To HVLP or not

[Jon Grider]

In another thread I indicated I was interested in an HVLP system. My woodworking has evolved into more than a part time hobby type business. I would like to know what those of you who woodwork for a living use as a finish application tool. Is an HVLP system the tool you use for stains, poly's, shellac, laquer, varnish and paint.? I'm not looking at high output manufacturing but at a small 2 person shop that makes furniture and and small runs of cabinetry. I thought I had settled for a Fuji system but let myself become confused after visiting a pro painters forum where the primary application method seems to be airless systems. I realize paint and clear finishes may require different approaches but I need a system that primarily will handle clear finishes but also the trendy painted cabinet styles popular today. I need to get finishes applied and move on to the next project instead of the finish taking nearly as long as the build.
Advice from those who have faced the challenge of trying to make a living from woodworking especially appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

An HVLP system is a valuable tool, even for the serious hobbyist. For business use, it's almost essential.

That said, spraying is best used with finishes that cure quickly. I mention this because you had "poly's" and "varnish" in your list and if you mean oil-based finishes, they are not the best choice for spraying. Why? Because the overspray is very sticky and nasty to clean up and since you can't re-coat as quickly as faster drying finishes, you may end up having to clean your gun a lot more than you'd like.

Also "paint" isn't always the best through an HVLP system since many paints are thicker and do not thin well when they are water borne finishes. Airless is preferred for applying "paint" in many cases as you've surmised from that pro painters forum you mentioned.

HVLP application is great for shellac, lacquer, waterborne clear finishes, etc...stuff that dries fast.

[Andy Pratt]

I do it for a living and the best decision I made in the last 4 years was finally forcing myself to set up a way to spray in my shop. I operate out of a small shop so for me that meant a lot of creative thinking on how to setup a spray booth that used very little space (moveable box fans and roll-down clear tarps from ceiling), and making the shift to WB finishes to avoid lingering odors and explosion-proof fixtures. Now that I have used this system (which is probably less convenient than those of most people) I could never go back to hand applying finishes. I use lvlp spraying for nearly every project I do now. My best estimates are that I spend about 1/4 to 1/2 as much time finishing, enjoy finishing about twice as much as I used to, and upgraded my finishes from B quality to A quality in the process. Downsides are that you have to buy new equipment, learn (probably) new finishes and/or techniques, and your actual liquid finish cost goes up since you are losing a lot of finish to the air (vs brushing or wiping) no matter how good someone claims your spray efficiency can be.

I would recommend taking the plunge and trying out spraying clear finishes with an hvlp or lvlp gun. I use a mid-range lvlp gun from homestead finishing and a 7 cfm makita compressor and the set pairs up nicely. You should be able to get into it for about $3-400 counting every bell and whistle, add $350 if you need a compressor.

Tabletops get a lot easier when spraying since you don't have to rub-out in most cases, and you have a whole new world of options for coloring wood now that are not nearly as fickle or restrictive as hand-applied finishes (toners/glazes, easy blending etc, no wiping/brush lines when dyeing etc). I use target coatings and have replaced an inventory of probably 6 one gallon cans and 20 quart cans full of solvent based finishes and stains, grain fillers etc with 4 different gallon jugs of their products and a small box of transtint colorants.

I hardly ever paint my work so I can't comment on spraying for that application, except to say that the one quick test I did of it didn't look as good as a hand-brushed surface, and that people seem to consistently say that airless is better than hvlp/lvlp for paint application.