LPH-400 settings, and PPS advice
 

First question .. I'd be happy to have users of the Iwata LPH-400 with 1.4mm tip offer up some of their initial gun settings for base and clear. If it matters base will be Verdoro Green Motobase Automotive Art, and clear will be SPI Universal.


Next question ... for those of you that have used both the original PPS system and PPS 2.0 ... which do you prefer.

For those of you using any kind of liner system ... if you are shooting something that will use more than one cup for a coat (I'm not sure if that happens), do you go ahead and setup the second filled cup so you just have to pop it on, or do you pull off the lid and refill the first one?

In the past I've been just refilling the first cup and liner, but this was when I was painting things like SS on a tractor.

And ...... should I pull the strainer out of the lid when shooting metallic? When should the lid strainer be used?

The guys with these guys won't paint at the same speed you do, so the same settings won't apply - you just need to get a feel for it.
Youtube has lots of good videos on how to get it close.
Probably best to do practice on some test panels until you get a feel for it rather than starting rogue shooting out out of a new gun.

With that fancy gun and paint if it doesn't turn out right you will have isolated the problem!!!

I'm just looking for a staring point. 1 turn out, 8 turns out, that sort of thing. Lots of amateurs use this gun too and have probably used the exact same products. Didn't want to spend too much time dialing it in with 500/gal paint :)

Never use the strainer. Remove it and toss it in the trash. I use 2.5 turns out on the fluid, fan turned in roughly 1/2 turn.

Don

On my guns I usually do full fluid flow. So I back the adjuster all the way out, pull the trigger and turn the adjuster back in until you can feel it applying pressure to the trigger.

I try and keep the fan pattern about 8" wide, maybe a tad more.

For pressure I find that 25psi on base coat works well, and 30-35psi on clear seems to lay down well. I will say, these higher end guns can lay down a lot of paint very quickly.

I'm by no means an expert though, so play around with it and get a feel for what you like.

I dont use the pps system, but if I'm painting an entire car I'll usually mix up 2 full mixing cups worth of paint. I've found that I can almost lay down 1 coat on the side of an F-body with one 24oz cup, not including the roof or bumpers. That said, be careful pre mixing things. If you run into problems, that pre mixed paint might be a waste if you cant fix thre issue rather quickly.

I use the Chinese take off of the PPS system….50 liners 50 lids / with built in strainer..for 75.00. If I need to add more paint …I take the lid off and add more product ,put cover back on and go. Iam a cheap Bastid…when it comes to cups. For a starting point….Back the fluid screw out until you have a full trigger….then I give it one full turn in. Same with the fan….not full fan …but a tad less. A 1.4 tip is going to put a lot of material out….so be careful. I run a 1.3 tip on a Sata 5000 RP @ 30 psi

A 1.4 Iwata puts out less material than a 1.3 Sata 5000 by a wide margin. The 5000 is like spraying with a fire hose imho. Experienced users only imho…

Don

What’s your gun of choice Don ?

I have an Iwata LPH400 and a Sata 5500 RP. I had a Sata 5000 RP but I wasn’t man enough for that gun. I just don’t move fast enough for that gun. The 5500 with a 1.3 is a good clear gun for all overs.

Keep in mind that I only paint a couple of cars per year.

On one of the forums a guy measured a Sata RP 5000 1.3 nozzle and concluded it was close to a 1.5.

Don

I was told by the Paint rep…when I got the Sata 5000…. That it likes no more than 29 lbs on the Gun guage.
Any more than that….it pours the material on. It’s a pretty stingy gun on using product….for me anyways.

What is the adjustment on the bottom of an LPH400? It appears to throttle air to the whole gun?

I run it wide open.

Don

What air pressure do you guys typically use for spraying epoxy primer? I was doing my doors today and it didn't seem to atomize well until I got pressure up to around 35 psi at the inlet ... was using a Devilbise FLG-3 with a 1.8 tip.

I use my GTI pro lite for primer with 1.3 tip. Thats for epoxy.
I run it 2 bar usually.
I have a Sata 4000 digital I use for base with a 1.3 tip, and run it at 2.1 bar. Usually keeping 7 inches away.
I use my DV-1 Digital for clear. It sprays Glass IMHO.
It has what equates to a 1.4, and you MUST keep moving.
One important point that ONLY experience can teach you is the speed of the activator. This is so subject to temp and humidity that it can require trials. I bought 2 cheap Egg timers to ENSURE I don't rush the second and third coats of anything.
I use the De-kups. System and like it a lot.

I have found my LPH400 1.4 sprays SPI epoxy very nicely. Around 28 psi or so.

Don

Just used it at 28 psi to paint the trunk lid, sprayed quite a bit nicer than my FLG-3 with a 1.8. You think that's mostly because of the gun, or the 1.4 ?

I ran some reducer through the gun to clean it, with I pulled it apart I was surprised by two things ... it was very clean just from running the reducer through it, and it had no seals in the business end that I could see. Machined well enough not to need them?

SPI recommends their EP shot with a 1.4-1.5 tip, so that big ole 1.8 certainly didn't help atomize.

Johnny as mentioned a 1.8 tip is way too large for SPI epoxy primer. Use that 1.8 with primer surfacers if you go that route. SPI epoxy doesn’t lay out too nice with that large of a tip. It tends to get a weird fisheye type surface if hosed on. Not too worry though as you can sand that out and another coat will cover it.

Yes no seals, just well machined surfaces.

Don

I think a 1.4 is perfect for SPI Epoxy. I use a 1.3 (RP) in my SATA and like that over anything bigger, but that seems typical with SATA for me. Once you dial in your settings with the new gun you’ll love it with the 1.4.

Just finished a cowl and windshield frame/channel a half hour ago and used my spot gun (SRiPro w/1.0 HE or TS or whatever they call their version of RP). I think the 1.0 in that little mini-gun equates to something in the 1.4 range in a full-size. It shot a nice wet coat with no troubles.

Really interested to hear your impressions on your new gun once you get things dialed in.