Spraying Kitchen Cabinets

[Peter Tucker]

Hey there - first post here, thanks in advance for your reservoir of knowledge.

I'm making my own kitchen cabinets (just avid hobbyist and woodworker, not a pro), and am setting up a spray gun/compressor for the job and for future woodworking finishing projects. I think I have a spray gun chosen (LVLP Qualspray AM5008 from Jeff at Homestead Finishing Products) and looking for advice on a compressor that won't break the bank, as well as what paint and primer to choose for the kitchen cabinets. I've tried the 2 HP 6CFM compressor from Harbor Freight, but after two units arriving damaged in the mail, I'm going another route. Any advice on a compressor, and what primer and paint to use would be greatly appreciated. I'm just thinking a white paint - nothing fancy, but want it to hold up to the test of time. Cabinets will be probably maple or birch ply, frameless, with poplar rail/stile drawer fronts.

I know this is a recurring topic here, and I have done a search, but hoping there are some new compressor models and paints available since some of the older threads. Apologies for any redundancy.

Thanks!

Best, Peter

[Adam Herman]

I can not comment on the compressor as i rolled and tipped all of my 30 doors/fronts and the frames! ( wont do that again!)

I really like the paint i used though, and have used it on a coffee table and other places where it has held up beyond my expectations.

Sherwin Williams proclassic enamel. They have a deep base to tint to darker colors that i have used as well. It is not the easiest to work with and films over nearly instantly, but once you get the hang of it, levels and dries very nicely even after i bugger it up brushing it out. The coffee table has been kicking around with feet and all manner of cats and dogs on top of it for a couple years and still looks great.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Consider using a pigmented waterborne lacquer instead of paint. They dry quickly and you don't have the blocking problems as with latex paint. I use ML Campbell products but there are several good one now on the market.

[Mike Schuch]

I prefer to spray my first coat of finish with the finish thinned quite a bit so it soaks into the wood and gets a good bite. Subsequent coats I spray with the finish not thinned nearly as much.

I use lacquer for low traffic applications but have always been leery of using it for a high traffic application like kitchen cabinets. Lacquer does dry MUCH quicker which makes it really nice to use. For high traffic areas I use a quality oil based product.

I would recommend looking on CraigsList for a belt drive compressor. Belt drives are usually much quieter and last a lot longer than direct drive compressors. I have a small rollair direct drive 2.5 gallon compressor that I use for my brad nailer in the house that I picked up off of Craigslist for like $25. It is perfect for nailers but I don't think it is up to spraying. I use my belt drive shop compressor for spraying.

I have the Harbor Freight HVLP sprayer that comes with its own turbine. It does a great job and usually gets excellent reviews for a HF tool. Since it has its own turbine no compressor is required. I have a $300 professional MAC spray gun sitting on my shelf never used. I have found woodworking doesn't require near the quality of spray equipment that something like painting a car does and I just can't bring myself to foul my pristine Mac sprayer. The nice part about cheap HF sprayers is you can throw them away when they get too old, ugly and plugged... but I have had an old HF compressor powered sprayer for 20 year now that just wont die when using a bit of care with cleaning. I don't think I paid more than $25 for it 20 years ago. I just used it last weekend to spray a couple sticks of trim with spar varnish, still works great for finishing wood.

I rarely paint wood, I almost always use a clear finish. When I have sprayed oil based paint on some garage shelves the paint required a lot of thinning and I had to use a larger nozzle on the sprayer.

[Robert Engel]

I would look for a compressor that is rated at least 25% over what it calls for.

In your case, that is 6CFM, so I would get a compressor rated at 9-10CFM.

A compressor like this will be very limited for air tool use.

[John TenEyck]

I have the HVLP version of the Qualspray gun you bought with the 3M PPS system and it sprays beautifully. I have a large 60 gal compressor driving mine, so CFM is not an issue. FWIW, I bought my compressor used on C-List for $300 about 6 years ago and it has run many trouble free hours since then.

As nice as SW's ProClassic is it's a bear to spray with an HVLP gun. I haven't tried spraying it yet with the Qualspray gun, and it might spray it OK if you get the 1.8 or 2.0 mm N/N set for it. But I have sprayed General Finishes Enduro White Poly with it and it sprays beautifully with no thinning through the 1.3 mm tip. It has a measured viscosity of about 100 seconds through a Ford #4 cup. For comparison, ProClassic has an equivalent viscosity of around 500 seconds. I had to add 18% water to it to spray it with a gravity feed HVLP gun, which is not a good thing to do. Haven't tried it yet with the Qualspray gun so I can't comment.

ML Campbell Aqualente pigmented products have very low viscosity (around 35 seconds) and should spray great. Whatever you choose, make sure it's KCMA rated. And practice on something before you start spraying your kitchen cabinets.

