I want to purchase my first spray gun and I am looking for advice as to what gun I should purchase. I intend to initially use the gun to spray a shellac-dye stain combination on interior doors for my house.
I have a Husky 2 horsepower compressor and would prefer to get something that I can connect to that, assuming it is not a futile exercise to spray with a 2 hp compressor. I am just starting out, so I do not feel the need to go absolute top-of-the line but I am willing to invest a few hundred dollars.
Any advice on spray gun brands, internet retailers, features, and accessories I should be on the look out for would be appreciated. I’ve checked out a lot of the literature and the video here on FWW.com but would like to hear directly from someone that has gone through this process before.
Thanks,
Joel Fauson
Replies
Joel:
Learning to spray is really worth it. It opens up a world of possibility and you can cover a lot of material relatively quickly. It's one of those things that is not inherently difficult, but does take some time, practice and patience.
I started spraying catalyzed lacquer with a relatively cheap gun (a Leonardo with interchangeable nozzles) for about $130. This was based on the recommendation of the supplier. I attached this to an old craftsman compressor. Initially I had problems with orange peel but I persevered and found the addition of a retarder (Butyl Cellusolve) really helped.
I have now graduated to a top-of-the-line gun (Iwata LPH 440). This was suggested to me by the manager at the local automotive paint store. I also bought a larger compressor, cubic feet per minute (CFM) being the most important measure, as the old one couldn't keep up.
The new gun is a dream to use and I couldn't believe the improvement in my finish. I also combined it with the 3M paint system, which makes clean up a snap.
That's a brief encapsulation of my experience starting from scratch. I wouldn't hesitate to start with a cheaper gun and see if spraying is for you before you spend a lot of money. I feel that the cheaper gun forced me to learn how to spray.
Hastings
Thanks for the post, Hastings.
What is the recommended CFM on a compressor?
Aside from the Iwata are there other spray gun manufacturers you recommend for when I am shopping around?
When you say you want to get a spray gun- you are standing at a fork in the road. The 2 roads in front of you have names:
1. HVLP
2. High Pressure Gun(conventional)
You have to make a choice. When you go out to buy a gun, you will have mostly old timers(lots of automotive experience that spit at the ground at the idea of a gun that is HVLP. I started out spraying with a Binks 7 when the earth was cooling and I can still make that thing water your eyes.
On the other hand, lots of paint goes off into the air. Many are uncomfortable with this-- I am now. I went out and explored the low pressure guns knowing more paint/finish would arrive and stay on the surface.
Man.. its a learning curve if I ever saw one. Lots of less than ideal results. I was unhappy with my expensive Devilbis gun. Like another mentioned- retarders help the material flow out. That's great advice. Still when you are spraying vertical surfaces nothing pisses you off more than a sag/run. This is work to repair and time.
If I was just starting out, I would go the low pressure route and master it. Its the future. You have to spend time learning to use the gun. Lots of samples in different temperatures and viscosities.
Last point: get multiple tips. Atomization is the key with low pressure my friend. A 1.4 tip does not spray like a 1.6 tip- I have learned the hard way.
Recommendation: If you can find anyone who has experience with a gun you are looking at, ask them to walk you thru the operation. They can give you tips and techniques you won't learn reading an operators sheet or reading my post. Get a little adult supervision it really helps. Good Luck and be patient.
dan
Each gun should have a recommended CFM. Less than that means that the compressor will be working too much and, if used a lot, will probably fail much earlier than if used for the recommended periods. Some compressors are rated to work 50% of the time.If you are not doing a lot you can get away with less. My gun recommends around 11 cfm but my compressor is rated at 6.2 cfm at 40 psi so it has to work a little harder when I spray. The bigger the difference, the harder the compressor will have to work to keep up; or, you will have to pause.You might consider a turbine system like the Fuji or Earlex.Sata is considered to be a top-line brand and on a par with Iwata. My dealer said Devilbiss made a good gun but that it would need a lot of maintenance so he steered me clear. All of this is hearsay evidence!Hastings
Hastings,,
Danmart makes some really good points. One thing you should know is that there is no one best paint gun.. They are all a compromise.. (even very expensive ones)..
