Hvlp Spray Rig

[Buter]

Hi guys

Apologies in advance for asking this question here, but I sorta e-know most of you and know what sort of background/knowledge base you all have.

I'll be getting an HVLP rig for my spray booth (currently housing 3 bathroom suites and a dishwasher) as soon as my house, which is undergoing a major renovation/extension, is finished. The only way wifey and I could afford to do all the work is by finishing the job ourselves. This will include painting interior and exterior walls and spraying all the cabinets and furniture that I will be making (out of the old rafters, 150-ish year old pine; you oughta see how many and how tight the growth rings are on some of these boards!).

For those of you in the know, would this spray rig that I was looking at to do my guitars, surfboards and skateboards also work with house paint? If this seems like an easy or silly question, it's because I've avoided painting a house for all of my 35 years and I'm completely ignorant on the subject.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers

Buter

[Mender]

Yes is the answer, but there is a but (isn't there always? )

You will need to thin the paint for it to work. How much you need to thin it depends on the type and brand (and sometimes even the batch) of paint. It will be a case of thin it a little and try it. If it doesn't spray evenly, thin a little more, until you get an even spray pattern without spatter, and without runs, but still keeping a good depth of colour.

I've used my HVLP gravity feed gun and 4 cu/ft/min compressor with good results with oil based gloss household paint, as well as the various types of emulsions available. You just have to get the correct viscosity

[MAGGOTBRAIN]

With the correct tip and pin set, it will push latex(waterborne) wall an ceiling paint. But with the way the paint is atomized , flow rates and small cup size, it would be a pretty slow way to paint ceilings or walls. It would be faster the old school way, brush an roll. For cabinets, mill work and furniture it will work fine. Another thing with these type of sprayers is that with any fast drying product it can cause webbing (product drying at the tip) as the unit blows pretty hot air. Adding a second length of hose helped with that but only marginally.

lol,,,Ive been painting houses for as long an you have managed to avoid it...........

Lucky you.

Peace

Jack

[Batfink]

I don't like turbo fan compressors one little bit and i've never seen anyone in the automotive trade ever touch one with a 10 foot pole. For that sort of coin i'd lean more towards a decent gun like a Devilbiis Sri or a Sata Minijet and a normal compressor, it'll be a lot more versitile and give you better results in the long run.

Oh, and as for painting your house i'd follow Maggotbrain's advice and do it the normal way, it'd be much quicker.

And one last thing, if you do decide on buying a pro spec gun do not, in any circumstances, put household paint through it. The pigments and carriers are no where near as refined as 'proper' paint and it'll do the gun no favours at all.

[Kammo1]

I don't like turbo fan compressors one little bit and i've never seen anyone in the automotive trade ever touch one with a 10 foot pole. For that sort of coin i'd lean more towards a decent gun like a Devilbiis Sri or a Sata Minijet and a normal compressor, it'll be a lot more versitile and give you better results in the long run.

Oh, and as for painting your house i'd follow Maggotbrain's advice and do it the normal way, it'd be much quicker.

And one last thing, if you do decide on buying a pro spec gun do not, in any circumstances, put household paint through it. The pigments and carriers are no where near as refined as 'proper' paint and it'll do the gun no favours at all.

+1 nowadays e-bay can be your friend

[Buter]

Right, guys, thanks for your input on this.

Given the advice here and elsewhere, I've gone away from the HVLP idea.

I've just ordered a decent compressor (from ebay, Kammo1) and it comes with, I'm assuming, a very cheap, basic spray gun that should be fine for running house paint through. To be honest, I could use a compressor in the workshop anyway, I've just never been able to justify it before.

So now that I have a compressor, what should I be looking for in a good quality spray gun? I'm afraid simply putting the word 'professional' in the name of the equipment is not enough for me. I've heard a couple of brand names thrown around, what brands would those of you in the know recommend and why? What features are desireable for shooting water-based sanding sealer and gloss coats? I would be shooting at least two guitars at a time - or 4 or 5 skateboards or a surfboard. Do I want a gravity feed guy or a syphon feed?

I know some of this stuff has been covered here before, so apologies to the forum police, but I was typing anyway, so I thought I'd get a couple of up to date thoughts on this.

If anyone sees a good deal on the UK ebay, please feel free to point me in that direction via this thread or pm.

Cheers

Buter

[ihocky2]

I'm not great with who makes the best spray guns and such, but I do know that you want to make sure it states that the gun is compatible with water-base. I am not sure what the differences are, but not all guns work well with water-based. As for what is a good gun to get, you can drop the large amount of money on a SATA and get great results with it, but you don't HAVE to spend that much money for great results. I asked the guy at the local PPG shop if I would see a big difference between my Finex 1000 and a SATA mini and he said that for the size projects I am doing you would not notice much of a difference. If you have the right tip size and and pressure a lower to mid grade gun will do just fine. You might need to do a little more level sanding, but even then it will be minimal. He said if you are working on a lot of pieces or large pieces you will see a difference, but not something the size of a guitar. By lower-to mid grade I do not mean Harbor Freight either, but something starting in the $100 ball park, maybe a little less.

