HVLP systems

Hi Dave,

You can certainly do better on the price. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't even consider that unit.
I'd suggest getting a decent stand-alone compressor instead. I use air all over my shop, not just for shooting finish. Something to consider.
Are you going to drag this thing out every time you want to blow off your lathe?
I'm not wild about the gun either, they tend to waste, particularly when shooting small amounts. Get a gun with the cup on top, gravity feed.

When I shoot, I mix teaspoons. One teaspoon will do complete coverage on 2 shafts in one session. Handles, about 3-5 teaspoons and will get multiple sessions. The gun you're looking at will leave that much in the cup.

No, I think the unit that you're looking at is for the DIYer that wants to do a door panel or fender. It's not well suited for cues.
 
KJ makes some excellent points, especially about wasting finish. Back when I still sprayed cues I bought just about every style of gun I could find. The kind KJ described did waste the least amount of finish and at over $150 a gallon you don't want to waste much. I finally settled in on a little jam gun that had a plastic cup, because it seemed to spray the best. I did waste more finish, but I was usually spraying a few cues at a time, so that was not so much of a concern for me.
Here is what I did not like about using a compressor and gun. Even with two inline water filters, one on the gun and one on the tank, it seemed to give me little bubbles in the finish at times. Some said it was water and others said it was solvent trapped. Well I got a mid priced Wagner HVLP system that woked kind of like a vacuum cleaner. I set the gun like I wanted it and every time I turned it on it sprayed the same way. Clean dry air every time. Yes I wasted some finish every time and I still needed a compressor in my shop for other things, but that was what I used for spraying the last years I sprayed.
Wagner quit making the model I bought and that has been several years and I cannot vouch for any particular model from what is available today. I do remember them telling me I needed a heavy fluid nozzle for it and it worked great. The guy who told me to get that HVLP set up used a more expensive one for years. But the last time I was in his shop he told me it had died and he was using a air brush and compressor. I asked him why he changed and he said basically what KJ said. He said he was saving so much on finish as he only had to mix a little up to spray a cue.
 
I recommend Sharpe Finex detail gun if you must spray.
If you're going to spray car finish, it's gonna cost a ton of money to do it safely.
 
I'm no great spray artist, but what I learned the hard way is to make sure your compressor has a high enough flow rate (CFM) or you will always wonder "What the heck is the big deal with this HVLP stuff? It sucks!"

But now that I have a big enough compressor, I get great results using the Woodriver Pro Mini Gun like this one:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=25130&ss=664e1e7d-b715-454b-95ee-79b2d58bc535

But I spray General Finishes Enduro-Var Gloss - water based urethane so YMMV.

My 2 cents,

Gary
 
GEBrown said:
I'm no great spray artist, but what I learned the hard way is to make sure your compressor has a high enough flow rate (CFM) or you will always wonder "What the heck is the big deal with this HVLP stuff? It sucks!"

But now that I have a big enough compressor, I get great results using the Woodriver Pro Mini Gun like this one:

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage.aspx?prodid=25130&ss=664e1e7d-b715-454b-95ee-79b2d58bc535

But I spray General Finishes Enduro-Var Gloss - water based urethane so YMMV.

My 2 cents,

Gary
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I deleted my comment. I think I misread your post
 
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I currently use cyno and not happy with it. I have a couple cheapie spray guns from Harbor Freight, just haven't taken the time to really dial them in. I moved my spray booth into my basement and my compressor is in my shop/garage, so I have to decide if I want to buy another compressor, or an all contained system. I like the idea of dry air from the contained system, HF has one of those also, but the finest tip is 1.5mm. Is that ok or should it be smaller? I know the Woodcraft sales guys pretty good now and this weekend one of them gave me a 2 oz. sample of the pre-cat WB urethane gloss they sell with 2 oz of the sealer to try. I liked the sample piece of tiger maple they sprayed to show how hard and shiny it is, so I'm going to give it a shot. Thanks for all the input guys, I appreciate it very much.
Dave
 
What ever you've found that works best for you, personally, is what's best for you. I used a copy of a Sata, gravity feed gun that I got from an auto paint supply house for awhile and then started to use Harbor Freight ones that looked and probably were identical. I kept buying these guns and now I have about 8 of them. They seemed to spray pretty good but not perfectly. I finally broke down and bought a genuine Sata and what a difference it made. It lays the finish on so smoothly and evenly that rubbing out is now much, much easier. It is consistent from use to use and is much easier to clean. The main concern when purchasing one is to get one with the correct size needle and orifice for the material that you are using. Many think because it is a smaller gun and you are spraying a small amount that a smaller nozzle is needed but that's not necessary true.

