the_jenny•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Warning: my shop compressor blew a line right as I was clearcoating a hood yesterday

I was right in the middle of spraying the final coat on a cherry red 67 Mustang hood when I heard this loud pop from the back corner. The main airline split right at the fitting and dust and moisture came shooting out, ruining the whole hood finish. Has anyone else had a compressor failure at the worst possible time and how did you explain it to the customer?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_stone1mo ago

Quit acting like nobody ever dealt with a little contamination before. You really gonna strip a whole hood to bare metal over some dust and moisture that you could just wet sand and buff out? Ball valve at the tank sounds great until you're in the middle of spraying and can't reach it fast enough to matter anyway. Maybe the real problem is you guys don't keep spare fittings and a roll of Teflon tape handy when you're working on expensive jobs. And honestly, if your customer is that picky about a clear coat that needs a do-over, they probably should have been warned that shit happens in a real shop.

the_dakota1mo ago

That "dust and moisture came shooting out" part is exactly why I run a good dryer and filter setup on my compressor, cheap insurance for expensive paint jobs. You're gonna have to strip it back down to bare metal and start over, no way to save that clear once contaminants got into it wet. Next time, install a ball valve right at the tank outlet so you can kill the air instantly if a line blows, keeps the mess contained to the hose.