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Thread: Looking for Upgrading My Spraying Eqipment

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Looking for Upgrading My Spraying Eqipment

    Currently have a Earlex 5500 but thinking of upgrading to a more powerful better quality system. My desire it to spray more water based topcoats and maybe occasionally a little latex for very small jobs. I have an airless sprayer and have gotten good after having sprayed trim and doors for two houses but don't want to break that out for little latex jobs. Currently thinking of a independent HVLP system and know nothing about a gun and compressor setup.

    I am a hobbyist so no production work.
    My largest job will be a one off set of master bathroom cabinets (10 feet of cabinets with one end panel).
    The budget max would be about equal to the Fuji Mini Mite 4 stage (approximately $800)
    I have no need or room for large air compressor -- my current compressor is shot so I could upgrade to an 15 gallon unit max but would really like something quiet and portable.
    I would rather buy more than I need than less than I need.

    Fuji seems to be a brand many people are fond of and my research to this point has been only their machines. From what I can tell they have the quality I am looking to purchase but willing to consider other brands.

    Siphon cup or Gravity Cup? Do know much from a comparative stand point. I don't think the volume each holds is an issue since I can spray a coat on almost all my projects without having to refill the 400cc cup. Notice: I underlined "I don't think" which means I could totally be wrong.

    Any advice or direction for further reading is appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    The airless rig can't be beat for Latex. I owned the top end Apollo HVLP rig, but sold it when they came out with Fine Finish tips for airless. FFLP (fine finish low pressure) tips raise the game to even another level.

    Get a short, smaller diameter hose, and cleanup becomes much easier. I have 200' of 3/8 hose for big outside jobs, but for small ones the 1/4" 15 footer gets the call. It's sill plenty long enough to do a set of kitchen cabinets, and a lot of rooms.

    If your airless gun won't take FFLP tips, get a good gun, and a pressure gauge for the pump to line. The gun is more important than the pump for doing your own work. Titan and Graco use the same threads, so get either brand that you like better.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    WNY
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    Your Earlex will spray most clearcoats very well. I would stick with that and follow Tom's advise with regards to latex.

    John

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    NE OH
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    For small latex projects, you may want to look at the graco ultra series handheld airless units. With the flex liners they make cleanup really easy, no hose or cup to clean.
    --I had my patience tested. I'm negative--

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Good tip,I went looking for the 15ft hose but smallest can find is 25' but that still shorter than my 50'. Tom what FFT do you use for that slick as glass finish?Dang good ideals here,thanks for sharing'
    Quote Originally Posted by Tom M King View Post
    The airless rig can't be beat for Latex. I owned the top end Apollo HVLP rig, but sold it when they came out with Fine Finish tips for airless. FFLP (fine finish low pressure) tips raise the game to even another level.

    Get a short, smaller diameter hose, and cleanup becomes much easier. I have 200' of 3/8 hose for big outside jobs, but for small ones the 1/4" 15 footer gets the call. It's sill plenty long enough to do a set of kitchen cabinets, and a lot of rooms.

    If your airless gun won't take FFLP tips, get a good gun, and a pressure gauge for the pump to line. The gun is more important than the pump for doing your own work. Titan and Graco use the same threads, so get either brand that you like better.
    Last edited by Carroll Courtney; 08-01-2020 at 7:38 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    The tip varies with the material sprayed, and desired width of fan. I would have to look. There are a number of different tips in the lineup. I spray so seldomly with the airless rig that I always have to refer to my notes. The pressure gauge gets you back to the same starting place, every time, without having to experiment, and waste material. Pressure will vary with material sprayed, length of hose, and other variables. I'm using a Titan gauge on a Graco pump, between the pump, and the line, so it's always ready for the next line. When you find what works, write it down.

    Not all guns can use the FF, or FFLP tips, so make sure before you buy one.

    Find the Idaho Painter, on youtube, and you will learn a lot about airless spraying.

    edited to add: It will be after the storm passes, until I will be going to the shop where that spray rig is.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 08-01-2020 at 9:14 AM.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    No worries or hurry Tom, I have the Graco 395 that I use for ext painting and I use it couple time spraying cabinets but right where intersection is where overlapping I had runs. So I quit using it for finish work,but now that there is Youtube and internet I am going to go back and give it try again. And with a shorter hose clean up will be easier and while looking for 15' hose came across whips which I like the 3/16 x 5' long. That's ok on tip size,I now get the general ideal.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Lebanon, TN
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    I have an Apollo Turbine 5 HVLP that I bought for painting plantation shutters that I built.

    I'm spraying them with Sherman Williams latex primer and Emerald Urethane Enamel, both water based.

    Even through I special ordered nozzles and caps for the Apollo, it was a pain filling the paint cups and trying to thin consistently.

    I then switched to my Graco Magnum X5 airless sprayer and went with a FFLP208 spray tip.

    I sprayed both the primer and finish, straight from the can, without any thinning.

    I'm still using the basic (cheap) Graco spray gun that came with my Magnum X5, but swapped the tip out for the RAC-X that allows it to use the FFLP (Fine Finish Low Pressure) tips.
    Last edited by ChrisA Edwards; 08-03-2020 at 8:57 AM.

  9. #9
    I recently got the Fuji Mini Mite 4. I've only used it a few times so far, so I'm not the one to give advice on it yet. One thing I can say though, is that it is quieter than I was lead to believe. Reading the interwebs, I thought it would sound like the takeoff deck of an aircraft carrier, but actually it isn't very loud, quieter than my shopvac actually. And since you need to locate the turbine away from where you are working so you don't suck up the overspray, it works out to be still quieter in practice. I tend to put it outside when I am spraying in the garage to keep the intake out of harm's way.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Cedar Park, TX (NW Austin)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Seemann View Post
    I recently got the Fuji Mini Mite 4. I've only used it a few times so far, so I'm not the one to give advice on it yet. One thing I can say though, is that it is quieter than I was lead to believe. Reading the interwebs, I thought it would sound like the takeoff deck of an aircraft carrier, but actually it isn't very loud, quieter than my shopvac actually. And since you need to locate the turbine away from where you are working so you don't suck up the overspray, it works out to be still quieter in practice. I tend to put it outside when I am spraying in the garage to keep the intake out of harm's way.

    Thanks for that insight. I, too, thought it would be so loud hearing protection would be mandatory even for short sprays. Woodworking is what I do to get away from all the “noise” in the world. Maybe Fuji did too good a job marketing the Q Platinum Series as quiet buyers think the platinum sounds like a jet.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChrisA Edwards View Post
    I have an Apollo Turbine 5 HVLP that I bought for painting plantation shutters that I built.

    I'm spraying them with Sherman Williams latex primer and Emerald Urethane Enamel, both water based.

    Even through I special ordered nozzles and caps for the Apollo, it was a pain filling the paint cups and trying to thin consistently.

    I then switched to my Graco Magnum X5 airless sparser and went with a FFLP208 spray tip.

    I sprayed both the primer and finish, straight from the can, without any thinning.

    I'm still using the basic (cheap) Graco spray gun that came with my Magnum X5, but swapped the tip out for the RAC-X that allows it to use the FFLP (Fine Finish Low Pressure) tips.

    I love my X5 too. I have used it to spray the trim, doors, walls and ceiling for two houses. A professional painter said the crown molding looked like cotton candy. The tip about a smaller hose is a great idea.

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