Critter Spray Gun

[Admiral]

I've thought about these for years, in my case for spraying shellac.  Who's got one, tell me the pro's and con's.  Thx.

[Phil Thien]

I had one and it worked fine.  Clean-up was a snap.

It did seem to want to deliver a lot of media, though.

So I ended-up downsizing to mostly airbrush gear because I felt I had better control.

For finishing, I mostly use one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Badger-Air-Brush-...fts&sr=1-2

It is essentially the same thing as the Critter sprayer, just downsized.

I found 4-oz. Mason jars from Walmart fit it fine.

[Snipe Hunter]

They've been around forever. What they lack is all the things a modern spray gun can do like fluid volume control, air volume control, and fan (spray pattern) control and the ability to match your needle, tip and air cap to the finish you are spraying. You'll find that they do one thing well and you'll figure out that one thing through trial and error. Same with the type of finish you spray, it may work well for one thing but you may never figure out what that one thing is. One spray tip size, no air cap and no needle. Remember the old pump insecticide sprayers? This is basically the same design. Not intended to atomize well but intended to deliver media.

If I had only $40 to spend on a gun, I'd buy this one. It's been around about 15 years and sold under several brand names. Lowes sold it for years under the Kobalt name but it didn't come with different sized caps, needles and tips like the one linked. They might still sell it but big-box retailers have moved towards HVLP offerings. This one is not HVLP. TCP Global is a distributor and sells several decent guns and air brushes under their own name and almost always cheaper than anybody else for the same product. It comes with .5mm (thin media), .8mm (thicker media) and a 1.0mm tip, needle and air cap combinations. It has a pivoting paint cup so you can adjust it to shoot up, down or horizontally. I doubt parts are available for it so buy another one when something goes wrong. But, if you keep it clean, you'll probably never have an issue. Mine is about 13 years old and I still use it. I like it. I own some very nice SATA Mini Jet guns about the same size as this and I really don't use them because parts are so expensive. An air cap alone can cost 40 bucks.

[Willyou]

I also have the TCP set and like it. I particularly like the swivel cup. like Snipe Hunter said, It adjusts so that you can spray straight up or straight down. I sometimes wish that I could get a larger cup for it, but haven't found one. Don't need one most of the time. I have also tried to find a larger version of the gun for larger projects, but haven't found one of those either. There are systems that will do the same thing using a collapsible plastic cup liner along with internal cup pressure. I understand this works nicely, but at a much greater price. My only problem with the TCP has been finding replacement gaskets/washers that I lost. I had to do a lot of futzing around figuring out how to make them because the company doesn't sell replacements.
I also considered the Critter before I purchased the TCP gun. I have no actual experience with it. Comments I've read indicate that it does a reasonable spray job, but it has a very narrow range of pressure settings for it to work it's best. I haven't checked prices recently, but I think for the money you will get more versatility with the TCP.

[Admiral]

Thanks guys, gives me more to think about. Again, I'm only considering spraying shellac, likely just a spit coat over stain.

[Snipe Hunter]

I sometimes wish that I could get a larger cup for it, but haven't found one. Don't need one most of the time. I have also tried to find a larger version of the gun for larger projects, but haven't found one of those either.

I don't believe they exist. I've looked too. It's kind of an oddball gun but it's so versatile and like you said, i't sort of a poor man's K-Cup. Sort of. I use K-cups for my HVLP/Turbine guns because I use the guns to turn an income. 10 dollars a day in K-cups saves me an hour or so a day. Time is money. I generally don't use them when I'm working at home. I use different guns.

[Cooler]

A friend of mine in the 1960s used a Flit gun to paint his pickup truck (white Rustoleum).

It looked fine from a distance, but horrible orange peel up close.  It took him a couple of hours and I'm sure his arm was tired at the end.

[Roly]

Thanks guys, gives me more to think about.  Again, I'm only considering spraying shellac, likely just a spit coat over stain.

Look at the Harbor Freight spay gun  normally a coupon for $9.99.  Roly

[meackerman]

Look at the Harbor Freight spay gun  normally a coupon for $9.99.  Roly

I'm certainly no painter, but I found the $9.99 HF spray gun easy enough to use and did a pretty good job.

[Phil Thien]

The big different between the guns being suggested, and the others, is cleaning.

Those Critter guns are crazy-easy to clean.

If the intention is simply to spray a barrier coat of shellac, the Critter may be a good choice.