Earlex Spray Station HV5500 HVLP

[Doug Colombo]

I am looking to purchase a HVLP system for spraying stain, finishes, and also possibility some latex / oil paint. Has anyone had any experience with the Earlex HVLP system ?

[Curt Harms]

Not sure about latex & oil paints unless you thin 'em a bunch. The Earlex 5000 is a 2 wheel machine that doesn't produce all that much pressure. Due to having a pressurized cup it feeds pretty well. I haven't done any major projects since I got mine and have used it mostly with acrylic enamel. I thinned that maybe 10% with water and it went on well and has held up well in exterior applications-porch post, trellises and the like. Mine came with a viscosity cup. It should work great for most wood finishes I'd think and you can get different sized needle/air cap sets.

[John McClanahan]

I watched an Earlex demo at the Woodworking Show. The basic model (don't remember the model number) doesn't spray latex very well, but sprays oil based finishes fairly well. The higher priced model does a better job with latex.

John

[alex grams]

Here is a good video review from the Wood Whisprer (http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-45-music-to-my-earlex/)

[Doug Colombo]

Thanks for the info and the video link - it was good to see the unit operate and how it works. Most of the spraying will be finishes, so it sounds like this may be the way to go.

[Paul Ryan]

My 5500 just showed up on thursday and I had a chance to spray that afternoon. I sprayed a waterborne top coat and it worked very well with a 1.5mm needle. I guess that 5500 produces about twice the air flow as the 5000 so it will spray more materials with out thinning. The waterborne stuff I sprayed was really runny so it had no problem spraying it. The system will handle any un-thinned material with a viscosity of 160 sec or less in a #2 zahn cup. The finish I sprayed was 26 sec. I was very happy with the system though. I went from an auto body siphon gun to this system. The earlex is much more simple I wish I would have made the change sooner.

[Doug Colombo]

My 5500 just showed up on thursday and I had a chance to spray that afternoon. I sprayed a waterborne top coat and it worked very well with a 1.5mm needle. I guess that 5500 produces about twice the air flow as the 5000 so it will spray more materials with out thinning. The waterborne stuff I sprayed was really runny so it had no problem spraying it. The system will handle any un-thinned material with a viscosity of 160 sec or less in a #2 zahn cup. The finish I sprayed was 26 sec. I was very happy with the system though. I went from an auto body siphon gun to this system. The earlex is much more simple I wish I would have made the change sooner.
Great to hear that you are happy with the unit. I think I am going to order mine this weekend. Where did you purchase yours from ?

[Paul Ryan]

I bought it from woodwerks. It included the 1.5mm needle and a pair of coverals that wont ever get worn. The price was fair considering it is a new model. I was just about to buy the 5000 a package through woodworkers supply for a few bucks less than the 5500 with 1.5 needle. Highland woodworking had just the 5000 no other acc. for $249.00.

[Doug Colombo]

From the specs it looks like it is well worth getting the 5500 vs the 5000. I just looked at the Woodwerks site and may just order it through them (vs Amazon). I chatted with Woodcraft yesterday to see if they would price match (I have a Woodcraft not far from my home), but at least on line they said no. May call the store before I order, but am planning on getting it ordered or picked up at the store this weekend. Thanks !

[paul cottingham]

Do you think you could spray shellac with it? or tried and true?

Sorry for the hijack....

[Paul Ryan]

Paul,

I dont use shellac so I dont know for sure. But I have heard of other guys using the 5000 to spray shellac, so I dont see why the 5500 unit couldn't do it.

[Doug Colombo]

Just got a Woodcraft flyer in the mail - 5500 is going on sale for $319 !! Sounds like I will end up getting it at Woodcraft !

[Curt Harms]

There is one thing about the Earlex and presumably any turbine HVAC setup--there's a quite a bit of air blowing around stirring up dust and what-not when not spraying compared to the non-bleeder conversion gun. I wonder if anybody has a relay controlled by a low voltage circuit with a switch on the gun handle or something like it.

[Paul Ryan]

Since purchasing the 5500 I have spray 4 projects. 2 with a water clear from sherwin williams that is my usually finish for most furniture. Both turned out well. One was a closet door for a bathroom that I sprayed while it was vertical. It took some fine tuning to get the finish nice with out orange peel and without runs. I have trouble finding that sweet spot between orange peel and runs with water finishes when the piece is vertical. The other 2 projects one was sprayed with a water floor poly and the other with an oil poly. There is so little over spray and when spraying in my garage with the doors open there is no sticky mess from the poly. Both of the polys were sprayed with the project flat and turned out great super easy to get a perfect smooth finish with this system. No thinning was needed with any of the finishes and I used the 1.5mm needle for all of them. I may try celing paint in a few weeks and see how that goes.

[Steve Schoene]

Shellac can be thinned to any desired viscosity and should work just fine. Start with about 1 1/2 to 2 lb. cut.

I can't imagine wanting to spray any of the Tried and True products. They dry slowly--the varnish oil dries at glacial pace. That means the droplets of overspray WILL be still wet when they land on anything in your space. The Danish Oil still needs to be wiped off, but is so easy to wipe on that cleaning a spray gun would be morework than wiping it on almost any sized project. The Varnish Oil just couldn't handle being sprayed. You would get too much on the surface, and that would me it would virtually never cure. Varnishes need metallic driers to work well and taking them out for bogus marketing reasons leaves a very substandard product.

[Doug Colombo]

Well I bought the unit yesterday - wife got me a gift card to Woodcraft and with that and the sale, it was calling me. I have not had a chance to try it out yet, but am looking forward to trying it out in the next week or so and will post my experiences. :D

[Charlie McGuire]

I have an earlex 5000 that I have used to spray Target Coatings WB products and it has worked very well with the 1.5 needle. I've never sprayed alcohol or oil based because I don't have the right environment. I've never tried latex.

[paul cottingham]

Good point. I don't mind rubbing it on with a cloth anyways. I can't use anything with a metallic drier in it 'cause of my daughters sensitivities. So I love tried and true products.

[Tony Bilello]

Any dust close enough to the spray area to be blowing around should not be there in the first place. Conventional spray blows much harder and further and can stir up more dust even though it is only blowing when the trigger is on.
I have heard this before I bought my Earlex. I spray anywhere between 8 to 15 gallons a month and this is not a problem.