Hi,
My name is Peter Watson from Sydney Australia. I am about to make my first big decision on spray equipment and am trying to decide between airless and HVLP. My application is mainly water based stain and lacquer finishes on cabinets. The range of HVLP equipment in Australia is quite limited particularly for what appears to be a favorite with a lot of woodworkers, the Accuspray 23 which I would have to import.
Can anyone advise, firstly on the merits of airless versus HVLP turbine and secondly on their preferred equipment please.
Oprev
Replies
I have an Wagner commercial airless and a conversion HVLP. They are uses for different finishes. The airless for acrylic and oil based paints and the HVLP for everything lighter.
A lot of guys will say they use their HVLP for paints, but it is tough to do with consistent good results.
Decide on what you'll use the gun for mostly and get that one, and rent the other as needed.
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Michael in San Jose
"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." Bertrand Russell
The airless I used years ago was quite big, really made for spraying houses not cabinets.
HVLP offers low overspray, hence conserves finish, and the smaller equipment is more portable with less parts to cleanup. Regardless of what you spray, with the correct needle and jet size, any finish thinned properly will give you excellent results.
I've sprayed enamels, polys, lacquers and waterbased finishes.All work well.
I use a Devilbiss Finishline III HVLP conversion gun, with a range of tips, allowing me to spray a wide range of finishes. Very affordable and has worked well so far.
While I do not have the opportunity to try other rigs, I'm satisfied. The best part of this gun, is the use of disposable plastic liners, fitting into the cup. No mess and no cleanup. It takes me five minutes to clean and put this gun away after use.
Welcome Peter.
Have a look at using HVLP conversion setups from manufacturers such as Iwata, Binks, Devilbis etc. These use a compressor to supply air rather than a turbine & therefore result in a more versitile setup, & they are quieter, as you'd be aware a turbine must run the whole time you are spraying.
I use 3 different guns for different finishes (& a British Apollo turbine gun which is an ornament now) but my favourite is an Anest Iwata W200. The gun sells for around $350, a decent 12cf twin cylinder belt drive compressor will cost $6-800 but filter-regs vary quite a bit. (Of course you can also get Asian made guns for about $80 & compressors that will send you loopy with their noise for a couple of hundred too). You will probably see the best range at a panel beaters supplier. I beleive there is also a Sydney agent for the (Canadian) Fuji but can't enlighten you more.
Don
I just bought a Fuji HVLP turbine system and I love it. It's quiet, easy to learn to use. Try their webpage - http://www.fujispray.com/
They list as their Australian distributor: http://www.apsmtecni.com.au/
hope this helps
Doug in Canada
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