The day I learned my paint gun was set up backwards for 4 months

So I've been doing this for about 8 years now, mostly side jobs out of my garage in Tempe. A couple Saturdays ago I was laying down clear coat on a Honda Civic and the finish kept coming out cloudy no matter what I did. I checked my pressure, my mix ratio, my gun cleaning routine, everything. Then my buddy who does collision work at a big shop stops by and just stares at my gun for a minute. He says "man, you've got your fluid nozzle on the wrong side of the air cap" and I swear I felt my whole face go hot. I had been flipping it around when I stored it and never paid attention to the alignment mark. All those peel jobs I blamed on bad paint or humidity for months, that was me the whole time. Has anyone else had that moment where a simple setup detail makes you question every car you've ever sprayed?

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wendy_bell831mo ago

Wait, the fluid nozzle goes on a specific side of the air cap? I've been spraying for six years and I just... put it together however it fits. I had a whole run last summer where metallic flakes kept settling weird and I blamed the cheap reducer I bought. Man, I even switched brands twice. Now I'm sitting here trying to remember if I ever checked that little alignment mark. I'm half tempted to run out to my garage right now and look, but honestly I'm scared of what I'll find. The fact that it's been sitting in my box upside down for who knows how long is giving me the worst feeling right now.