(08-20-2017, 08:40 PM)jteneyck Wrote: If you already own a large air compressor get an HVLP conversion gun. Cheapest option, and best option for spraying furniture and cabinets depending upon how much you spend. Even the $10 purple HF gun sprays shellac and low viscosity finishes remarkably well. If you don't own a compressor, but want one, that's still the best option. If you don't own a compressor and don't want one then a turbine HVLP unit is the best option for furniture and cabinets.
I don't know enough about airless units to have any useful input.
John
I agree with everything he said.
Airless equipment is typically used for shooting large quantities of thick paint like interior/exterior latex. The really aren't much use for anything else.
Small tight spaces are a pain with any spray gun because the air (and paint) blows right back at the gun when spraying. Sometimes a brush is the right equipment.
1. HVLP/Turbine guns powered by small turbine fans use high air volume to move and atomize the paint. Lots of low pressure air. About 6-8psi. 8psi won't carry overspray very far and it won't pull a lot of paint out of the gun... less over-spray
2. Conversion guns are traditional spray guns with a regulator (powered by a compressor) at the air inlet which chokes off air volume and adjusts inlet pressure to the gun. It still used high pressure to atomize the finish and it does a better job of atomizing than a turbine gun and it carries more finish further and makes more of a "cloud" because of the more efficient atomization... so... more over-spray.
3. Airless units pressurize the paint with a pump and basically squirt it out the spray nozzle but because of the high pressure, it atomizes to some extent. They are really better for heavy/thick (high viscosity) finishes like latex and other single stage industrial finishes like urethane paint. They aren't suited well for laying out a nice glass-like finish for furniture, automotive etc type topcoats.
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1 will probably suit your needs, has a longer learning curve than 2 or 3 but won't do as well with more viscous finishes as 2 or 3. This equipment can be pricey because you need a turbine and a decent one with a gun will start at about $700. I use these quite often and my guns run about $300 a piece. There are some inexpensive plastic ones available but they don't come anywhere near 8psi and don't put out as much air of finish. They are even more limited in their abilities.
2 will give you the best finish with a wide variety of finishes and has more flexibility and is probably the cheapest option, assuming you have a sufficient compressor.
3 If I were a contractor, I'd own one. Very limited for the woodworker and hobbyist. Expensive. Not well suited for small work. Very well suited for wals, ceilings etc.
Note: To help prevent "blow back" in small confined areas, try to hold the gun at an angle to the surface so the air glances off the work and doesn't hit "head on" and bounce straight back at the gun. You can also tighten up the spray pattern and dial down the air and finish volumes. I d this when I'm doind work in confined spaces like door jambs.
Practice.
