HF Spray gun questions - again

[Chuck Hayes]

I have read everything I can find on these guns, yet I am still confused. There seem to be 3 guns that must folks like. I have a 6 Gallon 3.7CFM @ 40PSI compressor. I want to spray dye, water based stain and poly and Laquer (USL?) on mid sized projects (tables, desks etc.) Which of these will work on my compressor, if any. In verious places (web sites) it seems that people think all of these would work but in other places they say they wouldn't.

I have looked into the earlex systems as well, but would like to avoid that cost right now.

The three that I see are:

This one doesn't say HVLP, what does that mean
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92126

This one seems to be the new version of the old gem
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90977

and this is a detail gun
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46719

Any info / guidance would be apreciated.

Thanks
Chuck

[Tony Bilello]

I.....I have a 6 Gallon 3.7CFM @ 40PSI compressor. I want to spray dye, water based stain and poly and Laquer (USL?) on mid sized projects (tables, desks etc.) Which of these will work on my compressor,...... None of these will work. You may barely get by with a small touch-up gun, but that's about it. More than likely, the CFM put out by your compressor is overstated and the CFM required by the guns are understated. Of the 3 guns you mentioned, all are on the border of working - by specifications. That is not the real world. Tont B
This one doesn't say HVLP, what does that mean? It means it is not HVLP and is what is usually referred to as a conventional gun. That is the plain old Chevrolet of spray guns. Tony B
Chuck

With the compressor you have, you will not make it across a table top properly. If you have to stop and wait for the air compressor to catch it's breath, your spraying is doomed to look like crap.
Unfortunately, there is no cheap way out. I am not sure but I think WoodCraft has an HVLP gun with a turbine for under $150. I have no idea how well it works though. A self contained unit run with a turbine has lots of advantages.

[Heath Markovetz]

I'll tell you my experience spraying with the older Harbor Freight 43430 gun.

First of all, if you want to do small furniture sized pieces a detail gun will most likely not cut it. You probably won't get the flow you need or have the cup capacity to get through full pieces without running empty. It's also nice to get more than one coat out of the same cup.

I run my gun with this: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95386

I do have to wait for it, but only between pieces. I'm doing a dresser right now and I let it catch up a little between the top, the case, and the drawer fronts. I don't necessarily believe the 6SCFM@40 rating, but your compressor does sound quite a bit smaller.

You may have read, as I have, that the HF guns seem to like a lot of air.

I am very new to spraying and the only other thing I've done is motorcycle bodywork that only needed to resemble being painted, it didn't need to look good at all. I think it came out decent, considering the paint I was using and the prep that I put into it.

On my current project I've sprayed stain (followed by wiping it) then Target's new EM1000 sanding sealer tinted with TransTint, and finally EM6000 lacquer.

Adjusting the gun is very trial and error for me and I still don't think I have it down yet... My lacquer isn't coming out the way I want it to but I think most of that is my technique. I layed coats way too thick and was too far away from the piece.

What the gun came down to for me was cost. I got it on sale for something like $20, maybe 30. I figured if it didn't work it was, at least, a good experiment. Now that I have it, I think I get reasonable finish quality out of it.

I would not spend $60 on a gun from Harbor Freight though. If you're into that category I have to think for a few more bucks there are other options that would get you some support from either the vendor or manufacturer if you ever have problems, or just need some help getting the results you're after.