Earlex 5000 vs Latex Paint -- thinning?

[Art Mulder]

Hey Folks,

I've got an Earlex 5000 and I've shot some varathane with it, but I've not yet used it with paint.

Tonight I thought I'd give it a try. I wanted to prime a large basic wooden box. I know that viscosity is an issue, so I pulled out the viscosity cup and the instruction manual, and it told me that for water based latex paints it should be 25-60 seconds.

So I opened my can of Primer (Zinsser BullsEye 1-2-3, Primer-Sealer Stain Killer, All Purpose Waterbase, Apply over or under any oil or latex) and started stirring. Once I had it mixed I filled up the viscosity cup and let it drip...

TWO minutes later I was not even down 1/4 of the way and I gave up.

I read the can of primer about thinning and it told me that I should thin NO-MORE than 30ml of clean water per 3.7 Liters of paint. I thought you could thin water-based paint up to 10%. 30 ml per 3.7liters is more like ONE percent. That seems pointless.

Okay, I know you can shoot latex through an Earlex unit. That's what I see them doing at every demonstration at ever woodshow! So how do you do it? Am I using the wrong kind of primer? Is this Zinsser primer (which I think is great when priming walls!) just too thick for an Earlex sprayer?

Am I supposed to ignore the manufacture's guidelines on the label of the paint? The Earlex manual seems contradictory. On the one hand it tells me to follow the manufacturer. Then one paragraph later it tells me to thin by 10%, and by another 5% if that isn't enough, AND repeat if necessary!

Anyone got some wisdom to share?

[Bas Pluim]

I haven't had much success spraying paint with the Earlex 5000 either. Primer was a disaster, I could not get that to work at all. I was using a typical water-based primer, not the Zinsser. Paint was a bit better. I used Sherwin Williams Pro-Enamel acrylic paint, thinned considerably with water and Floetrol. As in 30%-40% thinned. It covered OK, but to eliminate the orange peel, you have to lay it on thick. Not a problem on a horizontal surface, but on vertical surfaces...yup, runs. Note that I used the 2.0mm needle, not the 2.5mm, that might make a difference. Also, with that kind of thinning, the paint becomes completely flat, even if you start with gloss or semi-gloss.

I've pretty much given up on spraying paint at this point, I'll try tinted lacquer first if I need a non-clear finish. Sorry to share bad news. If you do find the magical formula, I'd be _very_ interested.

[Charles Neil]

thin the paint or primer about 5 %, now this can vary , really thick paint maybe a little more...then use a smaller needle /nozzel like a 1.5 , and open the fluid knob as far as you can get it , here is what we are doing , the smaller needle/nozzle will atomize the paint /primer better ,thus reducing the orange peel , additionally often the orange peel will dry out, meaning water base anything has a tendency to lay on "peely", then dry out flat, its because of the surface tension created by the water...adding a little ( tea spoon full to a qt) of denatured alcohol will help relieve the tension and inital flowout is better....a quick way to test for an acceptable viscosity is if you stand a paint stick in the material and it wants to "stand there" , its too thick , latex paint comes in so many different viscosities its hard to be specific , but if its about like a heavy cream it will spray.. I have one of those airless commercial paint sprayers , that pump the paint, and even then i have to thin some latex paints some...also be very sure that the tube from the side of the gun to the cup is clear , this is the cup pressure line, and if the material is not being pressurized it will not get to the nozzle, in some cases i have had to go to the # 2 nozzle/needle...hope this helps... i have used my earlex to spray a fair amount of primer and paint , as well as waterbased finishes and this is what i have found to work...hope it does for you as well

[David Schmaus]

I sprayed Sherwin Williams super paints last week on a front door. (taken off and layed horizonal. I thinned the paint to about 50 seconds using the tester cup. (maybe 15%) I used 1.5 and juiced up the volume and layed on two layers of primer and three of paint. Turned out wonderful. I don't know if this would of worked on a verticle surface. I think I would of had runs....

[Jim Eller]

I too have paint latex on shutters and a metal door with success with the Earlex.

Jim

[Charles Neil]

david , spraying horizontal is always easier, the key to verticle is to simply apply lighter coats ..i often will spray a coat let it set for a few min until it starts to "tack up" , then apply another ...basically im applying a good coat but doing it in two stages