Want to use my Earlex for the first time, looking for advice

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I purchased an Earlex a few years ago but have not had a big enough project to break it out yet.  I have a larger cabinet I need to finish followed by about 10 interior pine doors.  I normally use a sponge to apply finishes but want to start spraying.  I have a gallon some General Finishes Top Finish and Zar Varnish, I would like to use but would purchase something else if recommended.

The cabinet is the first project.  It is a tall thin cabinet going into the bathroom right next to the shower.  The exterior of this cabinet will be enclosed in a nook so its looks is not relevant.  I feel I should spray it just to protect it from the moisture in this bathroom.  So my plan is to spray two coats on the outside of this cabinet as a test run.  Before moving to the interior.  The interior is 30" deep but only 12 inches wide so getting the spray gun in there will be tough.

I would appreciate any suggestion on how to make the first attempt at spraying go well.

[jteneyck]

Which GF product?  

Practice on scrap if you've never sprayed before.  


I normally spray the inside of a cabinet first, then move on to the outside.  I remove the back, too, because spraying into a closed box is about the hardest thing to do well.  Only having a 12" wide cabient makes taking the back off almost a requirement, too.  That will allow you to spray from both sides  of the cabinet.  Still not optimum but you will not be able to get the Earlex into a 12" wide cabinet so it's your only choice for spraying.  

If you don't have a #4 Ford viscosity cup buy a cheap -plastic one and measure the viscosity of what you want to spray.  Pick the needle/nozzle set that best goes with that viscosity, and/or adjust the viscosity to work with the closest N/N you have.  

Did I mention practice on scrap?


John

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Which GF product?  


Did I mention practice on scrap?


John

It came with a cheap plastic Ford #4 cup.  Wow the real Ford Cups cost about twice what I paid for the sprayer.

I figured the back of the carcass will be hidden so it is essentially scrap.  I have General Finishes High Performance Satin.

Since the cabinet is essentially a deep hole.  I think it will be finished by hand.  I also have a cheap paint gun to be run with a compressor.  Would a compressor powered paint gun have a longer reach?

[jteneyck]

It came with a cheap plastic Ford #4 cup.  Wow the real Ford Cups cost about twice what I paid for the sprayer.

I figured the back of the carcass will be hidden so it is essentially scrap.  I have General Finishes High Performance Satin.

Since the cabinet is essentially a deep hole.  I think it will be finished by hand.  I also have a cheap paint gun to be run with a compressor.  Would a compressor powered paint gun have a longer reach?

OK, High Performance.  Nice product and very easy to spray.  Goes on great with a foam brush, too, and that's how I would do the inside of the cabinet if you can't take off the back.  

The cheap Ford #4 cups work just fine; no need to spend ridiculous money for a genuine metal one.  

John

[Cooler]

The biggest variable to deal with is the viscosity.  Get a viscosity cup and use it to determine the right dilution.  If it is wrong it will either run, or you will get orange peel or the surface will be "gritty".

I got mine from Amazon.  It is called a "Ford #4 viscosity cup".  The viscosity is measured by the amount of time it takes for the cup to empty.  Once you know the mixing ratio the viscosity cup becomes optional.

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I got mine from Amazon.  It is called a "Ford #4 viscosity cup".  The viscosity is measured by the amount of time it takes for the cup to empty.  Once you know the mixing ratio the viscosity cup becomes optional.

I am actually delegating this task to my wife.  I have tried to convince her for years finishing and staining is her new favorite hobby.  For two reasons.

Her skill set is limted in this field and I am building the rest of the house.  
She will be better at finishing than I am, more patience and she is OCD.

I had her watch the Earlex video.  She is really excited to use the new toy.  I am excited to pass off the staining portions of the projects.  She had me watch the videos also.  The instructions according to Earlex is, use the (included) Ford cup to ensure the flow time is less than 160 seconds as that is the limit of the capacity of the machine.  Then chose the needle based on the fineness of the spray sought.  

I have come to the conclusion for the current cabinet the Earlex will be a mistake, but my wife really wants to use it.  Either way it is in her hands.  I did a sample board. of stained and non stained using Zar and General Finishes.  The Zar looks more like the current trim so will be going with that, also the Zar only needs two coats.

[jteneyck]

I am actually delegating this task to my wife.  I have tried to convince her for years finishing and staining is her new favorite hobby.  For two reasons.

Her skill set is limted in this field and I am building the rest of the house.  
She will be better at finishing than I am, more patience and she is OCD.

I had her watch the Earlex video.  She is really excited to use the new toy.  I am excited to pass off the staining portions of the projects.  She had me watch the videos also.  The instructions according to Earlex is, use the (included) Ford cup to ensure the flow time is less than 160 seconds as that is the limit of the capacity of the machine.  Then chose the needle based on the fineness of the spray sought.  

I have come to the conclusion for the current cabinet the Earlex will be a mistake, but my wife really wants to use it.  Either way it is in her hands.  I did a sample board. of stained and non stained using Zar and General Finishes.  The Zar looks more like the current trim so will be going with that, also the Zar only needs two coats.

If your "Zar varnish" means it's oil based you and your wife will regret spraying it.  The overspray will remain a sticky mess on everything it lands on.  Cleaning the spray gun will be significantly harder than if you use the GF waterborne product, too.  You can adjust the color of how the GF product looks by adjusting the stain color or adding Transtint dye to the HP, with which ever moves the color the way you need it.  

The viscosity, needle size relationship is a little different than what you described above.  You have to match the needle/nozzle to the viscosity, not pick it based on how fine you want the spray to be; doesn't work that way. Go to Jeff Jewitt's website at Homestead Finishing and read his article on spraying paint.  You'll find a chart showing the general guidelines of what needle/nozzle set to use vs. viscosity and type of spray gun used.  

John

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The viscosity, needle size relationship is a little different than what you described above.  You have to match the needle/nozzle to the viscosity, not pick it based on how fine you want the spray to be; doesn't work that way. Go to Jeff Jewitt's website at Homestead Finishing and read his article on spraying paint.  You'll find a chart showing the general guidelines of what needle/nozzle set to use vs. viscosity and type of spray gun used.  

John

Thanks John,

Thats how I thought the needle sized worked also.  The Earlex video maybe tried to oversimplify this.  I have Jewitts book but have not read it yet because so far I try to keep my finishing simple so far.


I ended up hand varnishing this.  I did a sample test of a scrap and the the GF vs Zar to compare to the 20 year old trim finish throughout the home.

I find the Zar much harder to get to come out well compared to GF.  It was nice because it only took two coats, and because of the shape of the cabinet there was no way to spray it.  It was actually difficult to even hand varnish it.   I did the prep work and my wife applied the varnish for each coat.  I had to get my whole head and shoulder into the carcass to sand the back of it. 

The cabinet is now installed and looks nice.  We will look at GF and spraying for the upcoming doors.

[jteneyck]

In the future when building narrow cabinets you should think about pre-finishing the inside surfaces before assembly.  Much easier.  

John

[Cooler]

In the future when building narrow cabinets you should think about pre-finishing the inside surfaces before assembly.  Much easier.  

John

Or buying pre-finished plywood.  This works well for face frame construction as the face frame gets the final finish and so do the end panels.  The interior of the cabinet gets a clear coat finish.