Spray finishing

akaminski

akaminski

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been looking more and more into spray finishing. Looking into guns and clear coats, what spray guns and finishes do you guys use.

Also i notice there are many different types of guns and i know i have talked to some people and they all say use a HVLP gun with my compressor, but there are different sizes and tip diameters.

What have you found to work the best as far as size and what clear coats work the best. Thanks in advance!!!

Adam
 
akaminski said:
I have been looking more and more into spray finishing. Looking into guns and clear coats, what spray guns and finishes do you guys use.

Also i notice there are many different types of guns and i know i have talked to some people and they all say use a HVLP gun with my compressor, but there are different sizes and tip diameters.

What have you found to work the best as far as size and what clear coats work the best. Thanks in advance!!!

Adam
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For the type of clear I would recommend an Auto clear, with built in UV protection. As for the gun, I think what ever works best in this application most Automotive Paint suppliers should be able to provide the information you need. If I were you I would use a product you can buy locally, that way you will not have any problems getting additional questions answered.

Oh and by the way, pay close attention to the working time of the product you buy.

I am sure you most likely gave this some thought, but I hope it helps.
 
get a decent gun one thats a offbrand of a bigname and for what your doing go for a 1.0 - 1.5 and as long as your cue is spinning you will be good to go keep the over spray down by using low air pressure and narowing your patern you can get away with a touch up gun since you only need a couple ounces.

heres a idea, below.

i own this set and they spray well and i used to paint cars full time, i used this set to paint a lexus recently. great deal just remeber to buy some thinner also and clean your gun very well after clear.

if you need any help feel free to email me
marleycustomcues@yahoo.com i might have a gun or 2 i could let go of also

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HVLP...Z190392553763QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

as far as clear PPG has a new clear that im going to try and it flashes in about 20 minutes and is dray completly in about 2-3 hrs and you can sand and buff that day.
 
Trent said:
get a decent gun one thats a offbrand of a bigname and for what your doing go for a 1.0 - 1.5 and as long as your cue is spinning you will be good to go keep the over spray down by using low air pressure and narowing your patern you can get away with a touch up gun since you only need a couple ounces.

heres a idea, below.

i own this set and they spray well and i used to paint cars full time, i used this set to paint a lexus recently. great deal just remeber to buy some thinner also and clean your gun very well after clear.

if you need any help feel free to email me
marleycustomcues@yahoo.com i might have a gun or 2 i could let go of also

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HVLP...Z190392553763QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

as far as clear PPG has a new clear that im going to try and it flashes in about 20 minutes and is dray completly in about 2-3 hrs and you can sand and buff that day.
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Thanks for the info.....i have been looking at the Harbor freight professioanl 2 gun set for 49.99. plus i have a 10 dollar gift card there so it wouldnt be a bad price.....
 
Someone posted a link to a video interview with a well known cue maker.
It showed him holding the butt on a piece of string and spraying from the top to the bottom and spiining the cue. That was his spray booth.
I'd buy a plastic shower curtain from the dollar store and hang than against a wall. If you like spraying, you can build a booth later.

I visited a auto body supply store and they had ready made spray bombs in auto clear. I asked him which one would work well with wood. He showed me one and told me it had a pretty good build to it. I'd be inclined to try this spray bomb once and if it didn't work,whats to lose?
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Someone posted a link to a video interview with a well known cue maker.
It showed him holding the butt on a piece of string and spraying from the top to the bottom and spiining the cue. That was his spray booth.
I'd buy a plastic shower curtain from the dollar store and hang than against a wall. If you like spraying, you can build a booth later.

I visited a auto body supply store and they had ready made spray bombs in auto clear. I asked him which one would work well with wood. He showed me one and told me it had a pretty good build to it. I'd be inclined to try this spray bomb once and if it didn't work,whats to lose?
Click to expand...

I hope he wasn't spraying AUTO clearcoat. :eek:
 
Blue Hog ridr said:
Someone posted a link to a video interview with a well known cue maker.
It showed him holding the butt on a piece of string and spraying from the top to the bottom and spiining the cue. That was his spray booth.
I'd buy a plastic shower curtain from the dollar store and hang than against a wall. If you like spraying, you can build a booth later.

I visited a auto body supply store and they had ready made spray bombs in auto clear. I asked him which one would work well with wood. He showed me one and told me it had a pretty good build to it. I'd be inclined to try this spray bomb once and if it didn't work,whats to lose?
Click to expand...

I've been reading these comments and ideas in disbelief. I had a bunch of comments and criticisms but I can see it would be a waste of time and I deleted them. After reading these comments I feel as though I just watched a movie of the Key Stone Cops.

Dick
 
Bhq turned me onto this stuff called transtar. Its good for the money. You should buy cheaper in the beginning til u get experience. 1 gal plus hardner is around 100$ cant beat it... Also the cheaper guns at horrible freight will do for now.

