Orange peel questions/technique questions

I have never used epoxy primer before and I have limited paint experience so tomorrow will be an experiment. Is orange peel typically an air pressure issue or mixture issue or both? What adjustments should be made when I encounter it? What do I start with? What is the sequence? Thanks

Gun is Devilbiss FinishLine 3 HVLP. Paint is DP90LF

i'm not a pro painter but have some exp.i found o/p usually because to much product while spraying. gun adjustments and trial and error.start with gun manufacters air pressures and settings.also primer has to be sanded anyway. heavy primer fills imperfections.i use a section of a old hood to set adjustments on gun before going to car.

Googled this

Paint film having an uneven texture that resembles the skin of an orange.
CAUSE
1. Under reduction and/or air pressure too low.
2. Thinner/reducer evaporates too fast for spray conditions.
3. Excessive film thickness or piling on of heavy wet coats.
4. Improper spray gun set-up.
5. Improper painting technique.

Make sure that you reduce the primer as the directions say. Air pressure isn't that critical with primer. I prefer a lower air pressure to keep overspray down. Your going to sand it anyway so I wouldn't be to concerned with orange peel.

Why are you worried about orange peel in primer?

You're going to have to scuff epoxy to get filler primer to "bite" properly followed by numerous coats and block sanding of the filler primer so it really doesn't matter?!

Orange peel is designed into the paint. Factory paint has orange peel in it so without it it would be almost impossible to do a paint repair and make it match. The only way minimize the orange peel is to put your last coat on heavy but you risk runs. I don't worry about orange peel I always plan on wet sanding and buffing to get the orange peel out and any other imperfections

I just noticed that you said primer who cares about it in the primer. Primer is kind of like a pre top coat test. FYI I tried to use the FL3 gun when I painted my last car and ended up switching back to my silver with purple Harbor freight gun I couldn't get the FL3 gun to shoot worth a crap. I use this one with very good results it shoots alot better that the FL3 in my opinion. http://www.harborfreight.com/professiona..._campaign=4710a

Good post I always wonder what cause orange peel.

For me, orange peel has become a useful tool in helping to know how much to wetsand before buffing. Virtually all new cars have it on their finish coats and they have for some time.

I don't paint very well at all but I know how to wet sand, use a razor blade to remove runs and I have a guy that can buff to make the car look like glass and he only charges me $100. In my opinion it's wet sanding and buffing that makes a home paint job look like a pro paint job. http://www.moparmax.com/features/featurecar/v_5-resurrection-1.html

Just a tip. make sure the metal you apply the epoxy primer to is at least 70 deg.

any time I have had problems with epoxy primer it has been low temp. related.

This time of year a heated paint area is a must.

If I can add a tip also..... make sure your air is warm also. I just learned this after realizing that I paint better in the summer rather than the winter even though my garage is 78 degrees in the winter while painting. my compressor sits outside and the air is cold when it hits the gun and the paint doesn't want to lay down as well. When I paint my Roadrunner I will heat/warm the air and see if I can duplicate my summer paint work. I'm not saying that the guys on Moparts are not capable of helping with paint problems but this is a forum full of guys that paint for a living and are more than willing to help and it's how I learned. http://www.autobody101.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=5