Spraying Waterborne Alkyd Paint
Thinning issues are problematic with some paints and some equipment. November 29, 2014
Question (WOODWEB Member) :
I just bought a FUJI Minimite four stage turbine and I am having trouble with spraying BM Advance. I have tried thinning up to 20% but I still have large particle splattering overspray. I have tried nozzle sizes from 1.3mm to 2.0mm. The viscosity is really high. Passing through the #4 (at 20% thinning) is just over one minute. I tried thinning to about 35-40% and it sprays perfectly. Is it ok to thin this much? Are there any other paths to try?
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor T:
I would call Ben Moore directly to ask. I'm not familiar enough with the product to give an informed opinion. Usually with products like Ben Moore you need to use floetrol for thinning. I sprayed a fair amount of Ben Moore satin impervo years back and if it's thinned with water only you will lose some of the sheen. I sprayed it mainly through a pressure pot and never had to go over 20% thinning with the right tips, air and fluid pressure. A turbine set up is a different animal and will require some fine adjustments to spray heavier materials. You may want to look into some other products to try like general finishes or target coatings. They are both geared towards spraying and should be easier to work with in a turbine set-up.
From Contributor W:
BM says Floetrol is not to be used with Advance. Don't know about 35-40% water thinning except that BM doesn't recommend more than 10%.
From the original questioner:
Thank you for your responses. I did actually talk with BM today and they were not helpful other than to say do not thin more than 5-10% and it will not work with an HVLP sprayer - not very helpful and frankly quite disappointing. They had no recommendations for their other products. They said thinning so much would change the consistency of the product and that it could change the properties like sheen and adhesion. I’m searching for another paint I guess. Is anyone familiar with "Old Fashioned" Milk Paint or General Finishes Milk Paint?
From contributor J:
Use oil-base in your turbine.
From contributor M:
Ben Moore products are meant to be brushed or rolled on which is why the viscosity is so high. You should be looking for products that are meant to be sprayed such as Chemcraft, ML Campbell, Valspar Wood, Becker, Target Coatings, Gemini, or any one of the other lacquer manufacturers.
From contributor A:
I think Contributor M is right. That paint is to be brushed or rolled. I wouldn't try to use a turbine HVLP to spray material that thick. I don't care much for turbine sprayer they are too weak and too slow. If you like using your turbine and want to stay with waterborne try Target Coating - you can order it over the phone and they can tint to any BM color. They can also do SW but you need to check with them first if they can do the color you want.
From the original questioner:
OK. So I went ahead and got some GF Milk Paint. It is awesome. I added about 10% distilled water and it sprayed perfectly. The instructions actually say you can add up to 10-20% water but many of you have warned against adding too much water so I left it at 10%. Anyway, I am sold. This stuff works great. It seems a little thick but not sticky like the BM Advance. The consistency just seems better. I tried sanding some dust nibs a bit this morning and I was happy to see that it sanded more chalky than sticky. The sheen is a little dull (it says satin which is probably right) but it looks great. I think it will hide things (mistakes) well.