Dick
 
rhncue said:
Many think because it is a smaller gun and you are spraying a small amount that a smaller nozzle is needed but that's not necessary true.

Dick
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I also use a Sata Minijet. I used a cheap gun at first, but the results sucked. I'm sure there are other nice guns that will work just as well, but I wouldn't buy a cheap one.

For a long time I used a 1.0mm Nozzle. Dick once posted that the guys at the paint store told him that he needed a minimum of 1.3mm, so I bought one. The spec sheets also tell you this.

I couldn't control the finish at all with the 1.3. I switched back to the 1.0 and it works fine for me.

If anybody's looking for a 1.3mm for a Minijet, I'll sell them mine for $40 delivered. That's about 1/2 price and it's been used 3 or 4 times.
 
> I recently went and asked 3 different guys of varying experience spraying cars and asked them what they thought. All 3 said the Sata,and the Minijet in particular,should be considered first,regardless of cost. One guy,who's paint work is so good the shop he works for charges a different rate for his skill,said that if you truly care about what you are spraying,you'll come up off the hip for the Mini and never regret it,but he makes his own tips and won't tell me what he's using there,LOL.

I have 2 questions closely related.

Can CA BE sprayed? I would think that the tip would clog before you got the whole thing done,plus even a few teaspoons would be an ENORMOUS amount of it.

Even mixing auto clear in similar amounts,would there be any value in trying to use an airbrush gun,mounted on a slide rail? Tommy D.
 
Mini jet...SR 1.0 nozzle.... been working fine for me for as long as the #3's have been out. Now it's a #4. Same gun, with an extra air micrometer. There are a few brands names that will work as well but you will never get the results you're looking for with cheap crap in this dept. If you can't afford the top of the line, don't waste your $ on the cheap ones because it's like burning 20 dollar bills with a butane torch.
 
I know some stuff is good and some are not but both can run some bucks to find out which is which. If I had $300 to spend on a setup, what would be recommended? Is that too little or in the ballpark?
Dave
 
Dave38 said:
I know some stuff is good and some are not but both can run some bucks to find out which is which. If I had $300 to spend on a setup, what would be recommended? Is that too little or in the ballpark?
Dave
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You can get the gun for around that. Add another couple or 3 hun for compressor depending on the size you get...and maybe another couple hun for hoses, filters and all the other misc. things you'll buy to get started.
Probably to start on the low end 600-900 on the high.
 
All good advice and I'm not going to argue with any of it.
However, I don't know that coming right out of the box with the best of the best is the way to go in YOUR particular situation.
If I understand you correctly, you want to find-out if spraying is the right direction for you to go. I prefer it but that doesn't mean that you will. So why mortgage the house if all you want to do is find-out if spraying is right for you?

This statement causes me more than a little concern:
"I moved my spray booth into my basement".
Seriously man, you may want to rethink this move. Auto-clear fumes have NO place in your house or anywhere near your family.
If I had a wife & kids, I wouldn't want them being exposed to even Krylon.
 
JoeyInCali said:
I recommend Sharpe Finex detail gun if you must spray.
If you're going to spray car finish, it's gonna cost a ton of money to do it safely.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I like the Sharpe Finex gun also. I use the 1.4 tip as it is the recomeded nozzel for the Concept Clear of Omni products. I used to use a .8 and had problems because the mill thickness of the coating was too thin. After referring to the Manufacture's spec sheet, I get a much better spray job with the 1.4 and it sands and buffs better.

I might waste some material but the job is clearly better.

I am also a fan of using a compressor.