John

[Mike Goetzke]

Since you are looking for a compressor have you considered a HVLP turbine system? I have the 4-stage Fuji system with the 3M PPS and get great results. I too am a serious hobbyist that built a huge kitchen worth of cabinets. I used waterborne lacquer. I recently built a crib for our first grandchild and my daughter wanted it white so I used white pigmented lacquer - again came out great.

I suggest you build a rack to hold doors for drying. I made a knock down PVC rack that I couldn't have done without.

Mike

[David Kumm]

It may not be relevant if spraying water borne but I would be concerned about how to dry the air. If spraying in humid warm weather, small compressors that run fast and have a small tank will need something to dry the air. i run a big compressor with a refrigerated dryer so maybe others can advise as to what is needed. Dave

[john bateman]

Hey there - first post here, thanks in advance for your reservoir of knowledge.

. I think I have a spray gun chosen (LVLP Qualspray AM5008 from Jeff at Homestead Finishing Products) and looking for advice on a compressor that won't break the bank, as well as what paint and primer to choose for the kitchen cabinets.

Best, Peter

I have the Asturo brand version of that gun, with 3 needle/nozzle sets up to 1.8mm. I use it with the Dewalt/Emglo compressor with the 15gal tank that you often see at the big-box stores for around $350. Most often I use clear and pigmented water borne coatings from Target https://www.targetcoatings.com/
I would say that compressor is the minimum capacity you would want to use.
Most of the things I spray are about 2 cubic feet or smaller in size. The compressor cycles off and on periodically, and usually keeps up with the gun. But it's pretty noisy, so if you can find a larger, oil-lubed model in your price range, I would recommend you do so, especially if you think you will be spraying much larger cabinets.

[John TenEyck]

It may not be relevant if spraying water borne but I would be concerned about how to dry the air. If spraying in humid warm weather, small compressors that run fast and have a small tank will need something to dry the air. i run a big compressor with a refrigerated dryer so maybe others can advise as to what is needed. Dave

It's never been a problem for me, but I do have a pretty large compressor. I have nothing more than the oil/water filter separator/pressure regulator at the compressor, 50 ft of hose and then my gun. I add an in-line filter at the gun to catch anything that gets beyond the regulator at the compressor, but have never found anything in it, at least as far as I can tell looking in the inlet hole. I drain the tank every once in awhile, and the separator at the tank several times a day if I'm spraying a lot more than an hour.

Caution is warranted, however, and I would not run with less than I have, which is bare minimum. Going to a smaller compressor could very well lead to problems I don't have, as you suggested, and that would drive me to find a larger compressor before I spent money on a fancy drying system. That seems like putting lipstick on a pig to me.

John

[David Kumm]

The air sanders are what really need the dryer. I don't spray enough volume for the water to be an issue, but when sanding water will spit like crazy from the pad. Dave

[Jim Dwight]

I used to use a Wagner conversion gun on my small compresser but I get much better results with my Fuji mini mite, 3 stage. I like Resisthane sold by Hood finishing. It is water borne lacquer you can get clear or tinted white (or black). I used the white on shutters for our entire last house. I also used the primer from the same source. Both applied easily without thinning with the stock jets of my Fuji.

[Ole Anderson]

Just a thought: go with a small airless setup like the Graco X5 using SW Pro classic. Thinning is not an issue when going airless. Worked great for me painting primed 6 panel doors, lots of them. Also about 20 raised panel kitchen cabinet doors.

[Bradley Gray]

Another vote for a turbine HVLP system (I have a Graco) and Hood Finishing Products for hydrocote finishes

[Peter Tucker]

Hey everyone, thanks for all the input. The HVLP Turbine systems do look enticing - small and portable - but are a little more pricey than I'd like to spend (look like $1000+ for the Graco), but something like the Fuji Semi-PRO 2 at $400 might fit the bill? Anyone experience with it? I watched a video on it and it seemed very slow... The Fuji Mini-Mite 3 @ $625 is probably about the same as I would spend on a gun/compressor and also might work. One of the compressors suggested to me was the Makita MAC5200 3HP Big Bore, for 6.5CFM @ 90PSI.

I had assumed a compressor and gun with multiple tips would afford me the widest range of spray applications in the long run for the kitchen cabinets, in addition to wood finished down the road, but it is hard to nail down good info on the topic. Just bought a tablesaw, planer, and jointer so trying to save a little money on this setup. The hydrocote paint looks great - I like the idea of fast drying since I will only have a makeshift spray booth with plastic sheeting, etc. A drying/hanging rack will be key too I think - good advice. For white hydrocote - just use the primer first then maybe 2 coats of the satin white? And it doesn't look like I need to thin it - ready to spray? That is one less step for this newbie : ) I'm going to be building an outfeed/assembly table with essentially kitchen base cabinets underneath, same hardware and drawers, and will spray it - all to practice before I start in on the cabinets.