I purchase a Graco 4900 HVLP today....

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

I bought a Graco 4900 HVLP today. I couldn't pass it up for $120. It's complete sans the power cord which also meant it was untested and I bought it from a reseller. It was a gamble I was willing to take being it's a four stage HVLP and IT WAS the HVLP to have when I was a painter for hire. This unit was a $1300 HVLP pre 2000 days.

It did come with 5 different needles and caps and was otherwise complete. I can tell it was used but it was taken care of based on the pick up tube, cup and needles. I figure it's worth more than $120 in parts if it fails to fire up or I have any major issues with it. I have 2 Graco airless sprayers--695 Ultra Max and a smaller ST420 lacquer pump. I love airless sprayers and they put out a really nice finish but they waste a ton of material and gallons of finish are getting super expensive for the hobbiest finisher. I also have an Earlex 5500 that I just can't seem to fall in love with. I'm hoping this 4 stage HVLP will be my solution to finishing anything below a whole set of cabinets.

[Rob Young]

That will be a VERY good deal if everything is in working order!

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

Yeah, outstanding deal. Good luck with it.

If you can't seem to fall in love the Earlex 5500, perhaps you could try to find it a good home... mine?

[Rob Young]

Gregory of Sherwood Forest said:

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Yeah, outstanding deal. Good luck with it.

If you can't seem to fall in love the Earlex 5500, perhaps you could try to find it a good home... mine?

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Greg's Home for Wayward Tools? Or the Island of Misfit Toys?

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

Rob Young said:

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Greg's Home for Wayward Tools? Or the Island of Misfit Toys?

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Yeah, just call me King Moonracer, of the Island of Misfit Toys... er, Tools.

Speaking of which, I just found a box of Stanley #1 and #2 plane parts. Forgot I had those.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

Well the power cord was ordered off Ebay. It was a fourth of the price of the Graco replacement. I can't imagine there can be that much difference. I did get a 10' long 15A heavy duty cord which is under the 15" max length Graco recommends.

Greg, if this works out I will let you know on the Earlex.

[Kansas City Fireslayer]

I got my first test drive of this HVLP today and all I can say is WOW! I shot BIN pigmented shellac through a 1.3 needle with no thinning and awesome atomization. Dialing in the air, fan and volume was easy peasy. A beautifully sprayed coat ensued. The 4 stage compressor makes my Earlex 5500 seem like a toy. Next up is the General Finishes HP poly or Ben Moore Advance. I'll post some pics soon....

[jteneyck]

BIN pigmented shellac really does spray great, doesn't it?  It has a viscosity of only about 35 seconds #4 Ford cup.  I spray it with a 1.0 mm N/N with my Qualspray pressure assisted HVLP gun.  I mention this because BM Advance has a viscosity of 500 seconds - more than an order of magnitude higher.  I used my largest N/N at 1.5 mm to spray it.  Based on your results with the BIN, I think you will need something larger than 1.5 mm in order to spray Advance, or you will need to thin it. 

John

[Rob Young]

My 4 stage says it does 8psi (8.5psi? Now I forget) and 100CFM.  I just dropped in the 1.3mm for spraying BIN and it worked great.  The Graco 4900 manual says 8psi and 82CFM.

1.3mm was the recommended size in the manual based on my quick check with the cup which was closer to 30 sec.  (Spend the $10 and get a Ford #4 cup.  And google for a viscosity cup conversion chart because some finish manufacturers list times for Zahn #2 or in Centipoise)

Here's the cheat sheet from my manual:
0-20sec -> 1.0mm
20-30sec -> 1.3mm
30-35sec -> 1.5mm
35-40sec -> 1.8mm
>40sec -> 2.0mm (they have a 2.5mm but the manual doesn't say anything about it)

I do have a 1.0mm but haven't tried it.  

Side story, I had not tried the 1.0mm and when I first went to try it I discovered it had a buggered thread.  Since the nozzle is stainless and the gun body aluminum there was no way I was going to force that in there without causing damage to the gun.  Turbine Products sent me a replacement and I've yet to shoot with it but the replacement's threads are good and it installs smoothly.  Moral of the story : ALWAYS check the condition of the parts before inserting them into the gun!

So I could try shooting the BIN with a 1.0mm.  I've got a project I want to spray this weekend and while I've got things out I could try the BIN again because now I'm curious.

On the whole, I've been nothing but pleased with how a 4 stage pushes different materials.  The Earlex 5500 was on my short list when I was looking at systems but I'm glad I didn't go that route.  Earlex does offer the 6003 which is a 3 stage system.  About $200 more than the 5500 and has a better gun.

[jteneyck]

No clue about turbines Rob, but I set my 3M PPS cup for 5 psi most of the time and BIN pigmented shellac primer sprays great with a 1.0 mm N/N.  I was shocked to see that the viscosity was substantially lower than any of the clearcoats I spray.  EnduroVar is around 45 seconds, HP Poly is nearly 60 seconds.  EnduroVar sprays great for me with the 1.0 mm N/N, too.  I don't use HP Poly much anymore so I can't comment about it;  I switched to Enduro Clear Poly, and use the 1.0 mm N/N.  I have sprayed Enduro White Poly, which has a viscosity of about 100 seconds, using a 1.3 mm N/N.   And, as I mentioned earlier, BM's Advance with a viscosity of 500 seconds with the 1.5 mm N/N.  I was impressed with how well it sprayed with no thinning required; beautiful finish.  I could buy larger N/N sets for the gun, too, but I'm not sure I'll ever need to.  

John