I've a 3hp comp with pressure reg and oiler from there the airline is connected I then have another water trap fitted mid way and at the inlet to my paint gun I have another water trap.. I always drain my comp down on finishing work for the day and drain the various filters when need be, but I still get water droplets exiting and hitting my paint.. Any advice please on where I'm going wrong.. Obv I understand there's more moisture in the ai at this time of year but it's bloody annoying .. X
Maybe the water traps are only knocking out the bulk of the water, enough to reduce the risk of water hammer or a hydraulic lock, but for spraying paint you might need a proper dryer using silica cell or other methods?
Should have been "gel" ! A Cartridge full of that, the air passes through and it absorbs residual moisture, I'm no painter but have used industrial compressed air driers using various techniques to make air bone dry. Try googling dessicant drier or similar, plenty of diy types around
Total amateur but if you're in an enclosed environment how about running a dehumidifier or 2 to dry the air pre spraying?
It could be your gun is cold, or in some cases too warm, the actual gun could be getting cold due to air passing through it which causes it to pass out moisture and condensation that is inside it to mix in with the spray. I have had this on occasion in very cold weather. The cold air from the compressor could be causing the moisture to build up in the gun. Does the gun body feel very cold (or hot) to the touch and what sort of gun is it. If it is a siphon gun and all metal then this may be one cause, if it is a gravity gun and has a plastic paint cup then it is less likely, but as most guns are alloy or in some cases Zamak or Mazak, which is cast pot metal. Zamak and Mazak guns are the worst for causing condensation within the gun. I have a Mazak cast spray gun and whilst brilliant for spraying I can't use it in cold weather as it gets full of condensation. A post above refers to the crystal water trap which goes at the base of the gun. These traps contain crystals which indicate the presence of water or moisture and in my case they turn blue when water builds up from the compressor line, a good indication that you are getting water into the line. I take it you are just using a water trap in the line before the gun? Run the compressor and hold you finger over the end of the air line, if you are getting lots of water coming out then condensation could be your issue in the line and it may be passing into the gun, probably due to conditions not being quite right for spraying. As the compressor heats up you tend to find water in the line often increases due to condensation. Other things to consider are is the item your spraying too cold or too warm causing condensation to appear. If you get water trapped in the paint that can cause the paint to fail down the line. Severely cold weather can cause micro blistering when water trapped in the paint layers freezes and then expands causing the paint to bubble. I had it happen once some time back and it means a complete repaint. If you can't track down the problem then I would suggest stopping painting until you do. Unless you have full control over your environment and equipment as per a proper professional paint booth etc. then you are at the mercy of outlying factors. I hope this helps but without seeing what is actually happening it's hard to give full feedback and in my case, if I was spraying, I would go through all the things one by one that could be a problem. Sometimes it can even be traced to wrong technique if you are applying too much paint in cold weather and not allowing enough lay up time.
