Recommendations for starter LVLP gun

[Yasha Renner]

Hello. I need to paint some plywood bookshelves and later some wood moldings for window trim. I'm new to spray painting. Can anyone recommend an affordable LVLP gun (like up to $50 max) and any other equipment I'll need to get started. I know I also need an oil and water filter for the air line, but not sure what else. Thanks!

[John TenEyck]

What's the rating of your compressor at 40 psi? And what specific products do you want to spray?

I live in the NE and have gotten by with just the standard combo pressure regulator oil/water separator on my compressor, an additional one downstream near my spray gun to set final pressure, and a cheap HF inline filter at the inlet to my spray gun. Depending upon typical RH conditions where your compressor is located you may be OK with something similar, or you may need substantially more equipment.

John

[Curt Harms]

A fair number of people have reported success with the Harbor Freight "purple" gun. I have no personal experience. I have a Porter Cable PSH-1 conversion gun and Earlex 5000 rig. The Porter-Cable gun (no longer available AFAIK) worked fine with a modest wheeled oilless compressor. That compressor has an 11 gal. tank and rated at 8 CFM@40psi. I suspect the 8 cfm is on the optimistic side and I don't recall ever running out of air. I found with the P-C gun running 25 - 30 PSI worked well. Conversion guns have internal pressure reduction of about 3:1 so 25 psi at the inlet would result in 8 psi at the air cap.

[Yasha Renner]

I have a Makita Mac 5200 that does 6.9 CFM @ 40 PSI. I would like to be able to spray primers and latex paint, the high-quality waterborne variety for trim, cabinets, etc., like the SW Pro Classic.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks for the input. OK, to spray SW's ProClassic w/o way too much thinning you are going to need a pressure assisted setup. You have about zero options for $50. I think your lowest cost turnkey options are a Qualspray AM-6008 Latex LVLP gun from Homestead Finishing at about $245 or an Earlex 5500 turbine unit at about $300. For around $175 you could put together your own system consisting of the HF purple gun, or similar gun that will spray well at less than 7 cfm, to which you add a 3M PPS H/O pressure cup with lids/liners, an adapter to mate the cup to the gun, and 0-10 psi regulator to control the pressure to the cup.

John

[Yasha Renner]

Thanks John. I'll look into that. The spray painting is sort of down the road for me. In the immediate future, like this weekend hopefully, I need to prime and paint some window jamb extensions (poplar) and then the surrounding casing. Do you think I could get decent results for the time being if I painted by hand, and if so would you recommend brushing or rolling or..... ?

I'm trying to keep costs down, so I think for primer I'll be using Zinsser Bulls Eye 1-2-3, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks again!

[Tom M King]

For painting trim, with stuff like Pro Classic, nothing will beat an airless rig with a gun that uses a FFLP (fine finish low pressure) tip. No thinning needed, which means MUCH less worry about runs, and drips, and still get an automotive quality finish surface. Some more money than a 50 buck spray gun, but WAY better quality, and ease of control.

[Paul F Franklin]

My .02. Trim has been painted by hand for centuries, so don't feel you can't go forward if you can't invest in a decent spray rig right now. Painting by hand with a good quality brush will give you great results with a little practice, and of course, you need practice with a spray rig too.

[John TenEyck]

I'll second what Paul said. And you don't want to even think about spraying trim once it's nailed up unless it's during a new house build. ProClassic goes on great with a good quality brush. SW makes a really good wood and drywall primer, too.

Sometimes spraying isn't worth the effort. IMO trim is one of those times. Cabinets, on the other hand, are worth the effort to spray. They often have large surfaces where spraying will give you a much more consistent finish than brushing. So when you get to the point of wanting to paint cabinets consider some alternative products to ProClassic. It's a good product but it's viscosity is so high that you have to use pressure assist or an airless rig. There are other WB products with much lower viscosity that will spray with conventional (low cost) spray guns with the proper N/N. Lenmar's Duralaq and Target Coating's EM-6500 pigmented products are much lower in viscosity than ProClassic, like 100 seconds vs. 500, and can be sprayed with a gravity feed HVLP gun with a 2.0 mm N/N which you can likely find for well under $100.

John

[Tom M King]

Take John's advice.

[Yasha Renner]

Thank you all!

[richard b miller]

FYI: those "sample" paints from SW or BM or whomever, are not the same quality paint as a gallon can. they're only used to test if you like the color.
a lot of your backyard furniture refinishers use them and the paint doesn't hold up.

also, what ever gun you choose, the manufacturer gives min. spraying pressure and your compressor must have that capability

[Yasha Renner]

Any thoughts on the Neiko 31216A spray gun? It has a 2.0mm tip and claims to need on average 4.5 CFM.

[Curt Harms]

Any thoughts on the Neiko 31216A spray gun? It has a 2.0mm tip and claims to need on average 4.5 CFM.

4 stars with 490 reviews isn't too bad. A question I would have (didn't read the Q/A) is 4.5 CFM at what pressure? I have a couple Neiko hand tools and they seem like good bang for the buck.

[John TenEyck]

That should be a good match for the products you want to spray and your compressor. Curt, I read the specs. to say 4.5 cfm at 40 psi.

If it has a little plastic filter in the gun body just below the cup take it out and throw it away. Just strain your paint, etc. through a paper filter before putting it into the cup.

John