To strain or not to strain is the question

[Bernie Kopfer]

My Fugi gun has a very nice fine strainer that slips onto the suction tube. I have looked at it and said to myself "that looks fine enough". And although I have had junk on it when finished spraying a pot it seemed to have done what it is supposed to do. Most instruction sheets for spraying say to strain the finish prior to use but is that really needed or are they merely covering their behinds? What criteria do you use as to when to strain or not?

[John TenEyck]

I don't have a Fuji, but with my gravity feed HVLP guns I threw away the little plastic inlet strainer and prefilter everything. Those little filters would often clog up; now that never happens. In my case prefiltering is better than relying on the tiny online filter.

My other gun has a pressure fed 3M PPS cup which has a large filter built into the lid. Now I don't prefilter unless I see blobs in the finish. I convinced my friend to retrofit his Fuji with the PPS system and he's very happy he did. Just being able to see how much product is still in the cup is great. Even better is being able to spray at any angle including upside down. And no need to prefilter nor worry about those little filters clogging up.

John

[Jim Becker]

I always strain finish as it's going in the cup...

[Wayne Lomman]

Same as John, I got rid of the gun filter and strain everything as it goes into the pot. I use the cone shaped filters you get at auto paint stores. They are semi disposable but you can get a day's use out of one. Cheers

[Andy Giddings]

I had the same brand - as long as it is strained I don't see that it will make any difference. For me its easier to use a disposable cone shaped strainer when filling than cleaning the in gun Fuji filter

[Prashun Patel]

+4: I threw away the little thimble filter inside my gun. It clogs quickly. I use cone paint strainers. They are cheap, filter perfectly, and serve double duty as funnels.

[Justin Ludwig]

I strain everything. I use a Graco 9.5 for lacquer, a FinishPro HVLP gravity for stains, and an airless for paints or WB poly. Strain it all and save your inline filters and the mere possibility of contaminants in a finish. Stripping sucks.

[Rob Young]

My Fugi gun has a very nice fine strainer that slips onto the suction tube. I have looked at it and said to myself "that looks fine enough". And although I have had junk on it when finished spraying a pot it seemed to have done what it is supposed to do. Most instruction sheets for spraying say to strain the finish prior to use but is that really needed or are they merely covering their behinds? What criteria do you use as to when to strain or not?

Get a box of filter cones from HF, they have two mesh sizes, medium (I think they call it) and fine. The medium mesh seems the same as those you get in smaller quantities and much higher price at paint stores. Can't go wrong.

And since I have a cup-under gun I also use the cup liners. Makes cleaning the cup quick. However you do have to be careful about bunching them up at the top and keeping the gasket clean because they can promote leaking around the cap. YMMV.

[Alan Lightstone]

I threw mine in a drawer and just use the filter cones with my Fuji.