[ricko]

I am doing a lot of furniture , use general dyes and stains , with Vermont wb urethane, I am thinking of buying a hvlp to spray can any one give me advice on a good one to buy what tip size to use ect ? need some helpful advice

Rick

 

[Steve Neul]

I don't personally care for the HVLP guns. I think they spray more air than paint. I prefer a siphon sprayer and use Harbor Freights #97855 sprayer I can get for 20 bucks with a coupon. It uses a 1.8mm nozzle. If you do get a HVLP, don't get a gravity feed model. The cup on the top of the sprayer is cumbersom spraying furniture. If you were spraying a car where everything was out in the open the gravity feed model would work fine.

If you are doing a lot of furniture I would opt for a pressure pot and a conventional sprayer. It would spray the furniture a lot faster and you would be able to turn the sprayer at any angle. I had an assembly line going one time refinishing tables and chairs and I had one pressure pot with sealer in it and another with semi-gloss in it.

 

[chopnhack]

I have a pressure pot and as finishes get more expensive I am finding that I am less likely to use it.. YMMV, but I have a 25' line set and the thought of losing that much finish bothers me ;-)

 

[ricko]

spaying wb

Thanks for the advice , now not really sure what to buy any suggestions on certain bran names that are good.

Rick

 

[cabinetman]

Thanks for the advice , now not really sure what to buy any suggestions on certain bran names that are good.

Rick

WB poly is easy to spray. You could get very good results with either this one...
http://www.harborfreight.com/lightweight-high-pressure-spray-gun-93205.html

Or, this one...
http://www.harborfreight.com/industrial-paint-spray-gun-43760.html

Using an HVLP with WB makes seeing your output difficult. I don't like the overspray differential, but when using a lot of light and being able to see how wet the paths are makes using a siphon gun worthwhile.

.

 

[cabinetman]

I have a pressure pot and as finishes get more expensive I am finding that I am less likely to use it.. YMMV, but I have a 25' line set and the thought of losing that much finish bothers me ;-)

I used two pressure pots, one for sanding sealer, one for finishing lacquer. Then when I switched to WB poly kept one on tap. They are beneficial if you spray a lot of finish for days on end. They are a PITA to keep clean and maintain clean hoses. The only advantage is having more finish to spray instead of filling 1 qt cups. Other than that they don't produce more output, IMO. They can allow some unique movement with the gun, as there is no cup, but you have two hoses to maneuver, which can be worse than a cup and one hose.

.

 

[BWSmith]

Probably shouldn't respond....oh well.

Understand that guns at the bttm end of pricing are in fact disposable.It's a,get what you pay for gun.Not saying you have to spend mega bucks on a gun.....just don't be thinking a 20$ HF gun as being the "last" gun you'll have to buy.Considering the price of some materials/labor....a 20 spot for a gun makes them practically,throwaways.

Personally,and this is why I shouldn't respond.......I'll most likely never use another siphon gun(regardless of price/quality).But,thats for what we do here.Go into the next shop and they fit in perfectly?

 

[chopnhack]

Probably shouldn't respond....oh well.

Understand that guns at the bttm end of pricing are in fact disposable.It's a,get what you pay for gun.Not saying you have to spend mega bucks on a gun.....just don't be thinking a 20$ HF gun as being the "last" gun you'll have to buy.Considering the price of some materials/labor....a 20 spot for a gun makes them practically,throwaways.

Personally,and this is why I shouldn't respond.......I'll most likely never use another siphon gun(regardless of price/quality).But,thats for what we do here.Go into the next shop and they fit in perfectly?

Glad you did respond, this is good feedback and experience to share. It's not elitist, the $20 cup may work for some and at some level of performance, may fit the job. I am sure most will agree that at that price point, it will not be expected to last. A good aircap and needle set is sometimes a c-note!

Off topic, why would you not use another siphon cup? Maneuverability? Balance? What makes the grav. gun that you are using better than what you have used in the past? Is your setup a turbine or are you running off an air compressor?

 

[BWSmith]

Main thing for us,on bttm feeders(siphon) vs top loaders(gravity) is the latter is easier/faster to clean and they use every last drop of material in cup.And in general have better tip designs.

If you're spraying contact cement....get a bttm feeder.Or any product where you have several cups of the same material.We do a lot of one off stuff where there may only be 80CC's of material,some of which is products that you have minutes to spray and get gun cleaned(certain epoxy's).

