HVLP which one?

Paul Downes

Member
Messages
959
Location
Westphalia, Michigan
I'm thinking about getting one of them varmits to spray lacquer and such. I am graduating from the rattle cans to something of more volume cause I'm building bigger. I can't justify spending a whole lot yet so it looks like one of the cheaper models is in order. I can't use my air system because I oiled the air lines. (A die-maker thing) So whats up? any suggestions or steer clears?
 
I've got the Harbor Freight version of this, and have been happy with how it works, especially for the price I paid (I got it on sale for about $50). Even in my inexperienced hands, I've had good success spraying waterbased finishes with it. I've also got a higher-quality Asturo mini gun that cost me about four times as much. It's more versatile and controllable than the cheap one, and capable of applying a finer finish, but it wouldn't work with your oiled air lines.
 
I will probably be spraying lacquer most of the time. I notice that many reviews of HVLP systems fail to mention lacquer spraying - mostly water based material. I wonder if lacquer is hard on them?
 
Vaughn

Please cut to the chase (whatever that means) and tell us---Is the HF LPHV good enough to use for waterbase laquers and shellac?

If the HF will not produce a very good finish, it does not matter what the price. On the other hand I am not (at this time) going to spend $200 for a gun.

My laquering and shellacing techniques stink to the clouds in the stratosphere (had you noticed the change in cloud colors?). Therefore I need a tremendous amount of practice or perhaps a LPHV setup.

The HF unit is in my current price range. Which of the HF units did you purchase?

Enjoy,

Jim

By the way, if you ever need some slightly sloppy laquer or shellac work, let me know. I redid the antique cabinet I did in the guest bathroom four times before satisfaction. Glenn, re-sanded my band saw cabinet twice. That was because I added one more coat of shellac to give it a little more material...twice.
 
Paul, I don't recall seeing anything saying not to spray solvent-based lacquer with my cheap one. I think as long as you clean the gun well afterward, it should be fine. Shellac and other finishes should also be fine as long as they're a sprayable viscosity. (I don't think it'd do latex paint.)

Jim, I've done so little spraying I'm not really qualified to say if the cheap HF/Rockler system will produce a "very good" finish. I know it came out looking better than my previous attempts with a brush, but that's not saying a lot. :eek: I didn't even really know how things should be adjusted. I just turned a few knobs until it looked like it was spraying evenly and went from there. I suspect someone who knows more than me could get better results with it than I did, but I was happy with the results.

I do think my other gun lays down a smoother finish, but some of that may be that I've figured out how to adjust it better than the other gun. (I've used it more.)

Jim, this is the one I got from HF:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44677

One nice thing about it is that I can use it away from my compressor. I have much longer extension cords than I do air hoses. ;)
 
I have the Wagner Non-Bleeder HVLP Conversion Gun which available and Gleem for $129. I've sprayed everything from WB to nitro lacquer out of it with great results.

http://www.gleempaint.com/hvcongunnew.html

Being a non-bleeder it works well with even little compressors. Unlike a bleeder which has the air running all the time, the non-bleeders only run the air when the trigger is pulled so even a small compressor will run it.

I use use a clean air hose directly from the compressor and water filter and a cheapy descant filter right before the gun. I've got quite a bit of conventional gun experience and the Wagner conversion works very well even compared to the high end conventional stuff I've used.

Mike
 
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