Fuji #2904 / Earlex V5000 / Wagner 2900 HVLP

[Barry Bruner]

Please! In need of a little advice. I really have not read anything negative about any of the three H V L P systems. I would like to know which one of these I need to buy and only want to buy one. I am too old to buy one and think the next time I will get the other brand. Therefore, I need to buy the last one first. I am wanting to buy a set up to spray my kitchen cabinets. They are oak and stained pretty dark. I would like to spray them white and would like to know what paint I need to use. There is a Sherwin Williams store pretty close, so I would like something from there unless I am told different. Getting back to the H V L P unit, it does not have to be the most expensive one unless the most expensive one is that much better. Please, let me know. BARRY BRUNER

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Hi Barry,

I'm in the same boat as you, thus have been researching. Being no expert, I stumbled onto Targetcoatings.com and went to their forum. That directed me to www.spraygunworld.com which is a great site that is all things spray. You can send them a message and they'll answer for you; by e-mail and I got a phone call today -- very knowledgeable.

Good luck.

By the way, I had actually purchased an Earlex 5000 during Woodcraft's sale and it's going to arrive tomorrow or the next day. I have now been convinced to send it back and buy a low CFM HVLP Asturo gun. From all I've read, it's going to be great.

jeff

[Barry Bruner]

I went to the web sites you mentioned and they have a lot of great looking equipment. Are you thinking about buying the Asturo gun and using it with a compressor. I do not see this outfit with the spraying system or turbine. At the bottom of this page it has an advertisment for the Asturo rp r200 hvlp & pressurized cup set up for $195.00. I have a 12 gallon 150 psi 11.9cfm compressor, would it be large enough to use the gun you are refering to with my compressor? I know I am not making a lot of sense but I do appreciate your help. BARRY BRUNER

[Curt Harms]

I'm no expert on spraying. I had a P-C PSH1 conversion gun and bought the Earlex HVLP setup on sale. It seems to work okay but the fan width on the Earlex is not variable; on the P-C it is. The way to vary the fan width on the Earlex is to hold the gun closer or further away and adjust the fluid flow rate. Spraying cabinets it probably doesn't matter. Spraying narrow pieces like trim and small objects I find it nice to vary the fan width. A second issue is air volume. The P-C gun puts out a nice soft spray, the Earlex gun (and I'm sure most turbine guns) put out a LOT of air. I was using newspaper on a bench for overspray protection. With the Earlex newspaper flying everywhere!! OTOH the Earlex is portable, the P-C gun isn't so there are tradeoffs. Speaking of overspray, I wasn't getting anything noticeable airborne with either system.

[chris dub]

I don't think the earlex Gun is interchangeable with other systems like the other 2. I recently bought a Capspray and an extra Fuji gun. I like the Maximun 2 gun th best. it has the most adjustments built into the gun. Plus it has a nice feature where you can rotate the material pick up hose based on the spraying angle. The Wagner doesn't have the Maximum 2 gun though. I'd vote Fuji, Wagner then Earlex. If you can find a good deal on a 4 or 5 stage Capspray, that would be 1st IMHO.

[Barry Bruner]

Well, I have changed my mind three times since Saturday morning. I would be temped to buy a new regular compressor and a maxium 2 or Asturo 5008 wb hvlp gun but I need it to be portable. I am looking at a Fuji super 4 gold hvlp system, the only thing I do not like is it is $799.00. They are not open until Monday, so I have time to change my mind. Thanks for the help. BARRY BRUNER

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

Hi Barry,

Sorry I didn't see your question earlier. I'm going to purchase the Asturo WB 5008 master kit with the 1.5/1.8 mm needle kits. It's on sale for $200. You can talk to Mike at www.spraygunworld.com regarding your compressor size. He's very helpful.

My compressor is 30 gal/ 5HP at 6.6 SCFM @ 40 PSI, so you smaller one "sounds" like it is actually stronger on the CFM #. I really don't purport to understand all this air stuff, but apparently mine is strong enough to run the Asturo gravity gun. With the smaller tank, yours may just cycle more often. Unless you are spraying all the time, beside the annoyance of it running, I don't think it's any problem.

Look at TargetCoatings site also. Jerry Work did a nice manual about their finishes and further, some of the turbines and guns (one of which was the one we are considering buying). The Asturo is a very highly-regarded spray gun; well-made and very adjustable. Also, easy to use for a newbie sprayer like me!

Hope this helps.

[Chris Friesen]

I'm no expert but I've been doing research for myself.

The Earlex is a 2-stage and isn't even in the same league as the others (both of which are 4-stage).

The Wagner is a pretty good price, but only seems to have one cap/needle size available. The Earlex has a few, and the Fuji has 6.

You could probably get away with a 3-stage Fuji and save a bit of money.

For cabinets you might consider some sort of conversion varnish or lacquer...typically cabinets see a fair bit of abuse. You can get white lacquers from various places. For home spraying waterborne is a lot simpler since you don't need an explosion-proof booth.

To the person talking about air blasting everywhere...on most turbine guns you can put a valve right before the gun that lets you control the airflow. You're supposed to turn the airflow down as low as possible while still getting a good finish. This reduces overspray and increases transfer efficiency.

[Van Huskey]

I am still reserching myself but there are SO many ways to go. A 4 stage Fuji is where my head is now, who knows where it will be when I actually buy!

[Jeff Monson]

I debated over a fuji q4 and a graco system about a year ago, I went with the graco finish pro 9.0. The deciding factor for me was my local sherwin williams store sells graco. I think the fuji would be a great sprayer also, I have never read anything negative about them. I had previously been using a conversion gun and compressor. These new turbine systems are awesome, very easy to adjust, easy to setup and 100% consistent. I had a hard time ploping down over $800.00 for a sprayer, I have not regretted it one bit.

[Barry Bruner]

I am very sorry it took me so long to post my reply. My wife got bit by a spider and her knee is about as big as a bowling ball, she seems to be doing a little better.

I started to buy the Fuji 4 gold with free shipping on Amizon but when my total came up it had $24.95 shipping added to it. Needles to say I got irritated and ordered the Fuji mini-mite 4 for $679.00 and $7.00 shipping from Klingspor`s Woodworking. I was thinking about white lacquer on the kitchen cabinets. I know the oak grain will show but that filler seems like way too much work. I am going to wash them with dawn dish liquid and then TSP which is suppose to help get rid of the grease residue. Do you need to use a primer or can I just use two coats of white lacquer after a little sanding? BARRY BRUNER

[Curt Harms]

To the person talking about air blasting everywhere...on most turbine guns you can put a valve right before the gun that lets you control the airflow. You're supposed to turn the airflow down as low as possible while still getting a good finish. This reduces overspray and increases transfer efficiency.

That was me on an Earlex. I tried using a router speed control like MLCS and others sell. It seemed to work well, the blower is a 2 stage ametek. I think I read where max pressure is 2 psi. The cup is pressure feed. I was getting a fairly rough finish at lower speeds/pressures and was better at higher speeds. It may have been the stuff I was spraying--old acrylic enamel. A properly thinned fresh material may work well at reduced pressure/volume.This was not a fine finish obviously. I need to experiment more.