Fugi HVLP Guns

[Bill McNiel]

Creekers,

Those of you who have and use an HVLP Turbine system, which gun do you use/recommend and why? I am about to purchase, I think, a Fugi MM4 series and am trying to make an informed decision between the T-70, T-75 or maybe GXPC? I am open to alternate suggestions.

I make custom furniture; desks, tables (large dining, coffee, sofa, occasional, etc), bedroom sets, breakfronts, restaurant display and functional cabinetry, dressers, entertainment centers, bookcases, "smaller" built-ins (no more kitchens for this old man), etc (you get the idea).

I use the typical wood finishes and am looking to expand my repertoire with the addition of waterborne conversion varnishes and the like. Every once in a while I will have a commission that calls for latex paint as a finish.

Your thoughts, reviews and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Mahalo - Bill

[Dick Mahany]

I have a Fuji MM3 Platinum and use the T75G gravity gun. It is fantastic, easy to clean and has a new upgraded nylon cup that does not require a gasket (which has been reported as a problem occasionally with the aluminum gravity cups). I recently built a large entertainment system and sprayed inside several cabinets and found the gun to be quite maneuverable, but it can be a little challenging in confined spaces. The T70 would have been a little more restrictive.
With the standard 1.3mm needle/nozzle set I had excellent results off the gun for WB stain and WB sealer.

I have used bottom feed guns before and really liked them also. The T70 bottom feed gun can accept a converter that will allow a gravity cup to be used , so that may be another option to consider. I also picked up a 1.5mm needle/nozzle set for thicker materials and it was great for relatively thick WB topcoats, but required thinning as is typical with heavier coatings. The Fuji guns are great, but are pricey. I may pick up an aftermarket bottom feed gun for about 1/3 the price, just to have options.

I have no experience with the adjustable side cup gun, but think the balance wouldn't be optimal for me.

[Robert Maloney]

I have the XPC gun in both the gravity feed and Bottom feed. On larger projects I prefer the bottom feed gun because of the larger cup size. I build mostly smaller projects so I outfitted the gravity gun with the 3M PPS. I works great because I can spray with the gun in any position, which is helpful getting into tight spots on smaller projects. I am by no means a finishing expert. Just sharing my experience with the guns.

[Gary Muto]

I have the fuji Mini Mite 3 stage HVLP. I have only sprayed WB finishes with it. I remeber reading that it can shoot latex but that it was marginal. I think you are on the right track.

[Marty Schlosser]

Hey, Bill.

Both the T70 and T75G are great guns, and both are the newest in the Fuji line. It comes down to which format you favour most: gravity cup or under-gun cup. Because your work features a lot of larger pieces, I don't think you'd be interested in getting the gravity cup gun and outfitting it with the 3M PPS, so perhaps the T70 would work best for you.

The Fuji turbines and guns are widely considered the best on the market and favoured by many. They (and almost every other Fuji gun except their 9622 Touch-up gun) can indeed be used to spray latex by going with the largest aircap & needle sets and playing around with thinning the paint (only a very small amount of thinning is required in most cases, so the paint's characteristics aren't affected enough to worry about).

As a nice aside, by going with the Mini Mite4 - which is a 4-stage turbine as you're probably aware - there is enough residual air pressure to employ a 2-guart pressure pot... which is something you may be interested in also getting. The pressure pot fluid line connects directly into the gun where the cup used to be (you remove it from the gun when using the pressure pot), so the weight you're carrying around is reduced by the weight of the cup and the finish you'd otherwise be carrying around. It also gives you the advantage of having a smaller gun, which makes it easier to get into those areas of a cabinet that are challenging to apply finish to.

Just to give you an idea of where I stand as far as tubine HVLP is concerned, I have a Fuji Q5 Platinum turbine and three Fuji guns:

- T70: which I use for most of my spraying needs.

- 9600-G-XPC: which I keep permanently connected to my Fuji 2 quart pressure pot, via a 10' airhose & fluid feed line. This makes it great for getting into the insides of cabinetry where a cup on the gun would get in the way. The pressure pot is perfect for those jobs where I'll need to reach across larger pieces (think boardroom tabletops) and holding onto a heavy gun isn't that comfortable. I should mention that I originally got the 9600-G-XPC because I felt its smaller and rotatable cup would be great for maneauvering into smaller spaces where the undermount cup T70 wouldn't be as easy to use. That proved to be the case, however I felt I wanted to have one of my guns permanently twinned with a 2-quart pressure pot... and decided to do that with the 9600-G-XPC and keep the T70 for everything else. It's worked out really well for me.

- 9622 Touch up gun: I keep this one mostly for airbrushing and spraying shading effects with all my non-waterborne finishes.

I do agree that Fuji guns are expensive. But to my way of thinking, they perform exactly as advertised, which is something you can't say of most of the cheap guns. You also get Fuji's second-to-none service support and that's worth the difference to me.

Hope this all helps. Let us know which way you ended out going.

[Wayne Lomman]

When choosing between suction or gravity guns, be aware that a suction pot will trash your wrist and shoulder over time whereas a gravity gun much less so. And a pressure pot least of all. Cheers

[Denis Kenzior]

Also check out the Apollo 7500 gun. It can be used in either configuration, no need to choose. I frequently reconfigure mine depending on how much material I spray.

[Bill McNiel]

Gentlemen,
Thank you all for taking the time to respond to my query, I am most appreciative. Great input from all.

OTOH-Marty, you are a bad influence, every point you made struck home with me but has offended my bank account. I started thinking about HVLP with the Semi Pro 2 stage, looking at an initial cost of approx $400, then did initial research and let my wife push me to a 4 stage and am now, thanks to your well thought out, logical, presentation staring at $1,000 and beyond, square in the mug. You are obviously a good man but evil.

I have decided, I think, on the Fuji Platinum 4 with T70 gun and Fuji 2 QT Pressure Pot. Decision point for the PP was weight and having both hoses attach to the gun from below which should assist in keeping them out of the way in tight spaces inside cabinets, etc.

Thanks again and I remain open to additional thoughts/comments on my choices - Bill

[Len Rosenberg]

Bill, the Fuji Platinum Q5 adds an additional feature - a variable turbine speed control. This additional adjustment allows for precise control over the speed and amount of coating sprayed. I've used it to good effect several times when I couldn't dial in the spray pattern I wanted using only the controls on the spray gun. I think it is well worth the slight additional charge over the Q4.

Len