A good maker told me a long time ago its not ness the way you spray or what you spray as much as your technique when rubbing the cue out. The best guys like searing haley and mobley wont tell you their technique bc then youll be doing it. Im sure it matters to a certin extent but the finished product is all you

<~~~~~ just moved his shop so has to build a new booth :(
 
akaminski said:
Thanks for the info.....i have been looking at the Harbor freight professioanl 2 gun set for 49.99. plus i have a 10 dollar gift card there so it wouldnt be a bad price.....
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ive bought those guns before and trust me dont waste your time and money they have bad cheap seals and are very low quality i bought them for small primer jobs and odds and end things and i think i used them 3 times before the seals went bad and i trashed them.
 
Spray Procedure

Adam,

After much time spent trying different things, here is what works best for me:

I used to use a .8 jam gun. After reading the spec. sheets for Omni & Concept Clear Coat they tell you to use a 1.4 tip gun. After I moved to the 1.4 tip gun with a wider pattern I got a more even finish without any fisheyes as the coating was going on a little thicker. This wider pattern does waste some material but my finish is more uniform. I use 3 coats with 12 mins. between re coats.

I don't spin while I spray and I make 6 passes turning the cue 1/6 each time. I do slow spin the cue after the spraying for 12 minutes between coats.

Don't forget the tack cloth before the 1st coat and make sure there is no dust in the air. My new shop design has a separate temperature controlled room for applying the epoxy substrate and clear coat so no dust migration will occur.

It's wise to think about installing a large wooden butterfly valve in your booth exhaust duct pipe so you can close it after spraying to stop cold air from migrating into your both between coats and after spraying. Temperature range control is critical with automotive clear and if you don't control it as to the manufacturer's guidelines, your finish will suffer during the colder months from the cold air creeping into the booth.

Good Luck,

Rick Geschrey
 
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I've been spraying PPG DC3000 for 3 years and I'm very happy with the results. I wait 4 minutes between coats and it's air dried in about 2 hours. I then wait 48 hours before wet sanding. You can sand sooner but it seems a lot harder after 2 days instead of one.

I've been using a Finex touch up gun for the same amount of time. I think it cost me around $90 bucks. Same gun for 3 years and still going. I think I've got my $ worth.
 
rhncue said:
I've been reading these comments and ideas in disbelief. I had a bunch of comments and criticisms but I can see it would be a waste of time and I deleted them. After reading these comments I feel as though I just watched a movie of the Key Stone Cops.

Dick
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I agree. I had a great booth, sealed with a plexiglass window in front that opened a lengthwise gap for spraying, then closed once done. It had a filtered exhaust fan in the back that sucked up the overspray & fumes immediately, pulling it all through the filter & blowing the air out some ducting that went outside. I swapped filters after every day of spraying. I sprayed chromaclear, ppgDC, nason, omni, etc. & all made for good finishes. No matter how air tight & filtered I did things, I could still smell the finish days after I sprayed. That scared me into not spraying anymore. Even though I wore a big filtered mask during the spray, I was scared about the aftermath my body will deal with later from breathing the residual fumes.

I decided to work on finding a finish that would allow me to apply without atomizing/spraying and was low enough on harmful fumes that I had no worries using it. I love building cues but it's not worth my health & happiness in life. If I had to use a sub standard finish that was safe, rather than an awesome finish that would kill me when i'm 50, then i'm certainly doing the crappy finish. Luckily I found a way to use a good finish & get great results as good as I ever had with auto clear, and no spraying or funky fumes. But auto clear & spray guns will never have a place in my shop again.
 
Sorry Dick, didn't mean to offend you or anyone else.
There had been past discussions where it was mentioned that in the past, cuemakers did suspend a cue and spray. Then I saw the video where the cuemaker was doing it right in the middle of his shop.

I'd also seen shop pics where people had isolated a sanding/finishing lathe with a shower curtain suspended by curtain rods that were designed to hang from a ceiling and surround an entire tub.

I don't have anywhere close to the space needed for a spray booth so down the road if I was to entertain the idea of using a spray gun for poly, thats probably what I would have to do is use a shower curtain so as to not over spray on a wall. I do have a finishing lathe that I could spray on but still don't want to over spray.

And lastly, I don't have any dillusions about the quality of a clear coat spray bomb. I wouldn't think the nozzle would be any match for a quality gun. I have lots of house cues to practice on and was just thinking out loud when I mentioned I would try one for giggles and see what the out come will be. If it worked great, I suppose all the cue makers would be using spray bombs by now. It would be something I would try outside and even then use my respirator.
And then the worst that could happen is I might have some airplane sized Saskatchewan mosquitos stuck to my cue.
 
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