sprayer questions / suggestions

[Rob Cunningham]

The finishes I've worked on to date are shellac and oil based varnish. I have worked with dye a little bit, and that can be either water or alcohol... i've always done water because of the dry time with the alcohol.

Yeah, $400+ is definitely out of my price range

Brad,
Just to clarify, the gun kit I was referring to is $250, not $400. QS-600WB-Kit#2

[Josh Gerber]

SO I can spray smaller projects with the 8 gallon compressor. I just need to stop to let the tank fill up to keep consistent pressure. Which will help with getting an even coat?

[Jeremy Brant]

SO I can spray smaller projects with the 8 gallon compressor. I just need to stop to let the tank fill up to keep consistent pressure. Which will help with getting an even coat?

Short answer, yes. Long answer, yes, sort of. Your regulator will maintain a constant pressure in your sprayer end to the point that your compressor setpoint is reached. To clarify, your spray gun is set at 23 psi (for example). Your regulator is set to 90 psi, or below whatever the max inlet pressure is to your spray gun regulator. A properly set up compressor has a shut off pressure of ~150 psi, and a low setpoint of ~110 psi. This means that as long as you don't use too much air, your compressor will kick on and keep your pressure far above the 23 psi needed to run the gun. If you try to spray too much too fast with a small compressor, you can easily drop too close to the gun pressure if you don't wait for the compressor to catch up since the tank only contains but so much air. The larger the tank size, the more air you'd have to use to drop that close to the gun pressure, and the more likely you'd have enough power to exceed the cfm requirements of the gun to recover the pressure in the tank (and keep spraying at the same time). As long as you can maintain the inlet pressure high enough above the regulated spray gun pressure you will be able to achieve an even spray pattern.

[Jeff Monson]

Jeremy summed it up very well, I would also add that a good air pressure regulator is a must, and also some type of water trap. On my setup I ran a water trap and regulator right off of the compressor and then the hose to the gun. A good regulator can be had for around 30 dollars and will definately provide a more consistent spray pattern. I use only 1 regulator set at 25 lbs. and I dont use one at the gun.

[Dan Manning]

Had a project come through the 'shop', and since my friend was going to compensate me in the form of buying everything I needed to do it, I decided to spray, for the uniform effect. I already had a 6 gallon compressor, but he bought me a HF sprayer, 1 quart cap. Also the urethane and other assorted goodies. Learning the spray patterns and volume wasn't too bad, and taking my time to avoid runs, it turned out ok by me, great by him. It was water base gloss urethane, and went on very well. It created a cloud, and working out of my basement I vented it to the outside. Other than the compressor kicking in every once in a while, my wife didn't know I was spraying. I'm curious to try other finishes, but only after doing my homework before then.
(Can't add photo of project...)

Let me try this,...

[Dan Manning]

sorry for the size...but you get the idea. The person holding it stated to his father (the benefactor of the supplies) that he was going to paint it red and black after all my work was done. I had him dial 911 in advance. He got the idea. He loves it and it sounds great, I have an experience and my shop has more goodies.

[Mike Bielby]

www.thewoodwhisperer.com has a good video review of the Earlex 5000 sprayer that may make your decision that much easier.

[Rick Metcalf]

Have done some research on reviews and in a similar price point as you Brad. I just picked up the Earlex at WC on sale this month. They had a coupon for another 10% off. Brought it to the same price as Highland has on sale now for 269.

[Curt Harms]

when they had it on sale. $299 out the door including 2 needle sets, 1.5mm installed and 2mm included. The needle sets run $39.99 so keep that in mind. I haven't used mine except to make sure it works. Heat can be an issue with the standalone units from what I've read. I find the Earlex center where the blower motor is gets pretty warm. So does the portion of the hose next to the base. I've let mine run for a few minutes just to see and the air coming out of the gun seems to stay cool. Not being one to leave well enough alone, I devised a method to use canning jars i.e. 12 oz. jelly jars, pint jars and quart jars. It turns out that a 5/16" flair X 1/4" pipe thread fitting fits the earlex gun. 3/16" plastic tubing with a few wraps of electrical tape create a nice seal inside the flair fitting so the finish never touches the 1/4" pipe. 1/4" plastic tubing is a snug fit over the 3/16" tubing so I can make the pickup tube any length I need. I epoxied a washer to a 1/4" nipple, drilled a hole in a ball jar lid and attached the lid to the nipple with a pipe thread nut. Yes, it does work. Probably due to the fact that the Earlex gun is pressure feed, rather than suction feed.

The advantage to me is that I can switch containers and don't have to pour from the finish container into the gun pot then put back what I don't use. Pour finish into the jar, thin as necessary, screw the jar on and spray. To store the unused finish, put on a lid and ring. To clean, screw on a jar with solvent in it and spray. It's no problem to restore the original configuration if I need to, takes a couple minutes.

[Erech Myers]

I'm wanting to purchase an HVLP system on a limited budget, so I've been researching and comparing the Earlex HV3000, the Rockler system, the Harbor Freight system, and the Cambell Hausfeld. In doing so, I stumbled across the Earlex HV2900 which is a brand new product and only sold at Lowe's. In fact, Lowe's is still testing the market, so it is actually only available at the Lowe's in Texas (I live in GA).

So I started comparing the Earlex 3000 ($139) to the 2900 ($129) to see if the extra $10 was worth it. I couldn't find much about the 2900 so I called Earlex (excellent customer service) to find out. Turns out the 2900 has more power, comes with a 3.0 needle (for paint) and a 1.5 needle (for thinner wood finishes), has a longer hose, and comes with a steel sprayer instead of plastic. Sounds like a winner to me! I think I'll be getting myself and early Christmas present.