Got the Earlex 5500 HVLP

[Jerome Hanby]

Called Jay at my local Woodcraft to find out if the Earlex sale was still going on. I was actually wondering about the current bundle where you get two needle/tips, 1.5 and 2.0 mm. I believe that he was thinking about the recent Woodcraft sale and said the sale was over but he'd give it to me at that price! I'm pretty sure that $319 sale price was just the regular set with one needle. I walked out with the unit (with both needles) and a cleaning kit for about $360 including sales tax.

I can't say enough good things about our local Woodcraft. I'm bad with names, so I can't iterate them here, but the three guys and lady I deal with there regularly are all knowledgeable and we usually end up swapping "war" stories. Jay, the manager, always seems interested in whatever old piece of iron I'm currently lusting after or trying to refurbish.

I don't have a ton of money lying around, but I try to throw my meager business to them whenever I can.

I've never really thought about Woodcraft as being a place for bargains, but that Earlex and especially all those hinges I bought for shop cabinets were the best prices I could find! The hinges were on clearance, and i had to order them from the website, but I think that still counts <g>

Looking forward to spraying some shellac with this new rig. From all I've read, I have high expectations.

[Bill White]

Good score. Keep us posted on the quality of the finishing from the unit.
Bill

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Nice! Let us know how it works out. Have you sprayed with HVLP before?

[Jerome Hanby]

Only spraying I've done my whole life (other than with a can of spray paint) was when I was 16 and I painted this aqua-marine 70 and 1/2 Toyota Corona red. I figured that out as I went and obviously didn't figure too well as the North Alabama sun faded it to pink in less than two years! That was definitely not HVLP. But, I do live near a Holiday Inn Express...

[Steve Kohn]

Hopefully you'll spray that shellac in a very well ventilated area or outside!

If you don't then you'll know what I mean.

[Curt Harms]

Jerome, I think you'll be pleased with your purchase. I have the earlier model and just used it to spray a louvered closet door. Painting louvers with a brush did not sound like a fun time. Shellac with the 1.5 mm tip to keep the grain raising to a minimum then acrylic "latex". I thinned it a little with distilled water, used the 2 mm tip and I'm pleased with the final product. It amazes me that for as much air as comes out of the gun there is virtually NO airborne overspray. If I were to use it where there's a lot of dust on nearby surfaces though ......:eek:.

[Jerome Hanby]

I'm actually looking for one of those popup 10x10 canopies with the four screen walls to setup in front of the shop and use for a spraying booth. Might be 20 days a year here when it would be too cold, I think I can work around those <g>, but it rains all the time... So, I'll be about as well ventilated as can be managed...

[alex grams]

when I use mine i drape plastic all over the tools/cabinets in the garage, crack the garage door a few feet (depending on wind/weather) and turn on an overhead filter to full blast. Not ideal, but works well.

[Jerome Hanby]

I finally got around to spraying some Shellac. Worked great. Probably a little late to be asking since I've already done it, but... I couldn't lay hands on my can of denatured alcohol, so when I was cleaning up, I sprayed a solution of household ammonia and water through the Earlex. Followed that up by rinsing everything well and spraying a can of plain water through it. Got to thinking about setting up for some more spraying this weekend and began to wonder if there was anything ill advised about that cleaning method. That's how I've always cleaned my brushes when using Shellac...