How to more consistent?
1) Keep a log book on your spraying.
Record temperature, humidity, finish type, solvents used, how much solvent, tip size, and air pressures. etc.
With time and experience, can use log book to know best setting for current conditions on next spray session.
2) Check your equipment settings.
Golf ball like dimples is also called orange peel. Orange peel is often result of poor atomization, which is a usually a gun setup issue. If solvent is evaporating too fast with large pattern, you get dry spray on edges of pattern. Dry spray coupled with poor atomization, and laying down a heavy film to compensate is #1 cause of orange peel IME.
Here in dry sunny Arizona, it is nearly impossible to 100% stop orange peel in summer time, unless I spray early morning, before sun comes up.
3) Ambient weather conditions and project surface temperature have huge impact on solvent evaporation rates. Easiest way to get more consistent results is to use slower solvent blend, or more retarder than one might use based on weather. While this lowers the solids loading, requires more coats, and requires more patience for dry time between coats; the reward is usually a better flow out.
Also, Lacquer solvents tend to be fast evaporating. Be sure your spray booth does not have excess air flow blowing across the project. Even a small breeze, can change evaporation rate; and the quality of finish.
4) Learn more about solvents used for spraying finishes.
Not all lacquer thinner is same, unless you make mistake and use crap BORG lacquer thinner.
Automotive paint suppliers carry different blends of lacquer thinner intended for different temperature ranges.
In warm weather, you want a slower evaporation blend. In hot weather, you want slowest evaporation blend.
This PDF table is one of my favorite solvent references to help understand if a local brand lacquer thinner is fast, med, or slow evaporating blend.
Beyond using proper temperature lacquer thinner, choice of retarder is important. MAK is common mid-range retarder for lacquer. When you want ultimate in slow evaporation, Butyl cellosolve is retarder of choice for lacquer. Sherwin Williams offers retarder K27 , which is blend of MAK/Butyl cellosolve and other solvents that works well for lacquer. I use a lot of Butyl cellosolve due AZ weather. It is one of the few retarders compatible with water based finishes and lacquer. I use MAK/PGMEA for retarding polyurethane and enamels.
Profile shows New Orleans, LA location? High humidity causes blush in lacquer. Mohwak sells No-blush retarder for humid spraying. The trapped moisture (or white blush) is typically removed with addition of PGMEA and slow evaporation Isopropyl alcohol to pull water to surface and let it evaporate from film.
Since lacquer dissolves existing lacquer film, can often spray straight no-blush retarder on surface to remove blush. Occasionally, can also spray lacquer thinner & retarder blend to help fix dry spray area too.
Best Luck.
- CaptainKlutz