mics_54

Has anyone had the pleasure of spraying Poly on new cabinets in a closed space/house with an airless sprayer? I'm wonder how much I need to worry about overspray etc. The house is pretty much finished except for fixtures. The flooring is installed (vinyl)....walls painted. I have to stain and finish the cabinets and cabinet doors.

Woodchuck1957

It should be a very big concern, thats not how it's usually done in my neck of the woods. The cabinets should be finished before going inside a home.

mainzy

You are just asking for trouble.

I would take the doors off and spray in a booth or have them sprayed. can you get the faceframes off? If so I would do the same with them.

God bless ;Mainzy

cabinetman

You didn't say if it was oil base or water based. In either case, the experience I've had with airless, IMO, is that they put out too much material, and don't atomize the finish enough to get an acceptable finish.

firehawkmph

Ditto on what Cabinetman said. I have a commercial airless and I would never consider using it to do cabinets with. I used to use it to paint textured ceilings and prime the walls in the new houses we were building, and that was just after drywall was finished, no trim installed yet. I have seen guys paint base with an airless. I have painted masonited doors with one. But they do shoot a lot of material, you have to use the right tip and move quickly. I have a large HVLP setup that is very good for shooting thin materials, but I would not use it in your situation with the finish floor and such installed already. Even an hvlp still has enough overspray to make a fog inside a house. If you took the doors and drawers out and shot them in a shop, you could probably do the rest by hand, but it would take a lot longer. No easy way out. Good luck,
Mike Hawkins

mics_54

Well I will test it out and let you know. I know the quart cup air gun sure fogs up the place... did a good job though. All the pro painters are saying the airless is the way to go for this. The columbia paint guy said comparitively the airless has a 75% transfer rate to the air guns 25%. I'm going to experiment with a 311 tip & maybe reduce the poly about 10%. I might even rig up an evac fan with a flex duct I can move around. I may have to set up a tent in the hangar and spray the doors and drawers.

Fortune favors the Bold

firehawkmph

MIcs,
If you are spraying an oil based poly, be careful with the fan. I would almost say open the windows instead. If you are going to fume the place up you don't want an ignition source. I have sprayed varnish in houses before with the hvlp gun. Works very well, but I would shut down any gas pilots, open the windows and then shoot. Let us know what happens. I know about the material transfer rates, but it still seems like the airless would put out a lot of material. Very easy to get runs. An hvlp gun has very good transfer rates compared to a gravity feed. I would rather put on several light coats instead of fighting with a heavy coat. Experiment on some cardboard first.
Mike Hawkins

mics_54

I sprayed a post and a short section of handrail/spindles yesterday. I made the mistake of thinning the poly as per the graco expert at columbia paint before I started. I think its a little thin but I believe it worked pretty well. I only thinned 1/2 gallon. The finish after the initial coat on some test pieces was as it would be expected. The post and hand rail had been coated once by brush and sanded w/220 grit. It sprayed out very nice and there was very little overspray considering I was spraying spindles. I sprayed it on a table covered with 6 mil poly with poly on the floor and wall in about a 10'x10' area of the hangar. I think it works pretty good....more later

edp

If you are going to be spraying poly in a finished are, like in a home, do yourself a favor and get in touch with Rockler. They offer a low velocity HVLP gun setup for under $100.00 that does a really nice job. It includes the gun, a spare cup, hose and compressor. I used one for years and wouldn't mind if I needed to use it again.

Ed

mics_54

Do hvlp guns work well spraying up or down or turned on their side? Do they have a standard sized cup?

firehawkmph

MIcs,
Depeds on what you get. I have a commercial setup with its own twin tank compressor and a 2 1/2 gallon material pot on a rollaround cart. There are two hoses going to the gun handle which has no container attached to it, so you can use it at any angle. If you get a smaller unit with the top mounted cup, they usually still have a vent hole that you have to be aware of, or it will drip if you have it in the wrong position.
Mike Hawkins

edp

Cup guns, ie, guns with the paint pot attached, are particular how they are held. The angle must allow the pickup tube to remain immersed in the paint.

Ed

mics_54

wow thats a good buy for $100

seriously though..after researching the issue..I'll have to make do with either my airless (which is working ok) or my qt cup sprayer (not likely for obvious reasons) I'm going to tent up in the hangar to spray the doors and drawers. The base and wall cabs we will see. I know I will brush the vanities. The kitchen may be a combination of both spray and brush.