Hvlp

[rusty borders]

Hey everyone!

Does any one know of good quality hvlp systems. I tried the conversion guns with little luck, these guns do not spray latex good and the over spray is about the same. I'm looking for a quality system that sprays both laquer, latex and water based protective coating. I appreciate your input

Rusty

[Jim Becker]

Latex is best sprayed with an airless sprayer. For all the other materials you mention and HVLP turbine system or HVLP conversion gun will work just fine. Unfortunately, I can't make a recommendation for one system that will cover both latex and the other materials. Latex paint is a whole different animal...

[Brad Olson]

I disaggree with Jim on the issue of Latex paint and HVLP.

First you must understand that an HVLP is not appropriate for painting your living room walls, unless you have a large pressure pot setup, because you will cruise through paint quarts very quickly, as well as the fatigue of holding the gun for all the work.

If you are painting your kitchen cabinets, woodworking projects etc. a good quality HVLP and correct aircap setup will spray most latex (acrylic) paint just fine (even primer).

I use a 4-stage turbine system (fuji MiniMite 4) and can spray latex paint by thinning with floetrol to about 5-10% and possibly adding a touch of water depending on the paint type.

Now a lot of people criticize having to add floetrol to the paint, but I do this anyway when rolling as I find a lot of paint forumlations are too thick and do not lay out very well. The reason is that the paint is thick so that A) it will coat walls in "1-coat" and B) so it will hold a bit more texture from the roller, thus hiding imperfections on walls much better.

Since I can do a nice job making my walls perfectly flat, I appreciate a less textured paint coat from adding floetrol and rolling with a low pile roller.

Now, the catch, spraying paint is much more fussy than spraying lacquer. But this is to be expected. Basically I work out my formulation in small scale with test spraying. Once I get my gun set and paint properly thinned, I mix up the whole pot, make final adjustments and start spraying. This process takes maybe 20 mites or so depending on what you are doing.

Also priming is also essential to spraying, or the paint will either sag or not lay out very nice. I use Zinnser shellac based primer over previously finished surfaces (trim, cabinets) and a Zinnser acrylic based primer over bare wood.

Overall, I have no problems with HVLP and latex. The nice thing is that the resulting paint job is MUCH nicer than you will get with a brush or roller. For example I used my Fuji MiniMite4 to paint all of our interior doors in our house and a bunch of trim. Not only did it save a heck of a lot of time, the result was much better than rolling. The nice thing with a gun setup is in between coats you do not need to cleanup the gun. Just put a dollop of vaseline over the nozzle and drop the aircap into a jar of water, come back 4 hours later, dry off the aircap, wipe off the vaseline and start painting again.

The only issue is your choice of spray gun. For paint to spray, you need a gun that adds pressure to the pot. Fuji guns (on the MM4 and Q3 and Q4) do this as do many of the upper end manufacturers.

If you plan to spray your walls, I would recomend renting an airless gun with a pressure pot and hookups for 5 gallon buckets of paint. But this is really for big jobs all with the same color paint. Other than big jobs I always roll walls.

[Tim Sproul]

I agree with Brad. HVLP can spray latex and other thicker finishes. You just need the appropriate equipment - this could simply mean a different needle and nose set....and almost for certain you'll want a pressure feed system rather than a siphon or gravity feed.

I don't know what you're plans are for spraying latex onto...but if you're thinking of spraying latex onto furniture pieces to get a painted finish rather than a stain, dye and/or clear finish...you have options other than 'paint.' Some lacquers can be pigmented to solid colors.

[Jim Becker]

I don't disagree...you CAN spray latex paint with an HVLP gun or system. I just pointed out that an airless system is often better for that particular type of material.

And, of course, latex isn't always the best choice for furniture and shelving due to blocking. ("stickiness") Acrylics (non-latex) do a good job for that and spray beautifully with HVLP, often with the standard gun setup, rather than a large projector set.

[rusty borders]

Hey everyone, Thank you for all the input. I been researching these hvlp systems you all suggested. I have come across a few others from ebay and was wondering if you have any info on these items. They are 3 stage hvlp turbine, made by Sprayfine and a unit called TP tools mad in Canfield Ohio. This is a 2 stage.
Let me tell you what I'll be using it for. I am a general Contractor here in Indiana. on an hvlp system. When others are a small fraction of that. I believe you get what you pay for in most cases. I just don not know the difference. Thank you
Rusty My hobby is furniture making, I use a combination of many products for the finish, some natural wood, some stained or dyed, and some painted and a mixture of several. I don’t need it for my business and I' very experienced with all equipment including spray guns and compressors. I want to convert to a good quality hvlp because of the overspray of typical spray guns, and I'm concerned about the environment and safety using solvent. I appreciate your opinion and expertise on these guns. I don not know enough at this point to spend several thousand dollars

[rusty borders]

Hey again,
Let me clear this up. the last post was due to my shortcomings in basic cut and paste
Thank you for all the input. I been researching these hvlp systems you all suggested. I have come across a few others from ebay and was wondering if you have any info on these items. They are 3 stage hvlp turbine, made by Sprayfine and a unit called TP tools made in Canfield Ohio. This is a 2 stage unit
Let me tell you what I'll be using it for. I am a general Contractor here in Indiana. My hobby is furniture making, I use a combination of many products for the finish, some natural wood, some stained or dyed, and some painted and a mixture of several. I don’t need it for my business and I'm very experienced with all equipment including spray guns and compressors. I want to switch to a good quality hvlp because of the overspray of typical spray guns, and I'm concerned about the environment and safety using solvent. I appreciate your opinion and expertise on these guns. I don not know enough at this point to spend several thousand dollars
When others are a small fraction of that. I believe you get what you pay for in most cases. I just don not know the difference. Thank you
Rusty

[Jim Becker]

Rusty, you will still get overspray with HVLP...it's just more controlled. 'Nature of spraying!

Don't bother with a two-stage system...it's not going to perform well and you'll end up replacing it. You want a three or four stage turbine system if you want a turbine system. Talk with Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing for some good recommendations. You do get what you pay for and the most expensive tool is the one you have to replace early and often!

[Peter M. Spirito]

I may purchase a DeVilbiss FinishLine III Master Painter Kit FLG653 kit. Available at www.spraygunworld.com (http://www.spraygunworld.com) for $208.00. I'm looking for feedback and/or opinions. Its a gravity feed HVLP gun.:)

[Aaron Beaver]

Has anyone use the Apollo HVLP turbine?