Pressure Paint Pot

[Ted Jay]

How many of you have pressure pots for applying either your stain or finish, or one of each for both?
What size pot do you recommend, a 2 qt or a 2 1/2 gal. ? (regardless of the difference in price).
After each use do you have to clean it out within a certain time period, or just flush the hose? Can you leave the finish in the pot overnight, 2 days, a week....?

I'm trying to get an idea if a pressure pot is too much trouble, or what. I know it would be easier to apply finishes, because of not having to worry about a cup attached to the top of the gun.
Thanks

[David Eisenhauer]

This question mostly depends on just how much spray finishing do you actually do? There is a heck of a difference between a 2 qt and a 2-1/2 gal pressure pot. You will have to clean out the pot and hoses daily - I wouldn't "store" the finish in the pot. Different types of finish and different climate conditions also have a large impact on the pot/hose cleaning schedule. No idea what type of finish and what temp/humidity where you live. I would imagine the lack of answers to this question is due to the fact that you have submitted a fairly broad question without much info. If you haven't started spray finishing yet and are looking for advice on buying your firstsetup, I'd say stick with the standard one qt cup to get a feel for the thing, then decide what (if at all) you want to move up to. If you are already an experienced spray finisher, I think you ought to be able to better answer you own question. Just my thoughts, anyway.

[tod evans]

ted, i have a 2qt and i clean it when i`m done spraying...02 tod

[nic obie]

Ted,

I use a 2.5 gal pot with oil based lacquer. I just put the gal can inside the pot and start spraying. I never clean it. Sometime go months without running thinner through it. Have gone weeks without even using the gun and when I do it works just fine. (Walcom Geo)

If you are using a clear other than gloss you will need to open the pot and stir up the flatteners that settle in the bottom everytime before you start spraying.

I really don't think this would work with water base stuff. However I've never tried WB :o

[Ted Jay]

This question mostly depends on just how much spray finishing do you actually do?
....... (snip).......
If you haven't started spray finishing yet and are looking for advice on buying your firstsetup, I'd say stick with the standard one qt cup to get a feel for the thing, then decide what (if at all) you want to move up to. If you are already an experienced spray finisher, I think you ought to be able to better answer you own question. Just my thoughts, anyway.

Well, it was more of a general question as to whether I would be better off getting a spray set-up, or just keep hand applying the finish. I think that I would be better off with a small unit like the quart containers when I decide to purchase one.
Thanks for the replies
Ted

[David Eisenhauer]

That was the intent of my answer. I heartily recomend that you do move up to spray finishing using one of the many decent units available, but hold off on the pressure pot thing until the one quart cup is definitely holding you back. That time may or may not ever come. I would say (speaking of cups) your first question would be whether or not to use the cup hanging under the gun or a gravity cup that sits on top/side of the top of the gun. The bulk of my experience is with a pressure cup/pot so I can't speak about gravity guns. I have recently thought of a smaller cup on a gravity gun for those small jobs (once you start spraying you don't want to go back) that woulkd only take a few ounces of finish. I use a HVLP turbine setup almost exclusively nowdays but did start out with a conventional system. By using the turbine, I like not having to worry about clean, oil-free, dry air and way less overspray. Best of luck.