Help me select a finish spraying system.

[Gator95]

All previous pieces I'd made were with wipe-on poly. Wife wanted a painted piece (black), so I had to get into the world of paint. I can't brush on a finish evenly to save my life, so I borrowed something that looked exactly like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...?Itemnumber=86

from a friend and hooked it up to my 6gal 3HP pancake compressor. Got fairly decent results running @ 40PSI, but it took a loooong time. About an hour to do a coat on a 31x21x35 vanity. But I think I like spraying on finishes.

I work in my garage, would be spraying only water-based stuff. Do not have a spray booth, but with the gun above the overspray was acceptable and didn't have a problem with stuff I didn't want painted black getting black.

Looking for something that would not be too expensive, be more efficient and maybe even less overspray, where I can spray a piece that is sitting on plastic on the garage floor without having to put up a spray booth, and get the job done faster.

Any suggestions? What's your setup? Prefer cheap... think harbor freight not rockler.

[bmyers]

I bought an HVLP from HF some years ago to do some furniture with water based poly. It worked great. They seem to make a different sprayer now that a little more money but maybe you can catch a good sale or coupon.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=66297

Bill

[dealweb]

I have this HVLP from Rockler. It is currently on sale too.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...69&filter=hvlp

[smorris]

I've got the Earlex HVLP 300 and have been pleased with it.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product.asp...FamilyID=20415

[docrowan]

I have this HVLP from Rockler. It is currently on sale too.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...69&filter=hvlp

Harbor Freight had this unit up until a couple of months ago. I got mine for around $70.00. I am very pleased with it. One thing I like about the unit is it is self-contained. No lugging a compressor around to use it outside or in other locations. Gave a very smooth surface and pretty easy to use. The key is getting the correct viscosity of your finish or paint.

[Gator95]

Harbor Freight had this unit up until a couple of months ago. I got mine for around $70.00. I am very pleased with it. One thing I like about the unit is it is self-contained. No lugging a compressor around to use it outside or in other locations. Gave a very smooth surface and pretty easy to use. The key is getting the correct viscosity of your finish or paint.

Is this the one?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44677

[docrowan]

Yep, that's the one. I bought it on recommendation from several others on the forum and I'm pleased with it. I've painted 4 doors, two rocking chairs, a diaper changing table, and a bookshelf with it. When I sprayed latex paint with it I thinned with water. The overspray quickly dried, but left a fine dry dust all over the garage and in my nose. I began using a dust mask just to keep it out of my nose. The dust swept up with a broom and shop vac.

[BigguyZ]

The HF unit is the same as the Rockler unit, which is the same as the Woodcraft unit on sale right now for $70 (I think).

I've used the Wagner HVLP available at Menards (and other big box stores, I imagine). Worked well for Shellac, Poly, and latex.

[radhak]

Search for the 'Critter' in these forums. Only good things said for this low-cost-but-not-cheap option. Or check Amazon.

[drumpriest]

I use the Rockler HVLP with the water based EPL from target coatings, and it works great. Many people have used a version of this HVLP with success. Mostly I'm impressed with the coatings from target coatings. They work right out of the can, and give an excellent off the gun finish that can be polished soon afterwards. Additionally EPL has full burn in, which makes life easy.

My only complaint is the effor to raise the grain as it is a water based finish. Really though, when compared to using a wiping varnish, it's still a HUGE win. 3 days from final sanding to polishing the finish. With Arm-R-Seal it's 4 weeks.

[jhart]

There has been a number of discussions on the HVLP systems on the forum. you might want to do a search. Both the Rockler/HF/Woodcraft (basically all the same unit) and the "Critter" have gotten good reviews from the members here.

[BigguyZ]

Oh yeah, I've have the critter as well. I would say that for a bit more, the Rockler/HF unit is the better value- especially with a coupon.

[radhak]

Oh yeah, I've have the critter as well. I would say that for a bit more, the Rockler/HF unit is the better value- especially with a coupon.

Have you used those too? What am I missing in the Critter? I was pretty happy with it - but not having used any other, I might just be unaware.

[BigguyZ]

Have you used those too? What am I missing in the Critter? I was pretty happy with it - but not having used any other, I might just be unaware.

I got the critter one year for my birthday, and never got around to using it. Last Christmas, I was doing several projects where I was trying to build an even finish quickly. So I wasnted to try spraying. I was able to use the critter just fine with my PC pancake compressor, but I was working on a house at the same time and the compressor was requisitioned for use witht he nail guns.

So, I went ahead and got the Wagner model, since it's a stand-alone unit (well, my brother got it, since we had a lot of cabinets we needed refinished as well). Anyway, although the Critter worked well, there were a few things I liked on the true HVLP better. First, I felt that I got a more consistant spray with the Wagner. Secondly, with the needle adjustment, I was able to fine tune how much material I was using with the gun.

The Rockler/ HF unit was on clearance at Woodcraft for $70, so for the difference in cost I'd say go with that. However, it would seem that they've finally sold out there. However, you can still get it from HF cheaply, so I'd probably still go that route over the Critter if you weren't already invested...

[JimD]

Many of you will have seen me mention this before but I like my Wagner conversion gun available for about $125 from Gleem Paint. I use a small nail gun package compressor with it and once you get the adjustments dialed in, I think it does a nice job. I spend far more time cleaning it than spraying with it - it will throw a much bigger pattern than a touch up gun. I've never tried the turbine type, expensive or inexpensive, so I cannot comment on the difference.

Jim