Recommendation for HVLP sprayer for Latex Paint

[Paulh Tremblay]

I am looking for an HVLP sprayer to spray latex paint on MDF cabinets. I will most likely use a high gloss paint. I will most likely not be using it for anything besides furniture.

I don't want to spend more than $400.00. That means I need a system without a compressor. I see some of the Gracko sprayers get high reviews. I also saw in a recent post that members liked the Fuji.

[Mike Heidrick]

Started a spraying paint thread on woodnet looking for similar advice. Check that out too.

[mreza Salav]

HVLP systems are NOT good at spraying latex paint, even the multi stage ones struggle at it. I have a good 4-stage turbine system and have tried paint. It works Ok but very very slow. You need to look at different systems if your main purpose is spraying (thick) materials like paint.

[Fred Heenie]

HVLP and Latex are not synonymous. You might have a chance with a large set up but probably not. Look for an airless outfit for latex.

[John TenEyck]

Look at the QualSpray AM Series offered by Homestead Finishing: http://homesteadfinishingproducts.co...ray-hvlp-guns/
Call Jeff to discuss your specific requirements and I bet you'll be happy with his recommendation.


John

[Silas Smith]

The Graco Proshot offers, in my opinion, an excellent option for the hobbiest. I have had a $1000+ airless setup and I feel the finish is just as good. It is worth the investment to get a bigger cup though if you are spraying cabinets. I've sprayed a couple of pieces of furniture and am very pleased.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Water borne products on mdf require a solvent undercoat. High gloss shows more imperfections while a low priced spray system increases the probability of problems

For cabinets I use a water based lacquer rather than latex paint. A much harder surface, quicker cure time (most are stacking dry in less than an hour) and have a viscosity that can be sprayed with HVLP. Higher quality (more expensive) coatings tend to be more forgiving

[Brian W Smith]

Agree with the above about better top coats available......

A slight tangent to OP,at least how I see his direction,that is....wanting to not use a comp.;The few times for whatever reason,we shot "Latex"(house paint)on cabinets,just used a cheapie HF,2.2 gun with comp.These are designed for shooting body filler/primer,on auto's during go-fast collision work.They'll just about shoot drywall compound,haha.Technical difficulties,once worked,the finish(Latex),is pretty dang good.At least from a visual criteria.And again,get it right....and it does an especially good job on the doors edges.Compared to lacquer,it's probably 10 times more difficult to get it decent,overall however from a skillset standpoint.Good luck,it is a little daunting because of all the choices.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't think your sprayer exists. Good quality capable of laying down latex high gloss....not likely. And not a compressor conversion gun? So you need a turbine unit? Maybe a 4 stage, but that's well over $1k entry level. I'd be looking at changing coatings. Latex is more of a wall and trim brush on or rolled coating and most are formulated as such. An airless is designed to move it, but you will spend more time cleaning up than spraying unless your volume is huge, and the sub $400 units may not give the high gloss surface justice. Consider something like target coatings or ML Campbell aqualente, or general finishes pigmented acrylic lacquer. All can be tinted to most popular latex colors you might desire, all are designed to be sprayed as formulated, you get a tougher coating that will approach a real AA furniture grade coating.

[Tom M King]

If this is a one off job, and you don't plan to do this more than once, see if you can rent an airless sprayer. I have old air guns, HVLP, air-assisted airless, and airless. I'd use the airless on a large kitchen. I also have the battery powered ProShots, but a 1 quart cup is a PIA for a cabinet job. If you don't have a supplier of commercial finishes near you, use ProClassic from Sherwin-Williams. It's called a latex, but is really more than that, and anyone can lay down a perfect finish with it. If you can get some of the better finishes, use them.

You may be able to rent an airless rig, but doubtfully with a good gun on the end of the hose. If you can rent one, and it doesn't have a Graco gun that uses RAC X tips, buy a new Contractor gun to use with the rental pump. That gun is about $140 and the tips are a little less than 30 bucks each. The tip that comes in the gun will put out too much paint for the cabinet job, but be fine for walls. For the Proclassic, get some Fine Finish Tips for the Contractor gun in 210, and 410 sizes. You can do a factory quality job with ProClassic, that gun, and those tips.

Practice on something else first. Turn the pressure down as low as it let you spray a fan with no heavy edges.