I can't remember the exact Sata model,think its a 95...but don't quote me?....the HF "purple guns" are simply a ripoff of that 30 year old design on the cap.It's old technology thats being ripped off.There are much better designs out now.Further....there are a bunch of lower end guns utilizing this same design.Its not so much that,as it is the overall quality.

A good gun isn't only how it sprays,even though thats pretty dang important.No,do the adjustments actually do anything?Most cheaper guns that would be a resounding,NO.You have to look out at the edges of your "pattern"....not right in the middle.How well does the gun stand up to REPEATED cleanings?The 20$ guns leave a lot to be desired when compared to even medium priced rigs.But,"to each his own".......use whatever works in your shop,for your material.

 

[BWSmith]

Ancient(30 y.o.)Craftsman,2 stage I bought new.5 H.P.,60 G.The absolutely best thing we ever did was build a Franzinator,expansion chamber.It goes directly between cyl. head and main tank.

The harder you use an AC(compressor)...the hotter it gets.The hotter it gets,the more....moisture and "funk"(oil blowby from pump) has to be controlled.The expansion chamber utilizes some extremely basic engineering to practically eliminate the problem.

It is a huge subject.Googeling will quickly see you getting bogged down in bickering back N forth.The expansion chamber does work,heck I went even further and water cooled ours.At the end of a whole day of using compressor(we have lots of pnuematic's),the difference was/is....maybe a qt. of water/funk in bttm of main tank to a cpl tablespoons.

So,it's not just painting with the compressor here.Am working on a pnuematic drawer clamp today(google Dodds drawer clamp).Keeping moisture in check ranks as one of THE most important things you can do to your AC.

 

[Steve Neul]

Main thing for us,on bttm feeders(siphon) vs top loaders(gravity) is the latter is easier/faster to clean and they use every last drop of material in cup.And in general have better tip designs.

If you're spraying contact cement....get a bttm feeder.Or any product where you have several cups of the same material.We do a lot of one off stuff where there may only be 80CC's of material,some of which is products that you have minutes to spray and get gun cleaned(certain epoxy's).

I can't remember the exact Sata model,think its a 95...but don't quote me?....the HF "purple guns" are simply a ripoff of that 30 year old design on the cap.It's old technology thats being ripped off.There are much better designs out now.Further....there are a bunch of lower end guns utilizing this same design.Its not so much that,as it is the overall quality.

A good gun isn't only how it sprays,even though thats pretty dang important.No,do the adjustments actually do anything?Most cheaper guns that would be a resounding,NO.You have to look out at the edges of your "pattern"....not right in the middle.How well does the gun stand up to REPEATED cleanings?The 20$ guns leave a lot to be desired when compared to even medium priced rigs.But,"to each his own".......use whatever works in your shop,for your material.

My experience with sprayers is for wood finishes there is not much difference between the more expensive guns and the 20 dollar guns. When I started my refinishing business I bought the expensive guns and had employees dropping them and breaking them. After replacing a few I got tired of it and started buying the cheap guns for them to break. What surprised me is the cheap guns didn't atomize quite as fine but for wood finishes did just as well as the expensive guns I had. Since then even though I don't have employees anymore I'm still using the 20 dollar guns. There is one I've been using and cleaning for 20 years. The newest gun I have is 5 years old. There is no reason a cheap gun wouldn't last a hobbiest the rest of their life if they took reasonable care of it. On the other hand if I was painting cars especially if I was using a metalic paint I would get an expensive sprayer. Many automotive finishes need the finish atomized better but wood finishes don't.

 

[kjhart0133]

For HVLP you can't beat a turbine compressor. I have a Fuji Mini Mite 4-stage turbine, $700, complete with the gun, can and one tip. Don't remember the tip size, but it's the blue one shown on Amazon. This gun works flawlessly and cleans up very easily. I've sprayed lots of WB poly, some 1-lb cut shellac. I even bought a larger tip and sprayed some latex paint (thinned). I didn't like spraying paint - too messy. I mostly use it for WB polyurethane and it does a great job. You could also use it to spray stains and dyes, but be sure to use good ventilation. Also, get an activated charcoal respirator. Dust respirators don't do any good when you're spraying.

Kevin H.

 

[kkalin78]

Also did WB poly by HVLP. I always have really nice and clean finish. Not sure why people does care about constant air flow. IMHO, it doesn't affect the process at all (Of course it could be issue if a place is too dusty).