Wagner HVLP Conversion Gun

[Art Mann]

Based mainly on Jim Becker's review of the Wagner HVLP conversion gun, I ordered one. This weekend was my first opportunity to try it out. I shot spar varnish on to some cypress Adirondack chairs I completed a few weeks ago. The performance met or exceeded my best expectations. The job was done in less than half the time I would have spent brushing on the finish and the results looked better than my best brushing efforts. With that experience under my belt, I am ready to try spraying lacquer on a cherry curio cabinet I just finished.

If, like me, you have been wanting to get into HVLP spraying but are concerned about a steep learning curve, my advice is to just jump right in. It is not as hard as you think. It took me about 10 minutes of experimenting with pressure and flow rates to find a combination that worked well for this material. The next time it will be much easier.

I have only one complaint about the Wagner gun. The owner's manual doesn't give you any guidelines as to how to dial in the right settings. I used the Gleem Paint web page, Jim's web page and a couple of magazine articles by Jeff Jewitt to get the information I needed. My experience with high pressure guns was not particularly useful.

I won't do a complete review of the Wagner gun. If you want to know what I think, just go to Jim Becker's website. His review is right on the money IMHO.

[Jim Becker]

'Glad you enjoyed your first spraying, Art. The only thing I haven't been happy with relative to the Wager guns (I have two) is when it comes to very thick materials. Not that I use such things much, but the guns don't handle it well so I'll avoid it in the future. (And yes, I did put in the larger projector set for that material) For shellac and water borne...which is all I spray...the performance has been great.

I finally got to use the 2 qt remote pot version on my linen cabinet/shelf project currently in progress and am really glad I have it...much easier to manipulate the spray head position while working, despite having to hold the pot in the other hand. And while it's a little more involved in cleaning, it wasn't that bad and I didn't fine I wasted too much material, either, from cleaning since I took the time to let the finish drain back into the pot.

[frank shic]

don't forget that you'll need a compressor with LARGE capacity or you'll be constantly standing around waiting for the compressor to recharge like me when i was finishing my first set of kitchen cabinets. i've since moved on to a fuji hvlp q4 system.

art, i agree with you: NONE of the hvlp manuals that i've seen so far give you a very easy answer on how to dial in the correct settings. i've been following this process: thinning the material if it's too thick, adjusting the viscosity until there's an even spray and then adjusting the air flow to reduce the overspray. i also adjust the tip so that it's flush with the cap. BTW, you've helped answer a question i had on what finish to use for a picnic table that i'm currently building. now does anyone know if i can apply a deck stain under the varnish?