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Brand new to the business! I bought a Powerliner 1800 with an sc-6 tip and I need help. I’m getting a poor spray pattern(inconsistent widths). Any suggestions and/or tips? What tips perform the best for re-striping 4″ lines?
Hello Summit
Try this…crank the pressure all the way up…then maybe back off just a quarter turn.
Then spray it.
If that works…you’re done. If not…
Next…thin…that…paint. You can add…I think about 20%. I think that’s too much .
(It equals (1) gallon to a five gallon bucket…!)
But…here’s the thought.
If your pump has to pump something as thin as water…it’ll say…”Hey this is easy…I can “keep up…!”
BUT…if your pump then has to pump “pudding”…it’ll say…”Hey…this is hard to pump…I can hardly keep up…!”
So…somewhere…in between those two “thicknesses” …it’s becoming harder to pump.
So…the line gets thin = 3 1/2″ wide…but when the pump cycles…it then moves to a nice 4 1/2″ wide line.
So again…here’s the first thing that comes to my mind…increase the pressure to the pump…turn it all the way up.
Again…if that works…then back it off one quarter of a turn…if it’s still not “Hour Glassing”…cool…turn it back another quarter turn…until it does “Hour Glass”…then turn it back UP the quarter turn.
That said…(back to thinning)…you can also add one cup or two cups…= a splash of water to the paint in question…(if it’s water based paint…!) Stir it in. Cycle it too. THEN…spray it again. If it’s a tiny bit thinner…it’ll “break up” more easily and spray consistently. This is another way of also saying…Your pump will now say…”Hey…this is a little easier to pump…! I can keep up.”
And…last…let me know a couple of things…
1) What type paint is it. Why? This occurred with another person. It’s not uncommon. But he changed MFG’s…and the problem went away.
2) What size tip are you using? Why? Because if it’s a .017 orifice…it just may be harder to pump that mixture of paint through this tiny orifice. (This is probably not the problem. But…I still want to keep track.)
Bottom line…
Crank up the pressure. Tell your pump…”C’mon friend…work a little harder.”
Here’s another note…some stripers have their engine also “wide open”. (As well as having the pump cranked up all the way = wide open.) Obviously this will allow the pump to work to it’s fullest too.
Me…? I back my engine and pump off a small amount. That’s just me. It all still works fine.
2) Add a small amount of water…(…if it’s water based paint…)…to the paint. Then…cycle it = mix it in good…and cycle it…= get that new paint thickness running through the machine and lines too. Then…try it again.
Last…don’t be surprised if it’s a mixture of these (2) ideas…= turn the pump up a little…and add a small amount of water…(to water based paint)…once in a while.
Your pump has plenty of power.
Let me know how this works out.
Keep in touch.
Dan
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