Looking for Recommendations on Air Sprayer and Compressor

[David Bassett]

... One of the risks of buying something like the Harbor Freight "purple guns" is that a second"purple gun" bought a year after the first might not be compatible with the first. ...

Forget next year, it might not be compatible today. If you look at many (most?) HF items they have one name, one price, and many part numbers. I've seen purple guns on the shelves next to each other with different part numbers and subtly different appearances. But at $9.99, w/coupon, do you really care about repair parts?

[John TenEyck]

Ok I get the filter and regulator now. Would a mini Iwata be any good for painting kitchen cabinets/furniture or would that be for just small touch ups? I was hoping to find a system with swappable tips so I don't have to buy 3 different guns. Thanks again for the help!

The little Iwata's output would make painting kitchen cabinets an exercise in patience; it's not designed for projects that large. You started out by asking about a spray gun for smaller quick jobs; now you're changing direction.

You can spray small projects with a large gun but it's really hard to spray large jobs with a small one. You can strike a good middle ground by looking at mid sized guns. The LVLP gun kits sold by Homestead Finishing would be one to look at and they only need about 4 cfm at 40 psi. They come with 3 needle/nozzle sets, too, which allows you to spray most anything you would want.

John

[Tom M King]

The mini Iwata is more like a brush that sprays. The spray pattern is not cat eye shaped, but pretty uniform all across the fan. It's great for small parts. For larger surfaces, larger guns with more of a cat eye shape allow you to overlap passes, and get uniform coverage. I love the little gun for some things, but it would not be for painting cabinets.

[Josh Baldwin]

The little Iwata's output would make painting kitchen cabinets an exercise in patience; it's not designed for projects that large. You started out by asking about a spray gun for smaller quick jobs; now you're changing direction.

You can spray small projects with a large gun but it's really hard to spray large jobs with a small one. You can strike a good middle ground by looking at mid sized guns. The LVLP gun kits sold by Homestead Finishing would be one to look at and they only need about 4 cfm at 40 psi. They come with 3 needle/nozzle sets, too, which allows you to spray most anything you would want.

John

Hey John, yea that Homestead one looks like a great choice. I've been going down a crazy rabbit hole looking into the Fuji HVLP system, the 3m PPS system, etc. But I think if the Homestead setup works well for basic woodworking, cabinets, lacquer, etc then it would be a great choice. It seems like any decent $300ish 30 gallon compressor would be a good fit for that setup. Do you think a 15 Gallon would be too small with that setup? I was looking at a Speedaire compressor locally that's 15 Gallons, 5.5CFM at 90psi. Thanks

[Tom M King]

My largest compressor is a Speedaire, as is the refrigerated dryer hooked up to that one. It's a well made industrial piece. I haven't looked at their whole line, but I wouldn't expect them to sell a piece of junk. I also have a 30 gallon single stage, sold by Home Depot. I would suggest to stay away from those box store compressors, from experience with that one.

[John TenEyck]

I think that compressor will work fine but it's going to cycle a lot. That won't affect your spraying as long as you use two regulators and stay below it's max. output. The downside is the compressor will wear out more quickly but as Tom said, Speedaire has a good reputation which would give me some confidence that it's a quality unit.

FWIW, Fuji makes nice turbine units, but unless you need portability you are paying a premium over a conversion gun with no other advantage and some drawbacks.

John

[Josh Baldwin]

Ok so here are the 3 finalists I'm looking at if you guys have any input. I talked to Jeff Jewitt and I'm probably going to buy the one he sells here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/QualSpray-A...cAAOSw7ThUfiYR

I also came across this set that looked pretty nice:

https://www.eastwood.com/concours-pr...ssory-kit.html

and finally a super cheap option that actually has surprisingly good reviews:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-HV...00SG/203497812

Any thoughts on all of these options?

[John TenEyck]

The Qualspray gun will be able to spray a wider range of products because it's the only one with a pressure feed. I would choose it for that key advantage. The Eastman guns would be OK because the larger one has 3 N/N sets and the 2.0 mm one will allow you to spray reasonable high viscosity stuff, though still not as high as the Qualspray gun. The Husky guns don't offer much IMO besides low price; might better just buy the HF purple gun.

If you do go with the Qualspray gun I would get a 3M PPS cup for it, too. That will allow you to spray at any angle, including upside down. Huge advantage and you can thank me later.

John

[Josh Baldwin]

The Qualspray gun will be able to spray a wider range of products because it's the only one with a pressure feed. I would choose it for that key advantage. The Eastman guns would be OK because the larger one has 3 N/N sets and the 2.0 mm one will allow you to spray reasonable high viscosity stuff, though still not as high as the Qualspray gun. The Husky guns don't offer much IMO besides low price; might better just buy the HF purple gun.

If you do go with the Qualspray gun I would get a 3M PPS cup for it, too. That will allow you to spray at any angle, including upside down. Huge advantage and you can thank me later.

John

Hey John thanks again for the feedback. Looks like I'll be going with the Qualspray then. Jeff has this kit for sale. I assume this is the correct PPS?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/QualSpray-A...YAAOSwy5ZXBrY8

So if I buy that kit what else would you recommend buying? Just an in line filter and of course the compressor? I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. So the main advantage of the PPS is that you can spray in any direction and from what I've read you can quickly dispose of liners, etc? There was so much info out there on the PPS system and it was a bit confusing to be honest, since 3M also has their own guns and a bunch of other PPS stuff. Thanks so much for the help on all this, really would have been lost without it.

[John TenEyck]

Josh, yes, that's the same gun with the PPS setup. That's the large PPS cup for pressure feed guns. The regulator you see on the gun inlet controls the pressure to the PPS cup, not the primary air to the gun. You will still need a separate secondary regulator. I have mine on a pole in my shop. Air from the compressor comes to that regulator at 90 psi. I plug my 20 ft hose reel hose into the regulator which typically is set at 29 psi, but might be only 20 psi for Sealcoat shellac or WB dyes, or as high as 35 psi for some really high viscosity paints.

I have an inline filter like we talked about before just before the gun regulator.

The PPS pressure cup makes it possible to spray at any angle. The clear cup also allows you to see how much finish is left in the bag, more or less, compared to the metal cup that gives you no clue. The integrated filter lid is another advantage. Unless I see a lot of crud in the finish I don't bother to prefilter anymore. Ease of cleanup is another major advantage. If you are lazy, just pull the bag and filter lid out of the cup and dispose of them. But I'm cheap so I most often clean both of them and reuse them. I've had some last for a couple of years.

[Josh Baldwin]

Josh, yes, that's the same gun with the PPS setup. That's the large PPS cup for pressure feed guns. The regulator you see on the gun inlet controls the pressure to the PPS cup, not the primary air to the gun. You will still need a separate secondary regulator. I have mine on a pole in my shop. Air from the compressor comes to that regulator at 90 psi. I plug my 20 ft hose reel hose into the regulator which typically is set at 29 psi, but might be only 20 psi for Sealcoat shellac or WB dyes, or as high as 35 psi for some really high viscosity paints.

I have an inline filter like we talked about before just before the gun regulator.

The PPS pressure cup makes it possible to spray at any angle. The clear cup also allows you to see how much finish is left in the bag, more or less, compared to the metal cup that gives you no clue. The integrated filter lid is another advantage. Unless I see a lot of crud in the finish I don't bother to prefilter anymore. Ease of cleanup is another major advantage. If you are lazy, just pull the bag and filter lid out of the cup and dispose of them. But I'm cheap so I most often clean both of them and reuse them. I've had some last for a couple of years.

Great. A few more questions if I'm not driving you nuts here. So I'm trying to figure out the hose size and all of that. So I was planning on a 3/8" hose coming across the ceiling connecting into the ceiling hose reel which is also 3/8". Could I just connect the 1st regulator on to tip of the hose that I'll be pulling down or is there a reason to have it before the reel? I have 12 foot ceilings and just didn't want to have to always climb up to change it if necessary. If so, would I just basically have the 1st regulator connected to the filter then connected to the 2nd regulator in a tight stack? Also, I'm assuming I should buy a 3/8" regulator for the 1st one correct? These are 3 that I happen to come across. What do you think about the combo ones, is that a bad idea.

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Regulat...055274&sr=8-14

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Compres...055274&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Compres...055274&sr=8-12

Thanks again for the advice!

[Jim Becker]

Josh, I use that same Qualspray gun setup and I really like it. The PPS system is "da bomb", too. BTW, the "disposable" cups can last a long time. They are not one-use things, especially with waterborne products. Hot water to wash them out at the same time you're cleaning the gun is all you need to do. I've gone through only 3 in two years.

[John TenEyck]

Great. A few more questions if I'm not driving you nuts here. So I'm trying to figure out the hose size and all of that. So I was planning on a 3/8" hose coming across the ceiling connecting into the ceiling hose reel which is also 3/8". Could I just connect the 1st regulator on to tip of the hose that I'll be pulling down or is there a reason to have it before the reel? I have 12 foot ceilings and just didn't want to have to always climb up to change it if necessary. If so, would I just basically have the 1st regulator connected to the filter then connected to the 2nd regulator in a tight stack? Also, I'm assuming I should buy a 3/8" regulator for the 1st one correct? These are 3 that I happen to come across. What do you think about the combo ones, is that a bad idea.

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Regulat...055274&sr=8-14

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Compres...055274&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/NANPU-Compres...055274&sr=8-12

Thanks again for the advice!

You want two of the regulator/filter combos in your second link. You definitely don't want a lubricator unit (link 3) on the same line supplying your spray air. 3/8" hose is fine as long as the run is less than 100 ft. You want one regulator right at the compressor. The other one just prior to your hose reel and at a height where you easily can see and adjust it.

John

Oh yeah, another advantage of the PPS system, you can leave finish in the disposable liner/lid for quite awhile. Right now I'm doing a project where I'm spray Sealcoat shellac and then a WB varnish topcoat. I'm doing it in batches so I have to switch back and forth between shellac and WB varnish. After I'm done spraying the shellac I remove the bag and lid from the outer cup and install a lid cap, then clean the gun and switch to the WB varnish in another bag/filter. Rinse/repeat. Very easy and fast change over, even changing N/N sets in the gun.

[Josh Baldwin]

Josh, I use that same Qualspray gun setup and I really like it. The PPS system is "da bomb", too. BTW, the "disposable" cups can last a long time. They are not one-use things, especially with waterborne products. Hot water to wash them out at the same time you're cleaning the gun is all you need to do. I've gone through only 3 in two years.

Great, I'm definitely going to go that direction. Do you also have 3 regulators before the gun like John was mentioning? I'm maybe a bit confused about what he was saying. I figured one before the gun with filter and one at the gun would be enough, but it doesn't seem that way. Any other accessories or things I should buy to go with this whole setup that you would recommend? Thanks

[Jim Becker]

I have an overall system regulator at 90psi for the entire network, a regulator on my dedicated spraying drop at 40 psi and there's a regulator on the gun for the pressure that squeezes the PPS flexible cup (kinda like one of those famous Playtex baby bottles) that's set to 5-8 psi, if my memory is accurate. Jeff puts a booklet in the box with the gun that details what the air requirements are "at the wall" and "at the cup". Your settings may be slightly different with the LVLP version as those for my HPLP version. (both conversion guns, of course)