How to Prevent Overspray When Painting Cars

Minimizing overspray is an important skill to develop in the paint booth. Not only does overspray make a mess and clog up your filters, but it also wastes precious paint. In a day and age when most shops are trying to carefully track every penny, you want to make sure as much of the paint you purchase is applied to the car as possible. 

Three Key Tips to Avoid Overspray

If you are having problems with overspray, addressing the issue as soon as possible is in your best interest. It might take a bit of trial and error to get to the root of the problem and make meaningful progress, but the three tips below are a great place to start. 

• Adjust Atomization – Too much atomization is sure to lead to significant levels of overspray. When the paint is over-atomized, it is going to be dispersed aggressively and much of it will miss the target. Spending a bit of time testing early in the process will allow you to dial in the atomization correctly so you can get enough to spread the paint out onto the surface without so much that it goes everywhere. 
• Pick the Right Nozzle – Using the right tip for the paint in question is another element of the equation. Getting the right spray shape is going to allow you to keep as much paint as possible on the car, off of surrounding surfaces, and out of the filters. While you’ll probably develop an affinity for specific nozzles, it’s important to consider changing from time to time when doing a smaller or larger project than normal. 
• Improve Technique – The important role of the painter can’t be overlooked in this matter. Employing good fundamentals like keeping the gun a consistent distance from the target and maintaining the right tip angle will help to cut down on overspray significantly. While it will help to brush up on suggested guidelines for certain paints and equipment, there is simply no substitute for experience and practice when seeking great results. 

3M Product Feature

Good equipment makes it much easier to get your overspray problems under control. Consider this 3M Accuspray Spray Gun Kit as a reliable and versatile partner in the paint booth.  

Other Considerations When Spray Painting Cars

Overspray is not the only issue to confront when painting vehicles. If the results you’ve been getting are falling short of expectations, look to the following areas for potential improvement:

• Air Quality – Even minor amounts of dirt and debris in the air can significantly harm the quality of your paint jobs. You want your finished product to be as smooth as glass, but that isn’t going to happen when dust particles are floating around and land on the surface before it’s dry. Investing in the equipment and space needed to create a suitable spray booth is worth it in the long run. 
• Temperature Control – Like with air quality, managing the temperature range in your paint booth is another step that will lead to improved results. Spaces that are too cold – such as an uninsulated garage in the winter months – will lead paint to get thick and dry times will become much too slow. Likewise, hot conditions will dry out paint prematurely and the finished product will be disappointing. 
• Surface Preparation – If not enough time has been spent on neatly preparing the surface of the vehicle to accept a new paint job, you’ll again run into issues. Depending on the condition of the vehicle in question, far more time is likely to be needed on prep work than to do the painting itself. 

Ordering your spray guns and other paint application products from JAM Industrial Supply will ensure you have access to quality products at fair prices. Beyond our excellent selection of 3M products, we also stand apart from the competition thanks to outstanding customer service. Many of our customers have been with us for years and we look forward to building a lasting relationship with you and your business. Thank you for considering JAM Industrial Supply!