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Location: Fort Worth
I picked up a wagner hvlp turbine at a sale a while back for cheap. Works surprisingly well especially for small jobs with little clean up and paint loss. Actually works better than the real turbine and spray fine gun. Not quite as nice of a finish as an airless sprayer but not far off.
IMO nothing gives as nice a finish as an airless with the least work. I'll gladly spend an hour cleaning a spray rig to save hours of painting by hand and get a better finish too. And you don't need a $$$ one. There are cheap ones that work great just get a good tip and the right one.
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Location: Eagle River Alaska
BloomingtonMike said:
Used a buddies Graco 190ES airless to spray some un-thinned latex paint. Amazing! Laid it on like using my HVLP for precat lac. Man I need one of these sprayers!
You folks own airless setups?
Amazing things happen when you have the right tool for the job.
Alaskan's for Global Warming
Eagle River AK
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Graco 395 Ultra here - with hopper.
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I have a Graco 695 Ultra Max with digital readout. I also have Graco 455 ST that's a dedicated lacquer pump. I would spray other clear finishes through it as well but no paints.
The 190 es is a really good little sprayer. It use to be the smallest "pro grade" machine for many years but that may have changed now. I believe they use to retail around $800 and they have a stainless steel pump which will deter corrosion better and hopefully make for a longer lasting machine. The Magnum series by Graco doesn't have the stainless steel pumps--at least they didn't use to.
Another fine little sprayer is the Titan 440i. A refurbished one can be had for around $750. I owned one of these as well but sold it when I bought the bigger 695 Ultra Max.
Airless sprayers can lay down a finish that's dead nuts smooth in the right conditions. Most on site lacquer jobs are done with airless sprayers in my area. The Graco fine finish tips are money well spent, IMO. Dialing in the right pressure for perfect atomization is quite simple. The biggest turn off for me is the volume needed to load the pump and hose. To compensate some, you can buy a 10-15' whip hose which makes it better but it still doesn't conserve material like a cup gun. There's a lot more overspray in comparison to an HVLP as well but the airless will really lay down the material to make quick work of a project. Using an HVLP seems like it takes forever if you're use to an airless.
Even though I don't use mine to make money anymore, I can't bring myself to sell either unit.
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Nothing like an airless sprayer when you have lots of work to do. Don't use my often but when I need it it's a real saver.
My brother's setup (don't know the manufacturer) is just great. He uses if for all sorts of finishes and his jobs look fantastic. He does cabinet work and sprays a 2 part paint. He wouldn't use anything else to spray with now.
John
Always use the right tool for the job.
We need to clean house.
