Floating of base coats (conventional solvent, or water-based)

• Sources of error:
  • The viscosity of the basecoat was incorrectly adjusted. In this type of damage, the basecoat is usually too thin.
  • The spraying technique is too slow. The speed over the object should be increased somewhat. A lot of paint does not help much here!
  • Nozzle size selected too large. Basecoats or paints should generally be applied according to the manufacturer’s instructions. This also includes the correct choice of nozzle size.
  • Basecoat applied too thickly. The result of too large a nozzle size or too slow a painting technique.
• Error prevention:
  • Adjust basecoat according to technical information.
  • Paint more evenly. Develop a flow when painting. Usually, you can feel if the speed and the material behavior match.
  • Check the nozzle size. Select the right tool for the material you use. Basecoat is usually not chased through a 1.7mm nozzle.
• Repair way:
  • Basecoat dries properly and then dry sand with P800 sandpaper on a block (coarser grit can leave unsightly sanding marks afterward).
  • With WB (Waterbase), make sure that the material has dried through to the base. Unlike conventional solvent base, the appearance on the surface is deceptive. It appears dry, in the base everything is soft.
  • In case of major paint defects, wash off the surface completely and reapply the paint. This solution is a huge „mess“! However, for larger surfaces, unfortunately, the easier. Water-based paint is difficult to sand and paint bumps will form if it is not fully dry.
  • Smaller runners can be remedied by partial washing off. Care must be taken to ensure that the solvent doesn’t touch the hole area to paint. Slow and careful is the way to go here. After drying the surface, sand again and continue with the painting process.

What happens in this process?

The material collects in spots and washes up.
This changes the surface structure and also color tone. In the case of metallic tones, the metallics float together and dark spots appear.