[Paulh Tremblay]

I don't think your sprayer exists. Good quality capable of laying down latex high gloss....not likely. And not a compressor conversion gun? So you need a turbine unit? Maybe a 4 stage, but that's well over $1k entry level. I'd be looking at changing coatings. Latex is more of a wall and trim brush on or rolled coating and most are formulated as such. An airless is designed to move it, but you will spend more time cleaning up than spraying unless your volume is huge, and the sub $400 units may not give the high gloss surface justice. Consider something like target coatings or ML Campbell aqualente, or general finishes pigmented acrylic lacquer. All can be tinted to most popular latex colors you might desire, all are designed to be sprayed as formulated, you get a tougher coating that will approach a real AA furniture grade coating.

How did I not know about lacquer? A quick search on the intertubes indicates that is the product I want to use. In fact, it looks like I might even be able to brush it on. Can you point me to some good sources on applying and buying lacquer--maybe even a book on finishes?

As I said, the finish will be for MDF.

[Paulh Tremblay]

If this is a one off job, and you don't plan to do this more than once, see if you can rent an airless sprayer. I have old air guns, HVLP, air-assisted airless, and airless. I'd use the airless on a large kitchen. I also have the battery powered ProShots, but a 1 quart cup is a PIA for a cabinet job. If you don't have a supplier of commercial finishes near you, use ProClassic from Sherwin-Williams. It's called a latex, but is really more than that, and anyone can lay down a perfect finish with it. If you can get some of the better finishes, use them.

You may be able to rent an airless rig, but doubtfully with a good gun on the end of the hose. If you can rent one, and it doesn't have a Graco gun that uses RAC X tips, buy a new Contractor gun to use with the rental pump. That gun is about $140 and the tips are a little less than 30 bucks each. The tip that comes in the gun will put out too much paint for the cabinet job, but be fine for walls. For the Proclassic, get some Fine Finish Tips for the Contractor gun in 210, and 410 sizes. You can do a factory quality job with ProClassic, that gun, and those tips.

Practice on something else first. Turn the pressure down as low as it let you spray a fan with no heavy edges.

It's not a one time job. I've considered renting and maybe renting a compressor will work. I don't think I can afford a really big compressor and don't like to have a lot of extra stuff hanging around. I think many times you get a good value when you rent.

However, as I stated in my post above, I think lacquer will work much better anyway.

[John TenEyck]

As mentioned the GF Pigmented Poly sprays great with HVLP turbine units, and is very hard and durable: http://generalfinishes.com/professio...h#.VBMxwGPQpwS I didn't know about them either before I decided to paint a china cabinet with SW's Pro Classic. I managed to get it done with my HVLP conversion gun, and it's a very nice product, but not designed for an HVLP gun. Airless is definitely the way to go with that stuff. The next paint project I will go with the GF Pigmented Poly.

John

[John TenEyck]

I reread your post after I saw comments about you not wanting a compressor. IMHO, the best bang for your buck and most versatile system you could get is an HVLP conversion gun, or guns, and a compressor. Neither needs to be expensive to do a good job. It may be hard to believe, but the cheap HF HVLP guns lay down a beautiful finish. They cost about $12 on sale, so you can easily afford several with different orifice sizes. And you don't need a monster compressor to run them; anything that puts out around 6 cfm at 40 psi is adequate. You could easily stay under your $400 budget. Of course I wouldn't recommend it for constant, commercial use, but if that were your motivation you should be able to justify a lot more than $400.

John

[Jim Becker]

May I respectfully suggest you don't use latex paint for this? It's not the right stuff for cabinets...and most latex paints exhibit undesirable characteristics like blocking (stuff sticks to it) and easy susceptibility to scratching. For a water borne finish, you want a 100% acrylic product and if you are spraying you want something that's ready to spray out of the container if at all possible because you cannot "thin" water borne products beyond just a little. (10% or so) Target Coatings will tint their EM6xxx product to just about any BM color you need, for example. There are other options on the marketplace, too. And these products spray beautifully with economical HPLV conversion guns like the Wagner I use and some others on the market that others use. Do note that to use an HVLP conversion gun, your compressor must be capable of providing the SCFM indicated by the gun's manufacturer at a minimum. Very small compressors do not necessarily have that capacity and even if they minimally do, they will run constantly. It's the tradeoff...