Tips

Troubleshooting Your
Plural-Component Spray Equipment
By Heather Bayne, SSPC

T
his article describes problems commonly associ-
ated with plural-component spray equipment
and provides tips to help solve these problems.
As will be seen, there is some overlap in problems, their caus-
es, and their effects. To effectively troubleshoot equipment
problems, the plural-component spray applicator must have
formal training on the equipment, the operating manual on
hand, the contact information for the equipment manufac-
turers technical representative, and excellent lines of com-
munication with all personnel on the job-site.
System Runs Erratically: Lack of material can cause the
system to run erratically. Erratic behavior of the system
includes but is not limited to material flowing while the feed
pump is cycling with the drain valve open; the spray pres-
sure dropping; or the pump operating while the catalyst pres-
sure is dropping on the downstroke. If any of the above prob- Plural-component equipment set-up
lems occur, check your material supply, and if it is low, Courtesy of WIWA

replenish the pump.
If there is sufficient material in the pump but the system
runs erratically anyway while applying a protective coating
(e.g., the equipment speeds up), stop spraying and check for
air pockets in the fluid lines, empty and clean the supply con-
tainers, and check for a worn or dirty piston valve. If the pis-
ton valve is worn, replace it. If the piston valve is dirty, clean
it.
Pressure Gauge Readings Unbalanced: If the pressure
gauge readings are not balancing (i.e., reading the same
amount of output pressure in psi), check for an obstruction
or restriction in the fluid lines and check the temperature of
the material. When the temperature of the coating increases
beyond the coating manufacturers maximum limit, the pres-
sure gauge may fluctuate. To prevent fluctuation of the
gauge, check the fluid lines, filters, and heaters prior to appli-
cation to be sure that they are working properly.
Abnormal Spray Patterns: Abnormal spray patterns
include tails or fingers, very heavy coating thickness in the
center of the spray pattern, or a distorted, non-uniform pat-
tern. Check that there is adequate paint flow, proper atom-
ization of the coating, and adequate pump pressure. A heavy-
centered spray pattern is a sign that the nozzle tip is worn
and that the paint is not atomizing at the airless sprayer.
A spray pattern changing in size can be attributed to a pul-
sating paint flow, insufficient power to the pump, a leak in
tubing/hose, a coating that is too viscous, or a pump that is
inadequate in size.
Consult your operators manual or your equipment manu-
facturer to correct the spray pattern.
Machine Is Off-Ratio: Plural-component equipment pro-
portions individual components according to the manufac-
turers recommendations and circulates the unmixed, pro-
portioned material to the manifold to be mixed for applica-
tion. It is important to monitor the mix ratio gauge located on
the control panel about every 10 minutes during coating
application. If the mix ratio varies, the coating will not apply
or cure properly. Possible indications of an off-ratio machine
are color changes in the coating and prolonged or shortened
pot-life and cure. If the equipment becomes off-ratio, shut
down the equipment, and reset the ratio.
It is important to become thoroughly familiar with the
operating manuals for plural-component spray equipment.
Before start-up, perform a quality check on the equipment to
assure that it is in good operating condition. Once application
has begun, communicate with your co-workers on the job-
site. If a problem arises, stop application and conduct a trou-
bleshooting assessment to fix the problem. When problems
persist after troubleshooting, contact the equipment and
coatings service technicians as soon as possible.

68 JPCL February 2007 www.paintsquare.com