USL and Rockler/hf/woodcraft hvlp

[drumpriest]

I just ordered some target coatings ultima spray lacquer, as well as some of their shellac sealer, and retardant.

I have the rockler HVLP gun, and hope it does better than my minway polyacrilic experience, which was not the greatest. A good amount of orange peeling. Not sure if it's just me or the gun. If this gun doesn't work out, I'll probably spring for an Earlex.

Anyone spray USL with the rockler/hf/woodcraft HVLP? Any hints or tips?

[drumpriest]

As no one has responded, I am assuming that I am the first here to try this setup. I received my USL today, along with some water based amber shellac. I took a scrap of cherry ply, and did the following....

1. sand to 220
2. wet with **** paper towel, and let air dry.
3. sand with 400
4. wipe on water based amber shellac from target coatings.
(note: at this point I am wondering if I couldn't combine 2 and 4, and use the water based shellac coat to raise the grain. Then may or may not have to hit it with a 2nd coat of shellac.
5. sprayed 2 layers of USL w/ rockler unit. No thinning as it passed the vic test right out of the can.
6. sand lightly w/ 400 to remove nubs.
7. sprayed 2 more layers of USL. At this point it is REALLY smooth, though still some slight orange peel effect. I think that's about as good as I'm going to get with the rockler unit. It has only 2 tip sizes, and no air flow control.
8. sanded lightly w/400 grit to remove nubs.
9. sprayed 1 last coat of USL.

I am going to allow this to dry while I am out of town until Sunday. Then I will rub out this piece. Apparently you only have to wait 120-150 hours for this stuff to do a rub out, which is pretty amazing.

Overall I'm really happy with it. The orange peel is a bit of an issue, and I may at some point get a better gun setup to try and eliminate it (Earlex?). I cannot believe how easy and quick this finish is though. It's smoother than my hand rubbed oil/poly blend finish on the cabinet that I recently posted, and it took a total of 3.5 hours to do. Water cleanup for this stuff too. It's a good looking finish as well, very clear but for the orange peel. You only notice that under raking light. I'm interested to see if I can rub out the orange peel, or if I'm going for a better HVLP soon.

[MikeMcCoy]

I picked up a Fuji turbine about a year ago but I used the Rockler turbine for a couple of years. I only tried the Minwax product once and didn't care for it at all but I find General Finishes PolyAcrylic in a whole different and better category. My Rockler turbine did an excellent job with shellac (no idea about water based) and the only time I got much of an orange peel affect was when I sprayed to heavy of a coat. I sprayed the first couple of coats so lightly that you almost couldn't see the finish being applied.

[siliconbauhaus]

Marc over at woodwhisperer.com did a review of the Earlex 5000 and said that it was a very good piece of kit. I'm planning on getting one soon.

What's even better about the Earlex is it's British

[pecker]

I have used several waterborn lacquers, although not USL specifically. And not with that particular sprayer. My experience is that they don't flow out all that well. The manufacturers offer reducers (thinners) and retarders (slowers) that help. But they usually say add 2 to 5%. I find making it more like 5 to 10% is what's necessary.

And with hvlp equipment you usually get real close...like 6 to 8 inches away from the surface. It took me quite a few times to realize these products don't work the same as rattle can products. You can't really "mist" them on from a distance.

[drumpriest]

Well, I sprayed some oak base board today, and the results were fantastic, much quicker and nicer than my hand applied poly. I am somewhat sorry that I didn't get into spraying earlier. It's not that seal a cell and arm r seal don't give a great finish, they do, but the work it 100 fold what it takes to get a great finish with even a cheap spray system and a product on par with USL.

I have to say that using USL is easy and dare I say it....fun! I am getting very smooth results right "off the gun" in very little time.

I looked at an Earlex, and they seem very similar to the Rockler system. The gun is of higher quality, and there are additional tips available, but other than that they are controlled the same way. The Rockler turbine is slightly more powerful. I am having good luck atomizing the USL with a 1.1 mm tip and this setup, so I'll beat it to death before I upgrade.

Thanks all for the input on spraying, I did a bunch of reading and video watching, and I think I have the hang of it for the most part. Only issues are with verticle surfaces and ensuring that I am not too aggressive when spraying them. Lots of light coats, which isn't hard considering the drying time. I just put my gun in a 1/2 gallon ziplock bag, and squeeze out as much air as I can, then I don't need to clean it between coats.

[gerti]

Sounds promising, I got to try that! Questions: Did you mail order the USL? And for the Oak, did you use the USL straight or did you thin it and/or use retarder?

Thanks!

[drumpriest]

Unfortunately you have to mail order the USL from target coatings, this is the stuff that I've been trying out.

http://www.targetcoatings.com/oxford-spray-lacquer.html

I purchased a bunch of retarder with my USL, as it was also on sale, but according to the viscosity cup, the USL is right on the money out of the container, so I have not yet used any. I suppose it's good to have if this stuff gets thicker as I use it up.