Mike Marlow wrote:

It will never lay
down flat because of those droplets at the base of the film. It will
flow
some which is what gives the orange peel effect, but it will always
present
a bridging of the droplets, thus the orange peel.

OK, now that makes sense. With that explanation, I won't forget. I'm
not new to spraying, but I am new to problems solving with solvent
based spraying. Until posting my questions here, all I have been able
to get is a shrug of the shoulders and "sometimes that just happens,
man."

I can ususally lay down the solvent based coatings correctly, but upon
reflection I am remembering that on any job of any size that went
really well I had someone else set up the gun/finish.

As for water based spraying (meaning latex paint) I spray away with my
airless with wild abandon. The paint brand, type, of use of paint...
none of it matters I have been doing that so long. And to me, spraying
latex is harder than spraying oil; but I have painted so many houses,
trims, doors, walls, etc. and whole buildings it doesn't take much
attention.

But as I am now appreciating more and more though, the key to good oil
solvent spraying is the setup, not the delivery. Today's latex paints
are so forgiving and work so well it is a snap to use them. It seems
on the solvent base materials there are a lot more variables to really
turn out good work.

As always, thanks.

Robert