I guess it’s time I upgrade from the old Wagner HVLP turbine setup that I’ve used for over 10 years. At the time it was their top of the line gun and believe it or not I got pretty good with it.
However, as I am thinking of switching to water based clears and am tired of the cup and hose getting in the way (on the Wagner it comes straight of the back of the gun, not from the bottom of the handle) I think I’ll go with a conversion pressure fed HVLP. I just don’t know which one.
Any Ideas? I want the best, or almost the best this time.
Replies
Asturo from Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing.
Is it the ECO that you like the best?
Yes, I have the ECO. But I am far from an expert on spray finishing in general or spray guns in particular. You should call Jeff at Homestead. He is a wealth of information and is willing to share it with potential customers. You can't go wrong with the Asturo.
I started years ago with a low-end Campbell Hausfeld hvlp and gun. It's still good for oil paints, but I now use a conversion Kremlin gun, about 500$ that sprays real well,oil or water based, or lacquer finishes.
It's not that you need to spend top dollar, but it helps to find one with a well machined and finished spray cap, with many apertures for a balanced flow.
The Asturo Eco/S is my #1
I think Homestead Finishing has a website.
Overspray might be caused by either too much psi or wrong needle size relative to the viscosity of your finish.Your gun should come with at least two if not three needles. If I remember correctly, orange peel usually indicates too heavy of a finish, and thinning would help avoid this.
The Asturo ECO..
I've had mine for a year now...spray Shellac and Nitro lacquer..it's good. As a long-ago former auto painter, this think runs circles around the non-HVLP Binks #7s and DeVilbiss JGA 502s I used long ago. Of course THEY now sell HVLPs as well...I'm sure they're very good also.
If you get from Homestead (as I did), Jeff will make the right recommendations as to needle size, etc. And do like many of us don't....and read/follow the one-page instruction sheet that Jeff includes with the gun....I set the gun up once per those instructions and have never gone back...
I use the pressurized bottom-feed cup..and will eventually graduate to the larger pressure feed for clears/shellacs.
Good luck..and wear that respirator..regardless of what you're spraying!
lp
There's been some good discussion on the forum of the merits of conversion HVLP vs. turbine HVLP. If you do a search with the words "conversion HVLP turbine," you'll find a number of threads on the subject. Here's a link to one discussion - Conversion HVLP vs. Turbine - I believe conversion HVLP is the better choice by far.
A big part of choosing a spray gun/spray system is determined by the amount of spraying you'll be doing now and in the near future. As a general guideline, I'll say that if you spray a gallon or less per day, then a cup gun is a reasonable choice. If you spray more than a gallon per day on a regular basis, then a remote pressure pot or even a pump is the better choice. With a pressure pot, you don't need to refill the finish as often or lift the weight of the cup all day long.
In cup guns, you have the choice of gravity feed and siphon feed. The cup on a gravity fed gun is above the body of the spray gun while the siphon fed is below the gun body. Personally, I find them pretty much equal in performance and ease of operation. The gravity fed is able to work with finishes that are a little bit thicker (higher viscosity). Some folks cite that the gravity gun is easier to clean, but to me they seem equal in that regard. One small annoyance for me is that the gravity fed gun has to be placed in the stand when not in use; with the siphon fed gun, I can disconnect the air hose and set it down wherever I like. One of the advantages of a siphon feed gun is that it can be attached to a pressure pot; just remove the cup and attach the fluid hose in it's place. For small spraying jobs, you can use the cup, and then for larger jobs, you can use the pot.
Gravity Feed
Siphon Feed
If you're spraying more than a gallon a day, or just want the freedom of using the spray gun without an attached cup, then a remote pressure pot is a good choice. The pressure pot set-up gives you a lot of freedom; you can increase the air pressure to the pot to match the viscosity of the finish or increase spray speed, spray at any angle you like, spray for longer periods between refills, and avoid the weight of the cup. Pressure pots come in different sizes with the 2 quart and 2 gallon being the most common. With a 2 quart pot, you can use short air and fluid hoses and carry the pot or hang it from your belt. Or, you can use longer hoses and hang the pot out of the way (my preference). Besides needing refills less often, another advantage of a 2 gallon pot is that you can place a 1 gallon can of finish inside the pot; that way clean-up is easier.
2 Quart Pot
2 Gallon Pot on Bottom
As far a brand of spray gun goes, there are quite a few choices. When I need to keep overspray to a minimum and the finish isn't too thick, the Asturo ECO is my favorite gun. For thick finishes/coatings or when I need to spray fast, I use a Binks 2001. I haven't used the Walcom guns, but they can spray a wider range of viscosities than the Asturo. Another option is the high transfer efficiency (HTE) spray guns. They work at a higher pressure for better atomization at a higher fluid flow rate but still get a high percentage of the finish on the surface that's being sprayed. Another option is the pressurized 1 quart cup; it'll allow you to spray thicker finishes and move faster without the remote pot.
Website
Thanks for the info guys. All of you.
I seems the ECO gets top honors.
Sata guns must be mostly for auto painting because nobody has chimed in about them.
Walcom GEO guns might be over priced as nobody mentioned them either. ($220 for a NN set)
Then there is the Accuspray 19c and CAT Lynx.....