I vote gravity feed all the way.

What size compressor did you get and what is the CFM rated at? That will go a long way in determining your selection. You'll probably need to get a mini gun since they require less air in an HVLP.

[Kammo1]

For water based guns I would use a 1.5mm nozzle gun but check with the finish tech department and they will recommend the appropriate size but I think 1.5mm is a good starting point. Now as reagards guns agree a gravity fed gun is perfect, make and model is entirely based on your budget "BUT" bear in mind this simple fact which I'm sure everyone will agree with me. Nearly 99.9% of all finished guitar bodies are wetsanded flat after the application of the final gloss topcoats so a £400+ spraygun that has superior atomisation is not needed, sure it will make the wetsanding alot easier as it has less defects but I can assure you a £20-30 spraygun of e-bay will do just a good a job if you have tuned the gun to the finish,trust me! I have 4 guns which I use all the time

3 mini HVLP guns both with 1mm nozzles and I can spray almost anything through them provided I have thinnned them accordingly will very little orange peel or surface defects. 3 full size guns a Devilbiss copy 1.3mm, a cheapo primer gun with a 1.8mm nozzle and a full size gun for my Polyester clears ie 2.0mm and they will handle any finish on the market. Total cost of all my guns £150 if not less. I have seen guitars sprayed by amateurs that have used £300 Sata guns as they belived they would have a flawless finish and to be honest I could of done better brushing the stuff on!!!! don't be misled by all the hype and bullshit out there find out what works best for you, yes it may cost you a fair bit but in the end its what works for you. I have been finishing guitars for well over 30 years and to be honest I am still learning and keeping up with new products and if in doubt always ask the tech dept of the paints you're using and what they recommend and they will be only glad to help. Even suggest trial samples and they may oblige or sell you them for a discounted rate.

I am trying some fabulous Polyester at the moment and to be honest the gloss level is out of this world and is absoutely crystal clear but its amazing stuff. i am testing it at the moment and I know for a fact I will be using this 100% of the time, hope this helps.

[postal]

I know this thread has been around awhile....

Sata, Iwata, and develbliss are *THE* names when it comes to premium HVLP.

Those are pricey brands....

I'm new to painting. I have help from a very experienced painter who owns and uses all those brands above on a daily basis.

I bought a gun from harbor freight for a WHOPPING $15... Its not HVLP- its actually a standard high pressure. They do have HVLP for a little more money.

That $15 gun sprayed 2k clear last night on 2 of my guitars with excellent results. The only problem was the painter- not the gun.

If you are not an expert painter... go online to harbor freight and get a few of those $15-50 guns. It will be several years before you're better than that gun- After several years, you would appreciate a Sata/Iwata... but for a beginner, that $15 gun is pretty darn good....

You should get a gravity feed. Most of the harbor freight guns are- including the 15 dollar one. The $50 hvlp is better I'm told. Generally, gravity feed gives more even paint flow. Also easy to clean up- dont need to mix a large amount of paint for it to work properly either.

You should register at "kustom kulture lounge.com" It's a site dedicated to painting. Mostly automotive, also airbrushers and pinstripers too. a LOT of info there on products/guns but note that most of them are professionals with a lot of experience so you see "iwata/sata/develbliss" everywhere, and none of them talk about harbor freight guns... but there is a lot of good info there. search for threads on painting guitars, and painting wood. Search on several user names including mine, XYZ, and Syxxstring. A week or 2 I'll have a new thread on 2 guitars Just painted with 2k. There is plenty of info out there for spraying, but that site generally is 2k automotive paint... not much help to nitro die hards except for equipment recommendations..

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*************EDIT****************

Just read something about waterbase paint......... ugh........

To spray waterbase, everthing in the gun that touches paint must be aluminum, or stainless steel. This is where the expensive guns come in.

Run waterbase through a cheap gun with any steel parts..... they rust. Dont know about the harbor freight guns... the body is aluminum, some parts are obviously stainless, but the needle.... or some othersteel parts might not be stainless....

However... at $15.... Its a throw away gun anyway. I actually got suckered in to getting a warranty on mine.... which aint a bad idea.... others had told me, they shoot primer through it, dont bother cleaning it.... take it back and get a new one!!!!!!!!

I was told I should buy 2 more of these. 1 for primer, one for color base coats, and one for clear coat only. I'm out a whopping $30 for 2 more.... and with that warranty (no serial number) if any gun has a hiccup, and can exchange it.... and harbor freight is about 2 miles from my house..... talk about convenient!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My father shoots waterbase all the time in his HVLP. I dont know who made it... he said he bought it in an autoparts store for about $100. No rust issues with his.

Edited October 21, 2010 by postal