As the weather gets hotter here in Arizona we need to adjust some things so we can continue to paint as we do in the more comfortable weather. BASF offers a wide variety of products to allow your paint to react the same under severe temperature variables.

Start by choosing the right hardeners and reducers for your temperature and size of the job. The hardener controls the cure only, we tend to want to make the paint go as fast as we can but sometimes faster is slower. This means going with faster products makes us slow down with the gun and we put on allot more material when we do this, that makes the paint dry slower. Choose the hardener according to the job size, temp and when we will buff and deliver the car. If the job is small and being delivered the next day then choose a faster hardener but if it a 3 panel or more job and it will not be delivered for a few days then choose a slower hardener in the warmer weather. This will allow the material to do the work and it will also be easier to buff several days later.

Reducer is also a big factor, choosing the right reducer for the job can make or break a paint job. Reducer controls the flow and flash of a paint job only; do not change hardener to control flow. Use the slowest reducer you can for the job without risking runs, allows the reducer to do the work instead of fighting it by slowing down with the spray gun. Always try to keep you reducer selection one step slower than the hardener, this will help keep the flash open a little longer and prevent solvent pop. Do not over reduce, instead try to go one step slower reducer and this will give you the spray ability of over reducing.

The tip and needle of the spray gun will also be a big factor, you may need to change your tip and needle from winter to summer just to spray the same. A smaller tip and needle will atomize the paint more; in the winter when the material is thicker that is what you want. In the summer time your material will get thinner in viscosity and sometimes those smaller tip and needles will over atomize your paint. Choose a larger tip and needle in the summer and your paint will go down a lot wetter.

Some good hardener and reducer combinations:

Using DH 42 try to stay with UR50 or as slow as UR60/70 mix

Using DH46 try to stay with UR60/70 mix or slower

Tip and needle suggestions:

In the winter use a 1.3 or 1.4 tip and needle

In the summer try a 1.5 or a 1.6 tip and needle