Compressor Set Up Tip:

To treat your air supply better it is wise to install a larger air receiver downstream of you compressor's primary tank. I use a 60 gallon tank and due to the larger volume, the air is cooler and has less moisture content. When I spray cues, the compressor never turns on as I have more volume than needed. When air is compressed there is a point where the temperature and the dew point meets and the air is supersaturated with moisture, hence the moisture in the tanks that needs to be purged. If you install an auto condensate drain on both your tanks and use a desiccant dryer filter downstream of the 2nd tank before your particulate filter, the quality of your air for spraying will be stellar and consistent. I have a air isolation valve on my 2nd tank ( dedicated to coating only - not shop air ) and the air in that tank is always ambient shop temperature. After spraying I open the valve and let the tank fill up and then I close the valve. The next time I spray, the air in that 2nd tank is cool and relatively dry before it hits the drying filter. The filter does not need to absorb a huge amount of excess moisture like you see when coming off a compressor with one tank which will be hot and moist.


Rick G
 
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KJ Cues said:
This statement causes me more than a little concern:
"I moved my spray booth into my basement".
Seriously man, you may want to rethink this move. Auto-clear fumes have NO place in your house or anywhere near your family.
If I had a wife & kids, I wouldn't want them being exposed to even Krylon.
Click to expand...

It's actually usually used for putting on epoxy and cyno, with rotation. I have an exhaust fan setup on it that blows out thru an old dryer vent 4 ft away and a door with vent holes in it with a filter over it so it can pull in clean air then exhaust it outside. I have used it for krylon, but rarely. I am actually looking to spray waterbased finish in this one. I realize that a whole different setup is needed for automotive clearcoat, and don't plan on pursuing that at this time, not enough extra bucks or space available:grin:
Dave
 
BarenbruggeCues said:
You can get the gun for around that. Add another couple or 3 hun for compressor depending on the size you get...and maybe another couple hun for hoses, filters and all the other misc. things you'll buy to get started.
Probably to start on the low end 600-900 on the high.
Click to expand...

Yikes, I guess I'll be surfing craig's list for awhile.......
 
scdiveteam said:
Hi,

I like the Sharpe Finex gun also. I use the 1.4 tip as it is the recomeded nozzel for the Concept Clear of Omni products. I used to use a .8 and had problems because the mill thickness of the coating was too thin. After referring to the Manufacture's spec sheet, I get a much better spray job with the 1.4 and it sands and buffs better.

I might waste some material but the job is clearly better.

I am also a fan of using a compressor.

Compressor Set Up Tip:

To treat your air supply better it is wise to install a larger air receiver downstream of you compressor's primary tank. I use a 60 gallon tank and due to the larger volume, the air is cooler and has less moisture content. When I spray cues, the compressor never turns on as I have more volume than needed. When air is compressed there is a point where the temperature and the dew point meets and the air is supersaturated with moisture, hence the moisture in the tanks that needs to be purged. If you install an auto condensate drain on both your tanks and use a desiccant dryer filter downstream of the 2nd tank before your particulate filter, the quality of your air for spraying will be stellar and consistent. I have a air isolation valve on my 2nd tank ( dedicated to coating only - not shop air ) and the air in that tank is always ambient shop temperature. After spraying I open the valve and let the tank fill up and then I close the valve. The next time I spray, the air in that 2nd tank is cool and relatively dry before it hits the drying filter. The filter does not need to absorb a huge amount of excess moisture like you see when coming off a compressor with one tank which will be hot and moist.


Rick G
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Rick. Any thoughts about running a line from a garage to the basement, underground? This way I keep the compressor in the garage but have air in the basement. I'm thinking of the downstream tank in the basement which is about 25ft away. I have an unused pvc conduit going between them already that I could pull a hose thru.
DAve
 
Dave38 said:
Thanks for the advice Rick. Any thoughts about running a line from a garage to the basement, underground? This way I keep the compressor in the garage but have air in the basement. I'm thinking of the downstream tank in the basement which is about 25ft away. I have an unused pvc conduit going between them already that I could pull a hose thru.
DAve
Click to expand...

Dave,

Running a line underground should be no problem. One thing I would advise is to make sure that there are no metal connections under the ground or outside as this can get supercooled and a rime ice can build up and shut of the air in the winter.

I was a commercial diver for 30 years and we have to make sure the metal hose connections were wrapped in insulation and did not sit on concrete or metal decks. It that biz, if you did not understand and maintain pneumatic systems correctly, you might run out of air to breath.

Good luck,

Rick
 
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