I need to spray some cabinets and I am thinking about a spray system. My employee said to use a conventional gun, but I don’t think my compressor can keep up with it, about 5cfm. I am thinking about a hvlp set up, but I don’t know if I should use something less expensive like Cambell-Hausfeld, or spend more for the Fuji. They are both in the Tool Crib catalogue.
Any input would be appreciated.
Replies
What are you spraying? There is a big difference between spraying, say, lacquer and latex paint.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00051.asp
Thumbs down on the CH unit.
I've bought the Wagner 2600 for portability when I have to spray finish interior stuff on-site; doors, trim, built-ins and such. Works dandy for me with a decent price tag to boot. Even shoots latex paints well.
Is it the finest of the available turbine units out there? Probably not. But in the under $500 category......no complaints at all from me.
You could also see what Homestead Finishing has to offer and recommend in whatever your price range is.
If you haven't shot with a turbine before, get ready for a bit of a learning curve. Experiment first to get control of your material, gun settings and technique before you approach the real deal. Viscosity will be more sensitive with an HVLP turbine outfit. You can't just reach over and crank up the pressure to overcome "minor" viscosity problems like you sometimes can with a HP gun.
Best deal I found on the 2600 at that time was from Gleem Paint.
Kinda sounds from your post like you haven't sprayed finishes at all yet. If this is the case, I suggest you find someone who's very experienced and ask them (get your billfold out) to teach you the basics. Figure on about 4 hours or so for them to teach you all of the basics including proper application techniques ......if they're a good teacher and you're a good student.
PS- If you end up buying that 2600 also.....give a holler and I'll pass on a little tip that'll save you some frustration.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Edited 3/12/2005 10:14 am ET by GOLDHILLER
Edited 3/12/2005 10:21 am ET by GOLDHILLER
I should have mentioned that I will be spraying a solvent based paint, not lacquer. I need to do a white finish on the interiors, and a primer on the exterior. The customer is having a local faux finish person do the exterior finish.
Like Gold, I tried a CH HVLP and found it to be a waste of time. I wound up buying a really nice 3 stage Graco on clearance and it's a joy to use. Thing will pump anything including asphalt emulsions (they claim) and I've used it for unthinned latex, and thiner materials with no problems whatsoever.
Edited 3/12/2005 12:57 pm ET by PaulB
Paul, what kind of money are we talking, I have a Graco airless and it set me back 1200, but yeah I could push cured tar through it.
-zen
I got mine on closeout Zen. Think it was around 1200 originally but I paid 6ish as I recall...
Dave, A good 3-stage (6 psi unit) should do what you need. Those oil-based paints and primers are much easier to atomize than latex and water-bornes....and a good 3-stage will do those also. You might need a four-stage for some heavier materials in the future, but only you can make that prediction. I kinda hope you don't have the backs in these cabs yet cause that will make getting even coverage a bit more challenging, but if they are on, the HVLP is definitely the way to go if you need to spray your finish. With good HVLP equipment, the air flow thru the head adjusted to the minimum necessary to atomize well and good gun technique, you should be able to put material right into the corners. But if you haven't done that before, I'd advise making up a trial box from some scrap material and practicing in there first. You'll also need a viscosity cup is you don't have one. The materials you use should have a recommended viscosity rated for various cups. A Zahn 2 cup or Ford 4 cup are common references on many materials, but if the reference is different or you end up using a different cup, there's a conversion chart here.http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00157.aspAbout a 1.6 meg download. Ugh ..if you're on dial-up, but a handy chart to have.Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Edited 3/12/2005 10:55 pm ET by GOLDHILLER