Rechargeable aerosol cans

[doug faist]

I love water-based lacquer and use it on many projects. But for small pieces (boxes, toys and the like) it is royal PITA to assemble all of the spray equipment, shoot a half pint, then clean up the whole thing.

Does anyone use rechargeable aerosol cans for that purpose? Any experience bad or good and any recommendations on a supplier?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Doug

[Mike Henderson]

I never heard of rechargeable aerosol cans - can you provide a link?

But in any case, I never got good at shooting lacquer from an aerosol can. I seem to get runs whenever I try. I think it's because of the spray pattern from the can - I'm just not accustom to it.

With my regular spray equipment I can do a better job.

Mike

[doug faist]

Mike - something similar to this.

http://www.cyclecolor.com/id57.htm

Doug

[Curt Harms]

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=spray+can&Submit=Go. (http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=spray+can&Submit=Go)

I have one, or at least I think I still have it. It came with 3 tips at the time. Works okay but I either use a rattle can or the little critter gun. (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20048&cat=1,190,43034)

[doug faist]

Curt, the little Critter gun is very interesting. Anyone else use one of these? Amazon has them for about $34; seems like a reasonable investment.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Doug

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks for the links. Learn something every day. One more question: What do you pressurize it with? Air from a compressor?

Mike

[Stephen Musial]

Not rechargeable, but a little more convenient. It's the Preval Spray "Gun":

http://www.prevalspraygun.com/

You can keep multiple bottles and spray different finishes, paints, etc. Available at most paint stores as well as Lowes and Home Depot. I sprayed my entire Powermatic 65 cabinet saw with one when I restored it.

[george wilson]

You can buy a perfectly useful suction type spray gun for less than that Critter gun. I've put on beautiful sunburst finishes on guitars for years with Asian made clones of American guns. They atomize and produce a nice pattern just fine. I would never want to try that Critter on a sunburst finish. I'm sure it would spray some dots of shading lacquer and spoil the smooth sunburst.

[doug faist]

I'm a contrarian, lazy and a tool junkie, so I ordered a Critter gun to give it a try. The clean up seems super easy and I love the idea of storing different finishes in mason jars. There's about 50 of those in our cupboard.

I let everyone know how it works out.

Thanks for all the responses.

Doug

[Phil Clark]

Doug, I use Mohawks aerosol laquers on small projects and have not lost a can for lack of pressure

[Pete Bradley]

+1 for the preval sprayer. The pattern is no better or worse than a good rattle can, and it's just the thing for some jobs.

[Don Selke]

I tried one of those pressurized spray cans and filled it from my compressor. The problem I found is that you have to thin the material excessivly to get it to flow properly. You also have to re-fill the can with air continiously. For me, not worth the trouble. When you are done finishing, you need to flush out the can and spray nozzle the same way as you would with a spray gun.
I would rather spend a little more time cleaning a mini spray gun and get a much better finish. For very small projects, I use an artists spray brush.

[Tom Klass]

I'm with Don I use an air brush for small stuff and also toning, shading, or high lighting. It's a heck of alot easier and faster to use and clean up. I'll leave the different shades in their own jars and clean out the gun and say it's done.
Have a fruitful weekend!!
Tom

[Howard Acheson]

Here is something that may work. It has a replaceable aerosol canister.

http://www.prevalspraygun.com/

I've used mine for maybe 20 years.

[Dave Cav]

I have two or three of the refillable aerosol cans from H.F., but I only use them for spray lube and things like that. I haven't ever tried them with paint or any other finish, I think it would be a PITA to clean. I pressurize mine with a bicycle pump; it only takes a few pumps, and for some reason it works a lot better than the air chuck on my compressor.

I also have a Critter gun. It's great for non critical finishes; I have shot stain, varnish, regular paint, all kinds of stuff with it. It's super easy to clean, but you are limited to a circular pattern, and unless you spend some time fine tuning the air pressure and viscosity of your finish, it's easy to get too much on and get sags and runs.

Lately I have used two gravity feed touch up guns from H.F. I believe they are:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91009

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92126

I got them both on sale and they work great with oil based enamel (all that I have tried with them so far). They work a lot better than you might expect from the price and aren't too difficult to clean. I rinse them in thinner and spray some through the gun, then flush them out with my parts washer (after I have the bulk of the paint out of them). The big advantage to them over the Critter is you can really adjust the spray pattern and amount; OTOH, they are a little more trouble to clean up.