Need help picking & using sprayer

[wood wrangler]

I'm thinking of getting a sprayer to do better wood finishes, plus I can paint the house exterior. I don't expect to use it regularly so I'm not looking for a high end gun. But I do need some insights on what to look for and using it right.

I was looking at the $30 HF gun, assuming it would be better than going for the cheapest ones they have, but I don't know if it's much better than the two $14 ones. And I don't need the regulator since my compressor has one.

My compressor is a Makita Mac700, which it says does 3.8 cfm at 40psi. But I see these guns use more. The $30 gun used 12 cfm @45psi and the cheaper ones use 6 cfm. Is there a downside to using a gun with a lower cfm? Is there a downside to using a gun with a higher cfm and potentially waiting more often for the tank to refill (as far as impacting the finish)?

Seems I also need an inline filter and new cartridges for my respirator.

Do you guys make a lot of effort to keep overspray from getting onto bikes and other stuff in the garage that it shouldn't keep collecting on?

Other than running whatever cleaner I need for whatever I'm spraying, are there other insights you guys can give me?

[cabinetman]

You will likely have to pace yourself when the compressor cycles. I prefer a conventional cup/gun over the gravity type. The gravity guns have to be hung up or set in a stand. Gravity guns have A 20 oz cup, and a conventional gun has 1 qt. I also suggest you mount at the handle of the gun a disposable bulb filter, and a small regulator with a gauge. You get a better pressure reading with that than using the regulator/gauge at the tank. You can run as much pressure as you want to the gun, and then just adjust for the gun pressure.

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[JimD]

My son and his buddy have had success painting cars using a cheap HF gun. But to spray latex house paint requires bigger nozzle sets and those may be difficult to find for the HF gun. I use a Fuji Mini-Max but the jets for it are about $60 a set - the fan + gun is a little over $500. I haven't tried it with house paint but with the right nozzles I am confident it would work well. But I think I would rather have one of the airless units for house painting that just pumps the paint up to pressure and sends it down the hose to a sprayer. I hate to think how many times you would have to refill a 1 quart cup to paint a house.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

you need a big compressor with continuous flow to spray well.

[cabinetman]

My son and his buddy have had success painting cars using a cheap HF gun. But to spray latex house paint requires bigger nozzle sets and those may be difficult to find for the HF gun. I use a Fuji Mini-Max but the jets for it are about $60 a set - the fan + gun is a little over $500. I haven't tried it with house paint but with the right nozzles I am confident it would work well. But I think I would rather have one of the airless units for house painting that just pumps the paint up to pressure and sends it down the hose to a sprayer. I hate to think how many times you would have to refill a 1 quart cup to paint a house.

Jim

Tip sizes would vary from thin media like waterbased polyurethane for wood finishing, to a latex paint for an exterior of a home. You might check to see what's available for the gun you decide on.

For woodwork finishing a 20 oz or a 1 qt cup is sufficient. For very large projects, you could use a 2 qt pot, or a 2 gal, or 2½ gal pressure pot. In using hose connected supply accessories, requires keeping the fluid hose clean.

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[wood wrangler]

Ok, so house painting might be out, check tip sizes available, filter and regulator at the tool is good, be mindful how I use the air cuz the compressor won't keep up.

I read something about hanging pots having more overspray than gravity-feeding pots, unless the pot is pressurized. But that seems like a feature of much higher cost guns, yes?

I saw a video by the Wood Whisperer on technique so I get that I'll need to not arc my passes to keep the gun distance to the wood unchanged, and watch the volume I'm spraying so it goes on smoothly. And I expect I'll need to clean the gun properly for whatever I'm spraying with.

[capncarl]

I've been using a mid price ($100. at the car shows) gravity gun for years with relatively good luck. With the gravity gun vrs the cup gun I am able to use thicker latex paint. If you do not know about reducing the paints, latex and oil, google up Penetro for oil and Flotrol for latex. Don't use water for thinning. Using either gun much will require a good, big compressor. This gun works my 5 hp, 60 gallon, 16cfm @ 90 psi Ingersol Rand compressor till its tongue hangs out, and I would never attempt a house paint job with it. The last 2 jobs the compressor blew its head gasket on the last cup of paint, making me think that using a smaller capacity compressor could be trying.
capncarl

[phrog]

I'm not an expert on air spraying paint or anything else. But be mindful of safety issues when using anything that atomizes paints or finishes. The lungs don't really want to be spray-painted inside. I know of several people who have died of lung cancer who did this sort of thing for a living but were not mindful of safety warnings.

