OT: Low cost HVLP spray system?

[Jim Holtz]

Are there any low cost HVLP portable spray systems that could be recommended? I'm trying to get away from "rattle cans" but I'd also rather stay away from a gun that I'd use with my air compressor. Too much dust in the garage and I'd be limited to Summer only. I'd like to get a HVLP system that could be used with water based products in the basement year around.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Jim

[Dennis H]

I've never tried one but somebody reported good results with the cheap turbine gun from Rockler. You sure can't beat the price if it works at all.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=10469

[silvercans]

I'm looking to spray my mtm's gloss black and wanted to know what is the real advantage of HVLP gun? Harbor Freight has a regular sprayer (all stainless steel) for ~$20, yet their HVLPs (gravity feed) go for ~$50. Are they worth the extra cash, or will the regular gun suit my purpose well? FYI: I will be using an air compressor.

[BobEllis]

There are others that have more experience, but here's my two bits.

HVLP means less overspray - more of what you pour in the gun ends up on your project. For most speaker projects, a touch up gun is all you need. In automotive terms, touchup means a fender size area or less. Bigger guns mean more wasted finish.

Even though water based finishes are not flammable, many are not suitable for basement spraying unless you have the same ventilation as required for oil based finishes - check the MSDS of anything you want to spray to ensure that you have the proper gear.

The quality of the gun effects the quality of the finish. An inexpensive gun like my Harbor Freight HVLP touch up gun leaves a fairly rough surface. Nothing that sanding won't take care of, but there is no way you could spray a gloss finish that doesn't need sanding. Better guns atomize better and leave a smoother finish right off the gun.

There is no reason that you cannot spray water based finishes with an HVLP conversion gun. If you do a lot of spraying look for stainless wetted parts and passages to prevent corrosion - whether you go conversion or turbine.

[philip_g]

I don't know how good it is, but harbor freight has a couple HVLP touch up guns that are cheap, and require around 4-5CFM of flow, personally my compressor can't run a 10CFM gun, no way no how.

[Brian Walter]

Jim, I know you said you didn't want to use a compressor, but you could run a compressor line from your garage or where ever you have it to your house. I have the Wagner conversion gun (Northern Tool & Equipment and Gleem Paint have it. Google Gleem Paint for a review of the gun) which costs about $130. It is said to not need very much air, and I tend to agree, but I have a large compressor, so I can't tell for sure. But I do know that I sprayed about 13 fairly large cabinet doors and the compressor didn't kick in until I was almost finished with a single coat. I have a 60 gallon tank on my compressor.

I think it produces a fairly good spray, maybe not quite as good as my high pressure gun, but the overspray is way less. It also has several different needle sets available so you can spray a large variety of paints. I have even sprayed latex paint on some doors and it worked quite well.

Hope this helps some.

Brian Walter

[Jim Holtz]

Hi Brian,

Yes, I've thought about just piping air into the basement from my compressor. It's a high output compressor with a 60 gallon tank similar to yours. I may still do that since it sits next to a joining wall between my garage and the basement. No more than I would use it for my occassional speaker projects, I thought it'd be less expensive and more convenient to have a small portable HVLP rig. I'm getting pretty good results with ratttle cans so it shouldn't take much of a sprayer to do better I would think anyway.

I think this may move on the back burner for a while. My next purchase is going to be a brad nailer to use with my compressor. That should speed up cabinet assembly considerably. :P

Thanks for your feedback!

Jim

Jim, I know you said you didn't want to use a compressor, but you could run a compressor line from your garage or where ever you have it to your house. I have the Wagner conversion gun (Northern Tool & Equipment and Gleem Paint have it. Google Gleem Paint for a review of the gun) which costs about $130. It is said to not need very much air, and I tend to agree, but I have a large compressor, so I can't tell for sure. But I do know that I sprayed about 13 fairly large cabinet doors and the compressor didn't kick in until I was almost finished with a single coat. I have a 60 gallon tank on my compressor.

I think it produces a fairly good spray, maybe not quite as good as my high pressure gun, but the overspray is way less. It also has several different needle sets available so you can spray a large variety of paints. I have even sprayed latex paint on some doors and it worked quite well.

Hope this helps some.

Brian Walter

[Brian Walter]

Not to change the course of the discussion, but I bought a $20 Harbour Freight brad nailer a few years ago and have had excellent luck with it. I don't think it has miss-fired more than a couple of times. Although I probably haven't driver more than a few hundred brads with it. I recently picked up one of the HF 15 gage finishing nailers and it seems to work quite nicely as well, but I really like the light weight of the brad nailer.

Brian Walter

[gimpy]

Jim, not exactly sure what you are looking at/for, but Home Depot has a Stanley electric hvlp gun that you might look at. The one I have runs about $70.00. I used it to spray a cedar fence with it, but have not used it on speakers, yet, but am planning on spraying a sub woofer with it this week-end.

I'm no expert on this so can't really tell you how well it works for a nice, clear, shiny finish, etc. But, good thing about Home Depot--they do have a good return policy. You can try it out, if it is not what works for you, you can return it.

HTH, Frank
Sorry, it's a Wagner and not Stanley

[capslock]

I have a Wagner W850 electric turbine and am very satisfied. No need to thin the paint until it runs, and I still get good atomization. The (discontinued) W600 uses the same gun but has a less powerful and non-adjustable turbine. Its successor, the W650 has a plastic nozzle, something I'd stay away from