Forgive me father, for I must sin. I need a...paint sprayer

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I'm building an entertainment center for the missus.  It's paint grade ply and poplar because she wants it painted white.  The top will be either natural cherry or walnut, so there's that.

Paint sprayers are something I don't know a thing about; I've never thought about them.  I'll need one for this project and then will need it later for painting our fence line, so at least it'll see more than one use.

Can you guys point me in the right direction on where to start?  Or should I just pick up what grabs my fancy at Home Depot?

[Cooler]

I'm building an entertainment center for the missus.  It's paint grade ply and poplar because she wants it painted white.  The top will be either natural cherry or walnut, so there's that.

Paint sprayers are something I don't know a thing about; I've never thought about them.  I'll need one for this project and then will need it later for painting our fence line, so at least it'll see more than one use.

Can you guys point me in the right direction on where to start?  Or should I just pick up what grabs my fancy at Home Depot?

Airless paint sprayers can spray latex without thinning.  The only adjustments you can make for spraying is how fast you move the gun. 

High Volume, Low pressure sprayers (HVLP) allow you to adjust the flow and pattern.  The globules of paint are much finer than airless.  

I know people paint kitchen cabinets with  an airless paint sprayer, but you will probably get a better job done with a HVLP sprayer.

On the other hand, if you are painting a house or a fence, the airless will move a lot more paint much quicker.  

HVLP sprayers are more expensive.  For most woodworking projects it is probably the better choice.

[Snipe Hunter]

Do you have a compressor? If so, what's the specs XX-cfm @ XX-psi? How big is the tank?

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

Mine is a 150psi, 17 gallon, Craftsman that puts out 4.3 SCFM @ 40psi and 3.3 @ 90psi.

Not great for, say, painting a fence with an HVLP, but might handle paint duties for this piece, maybe? The tv stand is 6'x15"x35"

[BloomingtonMike]

I have 4 stage capspray 9100 and a 190es Graco. Omg that airless is so rockin for latex. I sprayed 30 5gallon buckets of junk paint and prime with ZERO issues. Latex out of hvlp was slow. Go airless.

[Snipe Hunter]

Your compressor is right on the edge. I think it's worth a shot trying a cheap gun and see what happens. The purple Harbor Freight guns are under $16. They don't have the HVLP regulator which I wouldn't want for this application anyway. I've had decent luck spraying lacquers and enamels with basic automotive spray guns. Not so much luck spraying Latex and I don't think it is durable enough for an entertainment center.

I'd probably pick up a can of oil based Rusoleum White Enamel (it's pretty durable), the $16 HF gun and give it a whirl on practice pieces. It will be easier if you paint parts rather than an assembled unit. That way you won't have to deal with rough finish where it oversprays. There won't be any overspray on individual pieces. It also brushes very well. I'd probably brush it if I were painting an assembled cabinet.

I used the Rustoleum 32oz can and painted an entire set of kitchen cabinet doors, frames and side panels with a brush over dark oak. Primed it first. Covered in 2 coats.

[Snipe Hunter]

BTW, the Oil based Rustoleum is thinned with Naptha and Mineral Spirits so you should be able to add one or the other to thin it if necessary for spraying. I used Mineral Spirits because the Napthe evaporates pretty quickly. Faster than I was comfortable...

Wear an Organic Compound respirator. I think Lowes and Depot both stock the paint and they'll have a disposable respirator too. You should get 8 - 10 hours of breathing time out of a disposable respirator. Just seal it in the bag between uses.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I have no problem building out the face framing, painting it, and then gluing in place. I can tape off where it will be on the case and paint that, too.

[jteneyck]

You should be OK with a LVLP gun with your compressor.  The purple HF gun takes more CFM than you have.  In any case, don't use latex paint.  It's not the right product and these guns won't spray it well w/o substantial thinning, which brings up another set of problems.  Go to BM and get Lenmar DuraLaq WB acrylic lacquer.  It comes in clear and white but BM also can tint it to any of their 6000 colors.  I used it on my kitchen project recently, and it sprays great.  Get the 1.7 mm or 2.0 N/N set if you buy the SprayIt gun.  If you still need to thin it try 2 or 3% of GF's Extender; great stuff. 

For comparison, the Duralaq WB white lacquer has a viscosity of about 100 sec., #4 Ford cup.  SW's ProClassic  and BM's Advance are around 500 seconds.  

FWIW I wouldn't use an airless for spraying furniture.  Those things spray a lot of material in a hurry; way too fast for me when doing cabinet work.  Flat stuff, fine.  Anything with recesses and corners, I prefer an HVLP set up.  However, if you do decide to go with an airless ProClassic would be a great product choice with it.  

John

[Cecil]

When I was looking, some folks recommended this one.

https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords=sp33000

It is LVLP (Low volume Low Presure).  I have only used it twice, but I like it.  I did some research on viscosity and followed the chart on this site (http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information...osity.html) .  I purchased the Ford cup from Home Depot, on line, delivered to store, because of the shipping cost.

There is a lot of good info at the spray gun world site, besides the viscosity chart.