[gsmittle]

Have you thought about the HVLP turbine/gun unit from Rockler?

List price is a bit high, but it goes on sale often (I think HF sells a similar one, too.) Probably not a unit you'd use all day every day, but I've been pretty satisfied the few times I've sprayed with it. It even sprays scene paint.

g.

[wood wrangler]

No. What does it need for a compressor? Similar to the HF gun for cfm?

It's more than I was looking to spend seeing as I don't have many things on deck to use it for. But if the HF isn't right for me then cheap isn't worth it either.

[cabinetman]

No. What does it need for a compressor? Similar to the HF gun for cfm?

It doesn't need a separate compressor. It has its own...it's a self contained unit. Comes with a turbine...hose...and a gun.


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[ironhat]

Hey ww, if I can paint rust-oleum on vertical steel surfaces, cutting it with ethanol, you can certainly pull off a good paint job. The only annoying factor is that you have to hang up the gun if you need to do anything while spraying. So, you have been warned - I wasn't prepared!

[Lonnie in Orlando]

I use a HF HVLP gravity gun. I believe it was around $30 about ten years ago. I use it with a 30 gal 115v (3HP??), HF compressor, and a $20 HF filter / separator. I like the gun.

I set the compressor at 90#. Run 25 ft of hose to the filter. Set the filter at 50#. Then another 25 ft of hose to a ball filter on the gun. Finally set the gun about 20#. So you need a gun with a regulator at the base of the handle. The compressor won't pump out enough air if you regulate to final tip pressure at the compressor.

You're gonna need a big high volume compressor if you plan to paint a house. My 115v compressor can't keep up when used to paint large areas. The largest items that I have painted are a couple of adirondack chairs. Needed to stop to let the compressor catch up. Sprayed Rustoleum thinned 50:50. Also paint small parts for my truck with two-part single stage auto paint.

- Lonnie

[LCHIEN]

I use a HF HVLP gravity gun. I believe it was around $30 about ten years ago. I use it with a 30 gal 115v (3HP??), HF compressor, and a $20 HF filter / separator. I like the gun.

I set the compressor at 90#. Run 25 ft of hose to the filter. Set the filter at 50#. Then another 25 ft of hose to a ball filter on the gun. Finally set the gun about 20#. So you need a gun with a regulator at the base of the handle. The compressor won't pump out enough air if you regulate to final tip pressure at the compressor.

You're gonna need a big high volume compressor if you plan to paint a house. My 115v compressor can't keep up when used to paint large areas. The largest items that I have painted are a couple of adirondack chairs. Needed to stop to let the compressor catch up. Sprayed Rustoleum thinned 50:50. Also paint small parts for my truck with two-part single stage auto paint.

- Lonnie

If it's 115V I don't think its going to be 3 real HP...
You can get a little higher flow rate and instant power from the air stored in the tank (30 gal is pretty big) but you won't be able to sustain high flow rates.

[cabinetman]

I set the compressor at 90#. Run 25 ft of hose to the filter. Set the filter at 50#. Then another 25 ft of hose to a ball filter on the gun. Finally set the gun about 20#. So you need a gun with a regulator at the base of the handle. The compressor won't pump out enough air if you regulate to final tip pressure at the compressor.

You're gonna need a big high volume compressor if you plan to paint a house. My 115v compressor can't keep up when used to paint large areas. The largest items that I have painted are a couple of adirondack chairs. Needed to stop to let the compressor catch up. Sprayed Rustoleum thinned 50:50. Also paint small parts for my truck with two-part single stage auto paint.

- Lonnie

+1. A regulator and gauge that can read accurately at the handle, and a disposable filter at the handle of the gun would do you best.

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