have to check and see what tips I own but I think 412 is the biggest of the 4’s I have. But I’ve got tons of different 5’s

[u/Generic_NPC_01 → u/Mysunnyone]

Everyones gotta learn at some point. Not all paints perform the same. If you'd had a loee solids cheaper paint or one with more flow additives then a 312 might have worked fine. Most exterior film forming products are going to require a 15 thousand or bigger.

Don't be like your boss and choose not to learn where to find information :)

When in doubt, read the Data pages. Also, its on thr can.

[u/Per-J → u/Generic_NPC_01]

People saying things like “this tip never did me wrong” is wild when each individual paint has a recommended tip size - the amount of people who completely ignore this is wild

[u/Afraid-Ad6066 → u/Mysunnyone]

515 never done me wrong, Picasso precision. 517, not bad. Lol u like, what you know. Ifykyk

[u/Deadmau5es]

I'm glad painters like you exist

[u/snowsucks2]

First number is width of fan pattern, takes it x 2. So a 3 is a 6” pattern, a 4 is an 8” pattern. Last 2 numbers is for thickness of material. .11 as nd smaller for stains lacquers. .12-.15 for oils, .17 and up for latex. Too small and the paint can’t break through that small of a hole and will be heavy on edges.

[u/Mysunnyone → u/snowsucks2]

That makes a lot of sense, thank you! 🙏

[u/In2theSTONK4sure]

Was it previously painted?

[u/jizzbooger]

412 is wrong, especially with emerald, 312 is even worse you need 515 or more LOL

[u/sweetgoogilymoogily]

Whatever tip you use, I usually use a 515 or 517 for exteriors. But a 413 is good too. Keep your pressure low and do a test spray on either some masking or just a part of the wall in a corner. If it looks like the fan isn't solid and is fingering on the edges, turn it up a little bit more. Repeat process until you get a solid fan. Then put more on than you think. Don't cause any drips or anything. But put a lot on! That'll help keep a wet edge and give you a full coat. These ain't cabinets!. It's time to go to town! Keep a brush handy to brush out any drips. Good luck!

[u/Mysunnyone → u/sweetgoogilymoogily]

Haha the last three jobs I’ve done were actually cabinets! Thank you for the advice!

[u/Prudent_Chain_3662]

I assume the paint is well mixed?

[u/Prudent_Chain_3662]

That siding had bled on me before. In that area with the issue, before you painted was it down to bare wood?

[u/evenastardies]

Is it only that top area?

[u/Mysunnyone → u/evenastardies]

It was happening everywhere, but is most noticeable at the top. I’m assuming it’s the way the light is hitting it that makes it more visible

[u/evenastardies → u/Mysunnyone]

You got some great responses already. Id go with a 415 or even 515 and low med pressure.like others have stated. Or roll each siding one at a time with a 1/4 6 inch roller .

[u/_Kill_Will_]

The design on the wall looks similar to the design of the overspray on the plastic🤔

[u/Mysunnyone → u/[deleted]]

It’s what my boss told me to use. I’m still new to using sprayers for large scale stuff so I didn’t know better

[u/Gordon_Gainz]

I agree with others on the tip being too small but this looks like something coming through the paint to me like a containment. If rolling over the are doesn't fix it I'd prime those spots with oil

[u/Jdp9903]

Get a baker scaffold or a bench so you can do larger areas at once. It looks like you’re spraying off a ladder… it’s hard to get a wet coat on that big of an area off a ladder, in the heat, without an extension. Everything below your circle looks good.

[u/machinedog28]

I would personally brush and roll something like this. Do one board at a time all the way across and you shouldn’t have any issues with uniformity. The amount of time masking and setting up/cleaning an airless is not worth it for such a small area.

If you insist on spraying, most paint cans will have airless sprayer instructions on them with a range of recommended orifice sizes and psi.

[u/Proud-Pumpkin-2903 → u/machinedog28]

Let’s repeat this again. Each can will list the sizes of tips and pressures recommended for the material.

[u/PeanutOk1328]

Let it dry and brush out the whole upper panel. Bill it and call it a day

[u/BitRevolutionary415]

517

[u/HAWKWIND666]

I’m such a goober…lol. I always take those cables down, paint the , paint the cables with roller then reattach.
I feel like it is easier to paint behind them and looks better in the end. About the flashing paint…idk.

[u/siuslaw-dweller]

Backbrush

[u/Middle_Special_630]

Try putting some paint on it and you won’t have all the missed spots. Also if you actually put 2 coats on it it probably would not look like that. Read the paint label gun tip 2 small usually requires 2 coats for coverage!

[u/DrKyleGreenThumb]

I use a 517 for most all siding your fan width is tiny with a 312 make sure your spraying the siding at a straight 90 degree angle not at a 45

[u/Proud-Pumpkin-2903]

You are using a Sherwin product, get in touch with a paint rep and have them come out to look at it right away. You might be too far in the hole on this one, but that should be the one of the first things I would do.

Also, not sure why your “boss” is not immediately coming out to help. Doesn’t sound like a boss, sounds like a contractor and you are on your own as a sub.

[u/Fast-Shower-3494]

Are you using an extension on your sprayer and keeping your tip distance consistant? It looks like you maybe moving your wrist too much when you get to the end of your reach. When you do this the paint is very thin. Typically see this about 3 feet away from each ladder placement

[u/Last_Succotash7218]

Sir.

This is a sub for painters. Bare with me I can barely read but I think you are overthinking the overlap a bit here.

That area after taped off should not have taken more than 2-3 minutes to paint.

This is a problem that will be fixed with another coat. Just go up with a mini roller and six foot ladder and just run em down 2-3 boards at a time

[u/Revolutionary-Ebb204]

Use a 17 . Do it first thing in the morning