Book Recommendation

[Waymon Campbell]

Can anyone out there recommend a good book on spraying finishes? Having just bought the Wagner HVLP Conversion gun, I am looking for some information on the subject. Also, for anyone interested, I stopped by Touchup Depot in Baytown yesterday to get a few spraying supplies (lacquer, dye stains, etc...). These guys have good stock on hand and GREAT customer service. Highly recommended!

BTW - No affiliation

[Todd Burch]

Waymon, I learned from reading a few books on automobile restoration ('80s). After I read and read, and then tried it myself, I wasn't satisfied with my results.

I called around to a few auto dealerships in town, and finally got ahold of a body shop manager that would let me come "watch" for a day. I took a day of vacation and just hung out in the body shop all day. I will tell you - there is a WHOLE lot of distance between READING and SEEING. After I saw it being done, my technique and abilities leaped forward. I've since carried all that spray knowledge over from cars to wood. (I think cars are easier! You can see scratches easier, there are fewer sharp corners, and the coatings are more forgiving.)

Todd

[Tony Sade]

Waymon-I'm in the same boat, having also just bought the Wagner gun. Michael Dresdner has a video called "Spraying Basics", I think, which you can get from his website. Jeff Jewitt has an article in this month's FWW as well. Quite frankly, while both are helpful, I still seem to come up with about 3 new questions for every one answered. The best advice I've seen so far is to spray a couple of dozen cardboard boxes for practice. Thanks for asking the question. I look forward to lots of good answers. Take care.

[Robert Ducharme]

It takes practice. Unfortunately, if you are spraying wood or metal, practicing on cardboard boxes only helps a little bit. You can practice how to hold the sprayer and make the moves but cannot necessarily set up the gun correctly for the amount to spray. Cardboard sucks up the finish differently from metal/wood. I would agree with getting the motions down on cardboard and then taking some scrap material to practice with setting quantities/distance.