I am so confused :)
Edited 12/30/2004 7:55 pm ET by nicobie
I'd also recomend that you go with Homestead, the amount of attention that Jeff gives you, along with the reading material he sends with every gun (which is tested before it gets sent to you) is really a rare thing these days. I've never price shopped him against other vendors, I just figured that he's giving me a fair price and if there is a premium, well he earned it.
http://www.homesteadfinishing.com
The Walcom GEO is a really nice gun, also made in Italy like the Asturo. I would suggest that it's as good as the Asturo but because it's more expensive, less of a value. Not more expensive by much, but enough to notice.
I'm surprised nobody has brought up the Accuspray, it usually gets more than a few nods in these threads. I don't much care for the Delrin material they use for the body, I prefer the feel of precision milled aluminum. One thing that I really like about their series 19 guns is that they look like they are a breeze to clean.
Since you're interested in spraying water-base, you'll want a gun with stainless steel fluid passages. Other metals react with water-base finishes. Before you shop for a spray gun, find out how much air, in cubic feet per minute (CFM), your compressor supplies. There are a lot of good spray guns out there but some need as much as 21 CFM while others only need about 5 CFM. Make sure your compressor has enough air for the spray gun you want.The Sata and Sharpe spray guns are popular with the automotive guys and you know they have to atomize well with a wide fan width to make a car look good. Some finishers like these guns as well. Binks, DeVilbiss, Accuspray, CA Technologies, and Kremlin are other popular brands. Astro (not Asturo) makes an inexpensive knock-off of the Sata that a number of finishers have raved about (though they consider them disposable). I've also seen a few finishers that swear by their Porter Cable gravity gun from the local home center. Some of these will be water-base compatible and some won't.Paul S
Website
air consumption at working pressure rate... even a pancake compressor can deliver 6 cfm at 21psi, enough to drive the Eco.
I agree Jeff. The Asturo is one of the spray guns that doesn't need a high volume of air (CFM) to work well. It can be classified as a low volume, low pressure (LVLP) spray gun rather than a high volume, low pressure (HVLP).
I have a 1.5 HP, 4 gallon Mi-T-M portable compressor and it runs the Asturo ECO all day long (connected to a pot). The compressor does run non-stop at times when I spray larger stuff like table tops, and the spray gun slows down a little once the tank drains, but it still sprays fine (atomizes well).
I've sprayed thousands of gallons of water-base through the Asturo and have never had a problem other than the green finish is wearing off where I hold the gun. A few years ago I ordered a spare air-cap and was mistakenly sent the "S" air-cap. I noticed right away that it atomized the water-base finish even better than the air-cap that came with the gun. I talked to Jeff Jewitt and he told me the "S" air-cap is for the gravity feed ECO and consumes a little more air. On the professional finishers forum, one of the posters said that Asturo is now recommending the "S" air-cap for the ECO/I when you need the best atomization.
View Image
Finish wearing offView Image
"S" air-cap
These days, I use it mostly for small jobs and on-site work since I use an air-assisted airless pump for most of the spraying I do. Like I said in my first post, when I'm spraying topcoats and need minimal overspray, the Asturo ECO is my favorite spray gun.
Instead of the little compresor, I'd recommend a 5HP, oil-filled, 30 gallon, 100% duty cycle compressor like the ones you find at the home centers. They're fairly portable and won't work nearly as hard to supply the spray gun. The oil lubricated compressors are much quieter than the air-cooled compressors.
Paul S
Website
A big Thank You to Paul and Jeff! Excellent posts.
I had already made my mind up to buy from Homestead. However since Jeff J. has been on vacation until Jan 3, I'd thought I'd do some pricing. Let me assure anyone who is looking to purchase a spray gun, Homesteads prices just can't be beat. Trust me, I've spent hours looking around. They have guns in every price range too.
It looks like I'm going to buy the ECO. The $100 difference between it and the GEO doesn't bother me as much as NN cap sets for the GEO run over $200.
I'd say Homestead is the way to go, without question. Jeff helped me get started with spraying about a year ago and he's been extremely helpful. I have the Asturo HVLP and think it is beautifully made. I use the 2 quart pressure pot, but now think a gravity of siphon setup might have been a better choice (although I really like having the gun free of appendages so I can spray in tight spaces at any angle.
Good luck!
yeah, the S is something like 7 cfm, but I agree that it atomizes very nicely. I'm looking into a pressure pot system, but would like to stay with Asturo as I like having common part and procedures, but mostly because I've been so pleased with the Eco.
Also agree with you on the compressor, those darn oil-less units are disturbingly noisy. Investing in a moderately priced 5-7hp 30-60 gallon compressor is a good move, it also enables you to take advantage of air tools. In my old shop (long ago sold) I had a Gardner-Denver 30hp rotary screw compressor that would deliver 125 icfm at 100 psi (was doing sand blasting and powder coating), ever since then every compressor I've had has been somewhat anti-climatic! The only downside to the rotary screw compressor is that it runs continuously rather than cycling on and off.
I know absolutely nothing about spray guns, but Sata had a booth here at the recent Woodworking show, and man, those things are some gorgeous pieces of equipment. 'feels like you're holding some fine surgical instrument.
The main thing I wanted to say was thanks for all the great information in this thread. I was interested in going the conversion route as I already have a pretty decent compressor, and was glad to see that this would be a feasible option.
Edited 12/31/2004 3:36 am ET by BarryO
I don't know if this gun is available in the US. but has anyone tried the Husky HVLP gravity feed available at the Home Depot [in Canada at least]. I plan on spraying the occasional cabinet and smaller projects that I make.
Asturomec 9010/SP with a 2 qt. C.A. Technologies pressure pot. Assorted needle/caps.
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled