Help on Spraying BM Advance/Regal Select

[Packard]

I shoot BM Advance almost exclusively.

Any success I have, I attribute to my purchasing a Ford cup to guarantee repeatable viscosity. I think I paid about $4.00 for one in molded plastic. If you don’t have a Ford cup, get one.

I have not shot anything in a while, I think I had a 90 second drip with the cup, but don’t hold me to that.

White and light colors shoot better than black and dark colors. The light colors also dry way harder.

I have a Turbine Products stage 4 sprayer with one of their standard guns and needles. I paid about $60.00 for the gun 10 years ago. I see they are now $190.00. That might include import duty.

In any case, the key is 100% uniform viscosity from batch to batch. Always filter the paint into the cup.

Addendum: I see that Eastwood sells the resin Ford cup for $6.00. Eastwood is a really good vendor. But I think I got my cup from Amazon along with the filter cones. If you wash the cup after each use it will last almost indefinitely. The filters are one-time use only. But cheap enough not to be a concern.

I do remember spending a couple of hours making test pieces until I got the dilution right. A clock with a second hand will be extremely helpful while using the Ford cup.

I see that this guy uses his IPhone as a timer. Almost guaranteed to get covered with paint by the time you are done. Not my recommendation.

 

[escspoof]

Appreciate it! My kit came with a #4 Ford Cup actually..

Will measure viscosity with 10% water + 5% floetrol as well as with just 20% water..

When I was trying to do this with the ford cup last time I was aiming for ~45 seconds and got a batch to 48 seconds. That batch came out with orange peel..

 

[Packard]

Appreciate it! My kit came with a #4 Ford Cup actually..

Will measure viscosity with 10% water + 5% floetrol as well as with just 20% water..

When I was trying to do this with the ford cup last time I was aiming for ~45 seconds and got a batch to 48 seconds. That batch came out with orange peel..

There was no science to what I did. I simply kept adding a bit of water until I got a good finish. Then I timed the Ford cup. Strictly trial and error. I’ve been told my dilution was way off (90 seconds), but that was what worked for me.

And like I said, white glossy Advance sprayed out nicer and dried harder than the dark colors.

I also brushed the white glossy advance to paint my baseboard radiators. It was the best finish I have found for those. Good adhesion and a very hard finish.

 

[Steve1]

I went through this a little while back.
I ran out of workpieces before I got the process figured out, but I will give you what I have figured out.
I have 5 stage Fuji.

-Some paints spray better with a turbine HVLP than others. Advance sprays better than Regal select.
-If you are looking at Fuji literature, beware that some of the recommended viscosities are absurdly low. My gun manual says 20-30 seconds for latex, 20-25 seconds for enamel. Quick Reference Guide says 31-60 seconds with 1.8mm tip. Then I post here with my difficulties and am getting suggestions of 90 to 120 seconds. Huh ????
I got better results with Advance thinned 10% - 12% to 120 to 125 seconds. Still not "good" but I was moving in the right direction.
Mostly I used 1.8mm tip. I also tried 2.2mm tip. However I did not have enough tests with 2.2mm tip to conclude on an opinion on which is better.
-I think a lot of the difference between those that get great results and you and me that struggle is technique of spraying. You (and me) possibly need to spray it wetter.

 

[Packard]

[…]You (and me) possibly need to spray it wetter.

I avoid painting vertical surfaces. I will paint in two stages to avoid the vertical spraying. With horizontal surfaces, I can lay down a coat that is totally “wet”. Advance is a very slow drying paint—normally listed as a disadvantage. But for laying down a good wet finish on horizontal surfaces, the slow drying paint means it has plenty of time to self-level.

On the other hand, vertical surfaces are a headache for drips and runs. When I am brushing Advance on installed cabinet re-finishing projects, I will brush out the Advance to near dry brush technique, with no effort tor full coverage on the first coat. The same application method on the second coat generally gets me full coverage. But any effort to get full coverage with each coat inevitably results in runs or drips.

In any case, the “chicken” way to paint Advance (which I endorse) is to paint the entire project only spraying on horizontal surfaces. That usually means that cabient boxes require 4 sessions to complete. Time consuming, but with excellent results. I always smile at the end.