I broke down and bought a HVLP spray system. After using it a few times my thoughts are:
For applying Minwax wood conditioner it's faster than by hand. For applying stain, it's faster than hand. In both cases I still have to wipe off the excess by hand.
For poly, I can just spray a coat or two and be done- no brushing required. The poly application is where you typically get the runs and brush marks anyway...
I guess I somehow thought if I bought a HVLP system I would never have to do any finishing work by hand- far from the truth..
Having said that it's faster to spray than brush so I am still happy.
Your thoughts.