05/13/2026
Axalta - XP Basecoat Helpful Hints
• Make sure we are controlling the first coat. Too wet on the first coat is very tough to come back from.
• Air Pressure is important. We can be a few PSI low, but when we drop 4-5+, the color starts to change. One of the main changes is that the aluminum gets buried, and the color goes redder (Darker). If painters need to spray at a low PSI, get a gun that is built to atomize properly at that pressure.
• The first coat should flash fully in 5 minutes. If it's trending to 7 minutes, the coat went on way too wet.
• We need a solid coat of sealer under XP. Lower than recommended mil thickness on the sealer will cause wrinkling
• Over-applied 300 (plastic adhesion promoter) under XP will also cause wrinkling due to the 300 not being fully flashed when XP goes on
• Chromabase/Chromapremier to XP guys can struggle because XP is double the solids content of Chromabase/Chromapremier.
So, when you think about atomization, the same air pressure for Chromabase/Chromapremier will not fully atomize XP and will throw the color off by burying the Aluminum.
Guns need to be dialed in properly. This solves a lot of problems.
