Spraying finish

[appletonrc]

I went with a HVLP combo that has a blower and spay gun. I have a 12 gallon compressor and would like a bigger one but the only spraying I do is with the HVLP. I use the compressor for my impact gun, small die grinders, etc and it runs out of steam. I guess I'm saying why not get a combo unit and size the compressor for your compressed air needs (nailers, etc)?

[Chris S]

I went through this about 10 years ago.  I don't remember there being many low cost turbine options at the time (I'm probably wrong here though).  Here's the advantages of both:

Turbine sprayer: 

• Lower cost
  
• small size (big plus if you have a small shop)
  
• siphon feed style ( finish is fed from the bottom of the gun)
  

HVLP/Compressor

• bigger choice in spray guns
  
• gravity feed style (finish is fed from the top of the top of the gun)
  
• can choose any configuration of air compressor
  
• multi use of compressor for other shop needs (sanders, metalwork, blowing sawdust around)
  

You -could- multi-attach 2 smaller compressors to get higher output.  However you most likely won't get the volume you need from 2 pancake compressors.  They are not designed to run full out like that, and you will have problems with either the motor overheating or blowing hot air from the compressor.

At the time I chose the HVLP because I hated my air compressor.  The old one was a 13 gal shrieking beast.  I needed hearing protection whenever it ran.  New one is a 60gal upright ingersol-rand 5HP air compressor.  I use it all of the time, and she's much quieter.

[tomsteve]

the concerns id have with hooking up 2 pancakes would be just about the same as 1- heat and moisture. oilless pancake compressors heat up the air pretty good and can build up quite a bit of moisture. not sayin its not possible to use a spray  gun with a pancake- i did it quite often years ago before i got a 60 gallon compressor- but it would be wise to have a way to cool the air( i coiled 25' of airhose in a 5 gallon bucket and filled with ice water) and remove the moisture( keeping the drain cracked just a bit when spraying is one trick, along with a filter regulator after the ice bucket and a cheapo hose end filter).

i sprayed sets of motorcycle tins quite often that way. didnt do ALL of the tins at once-one coat on a tank or fender then a break to let it catch up.
i attempted something bigger once- a car hood.
BIG mistake.

[Bob Vaughan]

Sears 2 Hp compressor with 20 Gal. tank:  With a standard DeVilbiss JGA cup gun I could cover four to six square feet before the compressor would cycle.  I eventually got tired of that and got a turbine HVLP and haven't looked back since.  Two small compressors would run a small touch-up gun for little projects.

Spray finishes simply eat up bunches of air and there's no real good work around.

[mdhills]

I had similar choices. Went with earlex and have been quite happy. Have sprayed:
General finishes milk paint -- works very well
General finishes high performance water-based topcoat -- worked pretty okay. Had some issues with texture on one project. Think it was the temperature
Shellac works well
Dye worked well

(I also like the hand-wiped general finishes oil-based finishes. -- either arm'r'seal or gel based topcoat)

I was especially happy with uniformity when spraying the milk paint. Spraying does require some maintenance to clean the gun. (More maintenance than dealing with an oily rag from a wipe-on varnish)

Matt

[Steve N]

Some push for a medium sized compressor. Medium means a lot of different things, you want SCFM of 8 or better unless your spraying is going to be a bunch of small boxes. It just doesn't work well to run out of air midway. The key to good spraying is a constant uninterrupted flow.

Didn't know Earlex got bought, could be a game changer. I looked it up, and seems like it was In November 2013.


This review for Highland Woodworking says 2014 It looks just like what they said about the one I have from before Wagner. I honestly don't know except for this review, but maybe Wagner goes with the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school of thought? Gotta say it looks just like mine, which is somewhere before 2010.

[handi]

I have been using Rockler's turbine HVLP gun for a decade now. I have sprayed it side by side with $400.00 HVLP systems with very similar results. Any of these low end HVLP systems will serve you well if you are cautious.

First, most spray problems are directly resulting from guns improperly cleaned. Keeping the gun clean, straining and filtering your fluids, etc. keep things clean and you will get the best results.

To this end, I generally only use water based finishes. For the occasional user like me, it is just easier to use and maintain.