Spray equipment ?

[Scoony]

I would like to upgrade my spray equipment. I am spraying shellac and water-based polys. Budget is around $300. I have a 20 gal compressor, older Craftsman, but don’t have any other specs at the moment.

I have considered a turbine system, but not completely convinced that is the route I want to take.

I am currently using the infamous HF gun with good results. I also have a Husky gun which is similar but it is older and a bit beat up so I use that to spray glaze.

What would be a good HVLP gun to upgrade to?

Do I really need a turbine system? The Earlex 5500 is within my budget.

I have looked at Homestead Finishes site and soo many options there, and a lot of prices above my budget.

[jteneyck]

Your compressor output is likely marginal. Can it output at least 6 CFM at 40 psi? If so, you can run some HVLP conversion guns. If not, you will likely be limited to LVLP guns. But don't get a turbine unless you need portability; as far as I can determine that's their only advantage. Otherwise, a conversion gun is the overall winner, especially with regards to cost.

If the HF gun you have has a 1.4 mm orifice you must be thinning EnduroVar to get it to spray well. EnduroVar is around 44 seconds through a #4 Ford cup and needs a 1.8 mm orifice to spray well through a gravity feed HVLP gun. That's what I use and it sprays very well straight from the can. I have nothing more than a cheap HVLP gun, essentially the same as you can buy at Woodcraft or Grizzly. But if you want to buy something a little better, give Jeff Jewitt a call and discuss your needs with him. I've never heard anyone say he gave them bad advise.

John

[Scoony]

I took a look at the compressor tonight and it is an 11 gal not 20 gal.

scfm 6.5 @ 40 psi, 5.4 @ 90 psi

Enduro sprayed straight from the can through the 1.4, but I am not sure it was an even pattern. It did the job, but I am sure that it would have been easier with a 1.8 tip. I am not sure if that tip is available for the HF gun. I think I will give Jeff a call later this week and see what he recommends.

[Bope]

I sprayed for a couple years with a similar setup and the HF gun. It works and gave me a nice finish. I wanted to see how much better an upgrade would spray and I went to Jeff Jewitt. I purchased the QS-600WB. With larger N/N possibilities I no longer need to worry about diluting. I feel it did spray a nicer finish at a lower pressure which reduced over spray. Nothing was measured so it could also be me wanting to confirm the money was well spent. I don't do large projects so the smallish compressor works fine.

[jteneyck]

The 1.4 mm HF gun sprays Enduro fine, very well in fact. The problem is it takes too long to cover anything because the flow out of that small orifice is so slow. You can add 5 - 10% water to it to get the viscosity down, but the better solution is to go with a larger orifice so that you can spray it without dilution.

Your compressor should be able to keep up with some of the guns Jeff offers.

John

[Howard Acheson]

You might want to buy, or take a look at, Charron's Spray Finishing. It gives lots of info about equipment as well and good info about the spraying process.

[Joel H.]

I bought the Earlex 5500 mainly because I needed to paint my daughter's kitchen cabinets in Pensacola (500 miles south from me). I have a 30gal compressor and two nice, but not expensive, HVLP guns -- but of course i couldn't carry them down to Florida.

Long story short - I'm very happy with the Earlex. I have sprayed shellac, BIN, and BM Advance with perfect results. It cleans up easily and weighs about 30 lbs total. Very mobile.

Joel