HVLP Hand Held or System

Re: HVLP Hand Held or System

Henry (Raleigh NC)

A comment - I noted the weight of the battery powered sprayer (also I don't have that battery system). With a larger cup full of liquid and a battery, that would likely be more weight than i would necessarily want to use regularly as a sprayer.

I can see the advantages of being tether free.... but I'm not convinced that I would like it as an every day tool

(trade off of hose vs. weight).

And of course viscosity is everything when spraying, but I'm guessing that you know that already. Paints are a bigger challenge than the other coatings you mentioned, so with the right needle sets any system that handles paints will likely handle any other materials of interest.

I have found it a challenge to get good info on specific guns (or systems) as to how well they handle paints. So I can't really answer your question.

Henry

Re: HVLP Hand Held or System

Dick Coers

Despite the claims that small hand held units will spray from lacquer to latex, my experience is that it sprays none of them well. It would take an extremely wide range of nozzle sizes to handle the extreme differences of viscosity. My second major concern of spraying latex followed by lacquer is the amount of clean up time. Lacquer is an extremely good thinner and will pick up a tiny spot of latex left anywhere in the gun in seconds. You could clean a latex sprayer for hours, and still see a speck of color in that first coat of lacquer. The best arrangement is an airless for the latex and a turbine or compressor and gun for the clears. Harbor Freight used to have a great deal on an airless, but as with much of their product line they have changed the name and color and jacked up the prices on that line too. It's still just $270 and will easily pay for itself painted those mobile homes.

Some Help

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Hi Mike,

I suggest you look over the Article I wrote on HVLP Equipment and various coatings at http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=newarticles&file=articles_956.shtml

If you'll be using paint on the interior walls of trailers you should consider an airless rig which you can rent rather than purchasing.

For solvent based finishes like shellac, lacquer, oil poly, etc., you'll be much better off with a compressed air gun that doesn't warm the liquid unless you want to get into retarders.

Best to invest in a "moon" suit and really good respirator as well unless you want to go home (or to the ER) a different color.

Thanks *LINK*

Mike L

I was really hoping for a one size fits all, but knew better, that is why I haven't bought one yet.

I have been rethinking about this and figure I will need one set for paint and another for finer finishing.

The Fuji Mini Mite for the fine and something else for the paint. The Gxpc gun is what I am thinking. Maybe another gun for paint with a bigger bottom pot might work.

Just tossing things out there.

This is the setup I am looking at.


Mini Mite