Compressor , Spray Gun Set Up - Moisture Removal

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

I am currently spraying my 309 in a large garage using a new Machinemart compressor ( 3 hp , 100 litre , 14 cfm ) , I have a Clarke filter regulator ( the tubular silver type £45 ) and while it is certainly removing plenty of moisture from the air I am getting what I think is water spots in the paint . I am also draining the compressor tank regularly . In an effort to reduce the moisture today I bought a water trap ( red Clarke domed body ) and put it in the airline before the regulator hoping that 2 traps might be better , it seems to be doing nothing at all .

It is probably too late to sort it out for this car but next summer I will be painting another car and would like to fix it by then , air dryers are expensive so what are home sprayers using to remove moisture . A coalescing filter seems popular but information is a bit thin and the replaceable elements seem quite expensive , I would probably fit a fine particle filter at the same time .

Any recommendations ?

[flyfisher 6 2 Cars]

I've been in moter trade for 40 years panel beater by trade but I also paint reading your post l can't see your doing to much wrong. A inline trap a good filter regulator plus a mini trap on gun should be fine drain the compressor before and during job are you 100 per cent sure it's water?

[wicked 103 3 Cars]

Sure that you don't see spots because of silicon or grease on the material? Could look like water drops...

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

I never seen any "panel wipe" on your shopping list on the other thread.

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

I am on my 3rd litre of panel wipe , after rubbing down I dry off the water thoroughly and let it air dry , then panel wipe and let that dry thoroughly . Never got any 'spots' when I was spraying on the epoxy primer but I am getting dimples and even one or two 3mm clear spots . Could be oil from the compressor or moisture , I am buying a new coalescing filter and particulate filter tomorrow so will give that a go and will hopefully see an improvement .

[toolie72 67 1 Cars]

Don't mean to try to teach you to suck eggs, but have you used the gun itself before-only asking as a clear spot would have me thinking contamination rather than water (and your filter set up sounds ok)

[hoodygoodwood 70 3 Cars]

I have never sprayed a car before , I bought the compressor , regulator , hoses and spray gun all specifically to spray this car and they have never been used before .The dimples in the paint do look like moisture to me but the couple of larger ' clear spots could be some form of contamination , not sure where it would have come from as I do not knowingly use anything with silicones . I have resigned myself to putting a second coat on and spending plenty of time flatting and polishing the paint once I am finished .

Bought a new 3 way water trap , regulator and oil filter today , used it to spray much of the car today and it seems to be an improvement , it didn't help that I started spraying in warm weather and by the time I finished it was raining torrentially - didn't realise till I came out of the garage . I am an expert in draining everything now , can do the compressor tank and all the regs in under a minute now .