I've bought high dollar guns and cheap knock offs and in their place each does a fine job.. I'd love to say go with HVLP type guns but I have to pull out my high pressure guns often enough to know they aren't the whole answer.. Maybe if I had a massive budget and could buy all new guns I would but that's not the case..
You'll find that each gun has it's own niche and you can adjust and use guns outside of their niche but doing so will cause compromises..
frenchy:I believe you! It is hard for the beginner to understand what makes a god* spray gun - what are the engineering fundamentals? What accounts for the wide variance in price for guns with similar specifications?After the hardware, there's a whole lot of "software" to get one's mind around.I have found a combination of hardware and materials that work for me but I have a very narrow band of experience to draw on.I do think folks can be intimidated by all the variables. I find spraying fun and I like the speed. I am glad that I started on the journey and would like to encourage others to try it without getting bogged down by all the variables. Rather like you and shellac ;-)Regards,Hastings* That should be good - freudian slip!
Edited 4/13/2008 5:22 pm ET by Hastings
I will confuse you even further. There is also LVLP and RP guns. I have them all and I keep going back to my Sata RP 1.6 gun for all my pre-cat lacquer. I bought the Asturo ECO LVLP because Jeff Jewitt pumps it up so much, don't like it at all. I have a couple of Astro Pneumatic (Taiwan HVLP) guns and I like them better then my more expensive guns. My Binks model 7 leaves me in a cloud, great finish, too much overspray by conventional guns and I have a spray booth. RP or reduced pressure is supposed to be a mix between HVLP and conventional. Sharpe has a new RP gun out called the Razor that is supposed to spray like the Sata RP3000 (my gun) but I have never used it so I cannot recommend it. It is a good USA midlevel gun $289 I have been told. Call the guys at http://www.spraygunworld.com/ and tell them where you are at in your learning curve and see what they recommend. Devilbis is suppose to make a couple of good guns, but also a couple of bad ones so ask around. Find a gun and learn on it and gain confidence in it, that is half the battle. Maybe that is why I always go back to my Sata RP.
Contact Jeff Jewitt at Homestead finishing. He will answer all your questions. He sells equipment for wood finishing.
homesteadfinishing.com
A couple of years ago I wanted to re-paint our kitchen cabinet doors, and after some research I purchased an Asturo ECO/I conversion HVLP gun from Homestead Finishing. This gun runs off a standard compressor which I already owned so that was part of my decision. The HVLP systems I looked at ranged from $200 to $800. Now I paid about $350.00, and am very please with the performance. I have only sprayed oil-based paint, and this gun will put down a glass smooth surface by thinning about 10%. The gun is very easy to set up and use. I had tried some HVLP systems but never liked the large air hose and found it cumbersome to use, but I'm sure you would get used to that. I now want to try the Target water-based lacquers which have received good reviews.
Fine Woodworking did a review of the HVLP systems a few years back which you may find helpful in making a decision.
Robert
The bad news is you don't have enough compressor. The good news is your 1st application is low viscosity as shellac can be thinned quite a bit. You might do OK but will spend a lot of time waiting on the compressor. Some low HVLP conversion guns are air hogs and use more air than a conventional. I sprayed for several years with a 4 hp 4-ish cfm compressor with a Binks 95 gun. I got good results with nitro and EnduroPoly, but never without some orange peel that had to rubbed out. I recently got a serious compressor 11 cfm at 100 psi and my Binks is like a new gun. I wouldn't recommend a compressor that big unless you had other uses for it.
I have used several and would love to own an Accuspray HVLP setup. I've used their turbine guns and conversion guns and I believe they are convertible one to other. You can save a couple of hundred bucks over buying an Accuspray turbine if you build your own turbine using a replacement vacuum motor from Grainger. On the other hand if you'd rather build furniture and like a full warranty buy the turbine.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
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