Finish Sprayer Advice Needed

[MikeDingas]

My finishing technique is much to be desired. I've tried brushing on poly with not too impressive results. Spraying seems to work better but is more expensive.

I have a small electric compressor with a 20 Gal tank. Given that I'll only be spraying smaller pieces (i.e., portraits, crosses, boxes, scrollsaw stuff) and lacquer-type finishes (mostly) can anyone give me advice on buying an airgun sprayer? Should I go for an airbrush set up or something larger? I'm not a volume producer so easy cleanup would be a plus.

[JohnB]

G'day Mike,
20 Gallons ain't small
For what it's worth I'd go for HVLP gun that runs on about 30-40 psi.

Using an air brush is fine for very small jobs, but you may find that over spray is a problem on larger pieces as well as the amount of product an airbrush can hold.

To get a nice consistent finish you have have a wet overlap area for each pass of the gun, I don't think an air brush would do this.

You can get HVLP guns in touch up size which would be ideal. They are a cinch to clean.

I haven't sprayed oil based poly with mine, but it does water based and thinners based lacquer very well.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94572
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...?itemnumber=86

I use both these type of guns, but I paid a lot more for mine

Just my 2 bob's worth.

[workin for wood]

Yes, I'd go HVLP with a hand canister instead of a large paint pot is all. I'm not personally into the HF stuff. You should spend as much as you can get your hands on, the more you spend the happier you will be with the sprayer. Go catalyzed acrylic, it is the easiest to spray without runs, goes on thick too. The equipment is where you pay out, the actual finish isn't so bad at all, it'll last quite a few projects. You don't end up with dust problems to deal with. You need to apply a sealer first, then sand the raised grain. 1st coat of acrylic will barely raise any more grain if any at all, just a quick wipe with some sandpaper only an hour after applying sealer is when you spray first coat. Another hour and a quick wipe with sandpaper and you go coat two. Then you are done, let is sit over night and cure. It'll be dry in 10 minutes or less! , but does need time to harden a bit for sanding. Do not let customers clean your acrylic sprayed stuff with harsh chemicals though. Super hard, non yellowing beautiful finish that you can control the spray and the gloss, but harsh cleaners and especially alcohol destroys the finish. Another plus is it is super easy to clean your equipment, just set the nozzle in a cup of water for a few minutes and rinse everything with water. No harsh chemicals.

We all know what happens when you start as cheap as you can go...you spend your money twice, or you just bail and go onto something else. That's my take anyhow.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by workin for wood

Yes, I'd go HVLP with a hand canister instead of a large paint pot is all. I'm not personally into the HF stuff. You should spend as much as you can get your hands on, the more you spend the happier you will be with the sprayer.

Snip

We all know what happens when you start as cheap as you can go...you spend your money twice, or you just bail and go onto something else. That's my take anyhow.

G'day Jeff,
I think you got the gist of my post wrong, and in case mike does too, I'll just clarify a couple of points.

I wasn't suggesting or recommending Harbour freight or the guns pictured, I was just using them as an illustration.

I do agree with you that cheap, as in CHEAP, usually does not pay, but then again for somebody in Mikes position, and mine and probably the majority of members, laying out the cash for a superdooper top of the wazza gun is probably a waste also. Considering the amount of work the gun will probably do, a middle of the road one should be more than enough.

I can't comment on prices or even give suggestions in this case as US prices are far cheaper, usually, than OZ.

I suppose the long and the short of it is "buy what you can afford, if it does the job good-oh, if not learn with it and make do until you can get something better, at least you know you like the machine and what it can do"

[GrayBeard Phil]

Mike:

I emphatically recommend against using an "air brush" since they are designed for use with finishes that have small molecules (such as paint) than the products you will be using for finishing wood projects.

Many modern water based finishes have large molecules that the air brushes are unable to correctly draw into the air flow stream. You will end up with an inaccurate amount of finish product dispersed on your project. It has to do with the volume of air (cfm) that is pushed through the spray gun. The air nozzle on most air brushes is too small for the high air volume.

Please check out the Walcom STM HVLP sprayer. This is a small finish sprayer that can be used "like an air brush." Expensive $$.

Homestead Finishing sells Walcom:
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com/htdocs/walcom2.htm
scroll to very bottom of page. Can use the small 75cc (2.5oz) bottles like an air brush. Very easy to clean and maintain. Professional grade spray gun quality. The metal used won't die on you like the cheap HF look-a-like.

Look at the Walcom SLIM line if you need to spray larger quantities than a few ounces of finish at a time.

Aside: you can Google Walcom STM for other vendors. But the service to woodworkers by the guys at Homestead is awesome.

Note the requirements for air pressure and CFM. Important to check your 20 gal tank's specifications meets both requirements. Some Sears 20 gal compressors don't.

For me personally, the cost of the Walcom gun and an air tank, versus the cost of a spray can of finish, well it would take a lot of cans to cover the cost of that Walcom gun and an air tank (with water and oil filters.)

Phil

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by GrayBeard Phil

Mike:

SNIP
Please check out the Walcom STM HVLP sprayer. This is a small finish sprayer that can be used "like an air brush." Expensive $$.

Snip
Look at the Walcom SLIM line if you need to spray larger quantities than a few ounces of finish at a time.

Snip
For me personally, the cost of the Walcom gun and an air tank, versus the cost of a spray can of finish, well it would take a lot of cans to cover the cost of that Walcom gun and an air tank (with water and oil filters.)

Phil

Crikey Phil, You sure aren't kidding about the dollars.
Obviously a very nice gun, but at a Very nice price as well

[CanadianScroller]

Wow for that price I could hire someone to finish my projects for me.

[earlinjax]

Sometime I hope to write a decent review of the Earlex 3000 http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n...AEarlex&page=1

I got some unexpected income last month and bought one. I comes to nearly $150 by the time shipping is added. I used it to paint a bunch of toys for our woodclub give away and it worked as advertised. I used oil paint, one color I thinned a bit and the other I didn't. Didn't seem to make any difference. I am new to spraying so my technique probably wasn't too good. I have never used a HVLP spray gun so have nothing to compare it to. It puts out more pressure than I thought it wood. I have no complaints about it. I do want to try it with latex and finish before I give it a full endorsement. Cleaning is time consuming but I figure it is no worse than any other piece of spray equipment. There is a feed tube and the needle and tip. Earlex sells a cleaning kit on their site which would probably be a help.

When I finish my Christmas projects (around Dec 25) I will experiment more and post again.

My compressor doesn't put out enough volume for a regular spray or HVLP gun so this was a relatively inexpensive option for me.

Earl

[JohnB]

G'day Earl,
I'm glad you found a piece of equipment you like.
I've had two simular systems over the years. In Oz they were CIG Little Beavers.
Good units for their time and money.

[workin for wood]

I think I can speak for Phil and myself here...There's no offense and no mis-interpretations of what anyone such as John or whoever else would say or recommend..we just really love to spend peoples money!

oh...notice we are both in michigan, land of a thousand taxes, and only 3 jobs.