Earlex Spray Station

[atogrf1]

First off, I want to put a shout out to the guys at Wood World Chicago for providing me the the BEST Maple for my current project, and the guys at Woodcraft in Woodridge, IL for their invaluable advice on spray finishing.  (both Festool dealers, by the way).

I bought the Earlex Spray Station this past week to finish off some utilitarian cabinets that I am making for a customer.  Since I normally build historical reproduction/inspired furniture, I usually do all my finishing by hand.  But, with these big cabinets, I thought spraying them would go faster and give me a more professional finish.

Well, after the intimidation of spray finishing wore off, and I got everything all set up in my driveway, I dove in with the Earlex.
I have to say that this thing ROCKS!!!!  Not only did it work exactly as promised, it was a very well built machine and gave me results that you would see in a store.  I was very, VERY happy with it and would definitely recommend it for anyone that wants to take the dive into spray finishing.  It cleaned up easily as well and storing it is really easy as well.

Just my two cents.

-Nick-

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

I would agree Nick. I bought an Earlex 5000 about 2-3 years ago and have sprayed latex paint, stains, different finishes, etc. and it has performed quite well. Makes me mad that I spent all that time before doing it by hand. It's the same sort of epiphany as using your first pneumatic nail gun.

 

[BobKovacs]

Do you guys think the Earlex can be used to spray in-place inside a house, or is the overspray just too much?  I absolutely detest painting and have been looking at moving to spraying, but if you have to mask off half the house to protect it, it's not really worth the effort.

 

[atogrf1]

With being a sprayer, there is going to be overspray.
I was spraying outside and I still got a touch of mist on my glasses that I had to wipe off.
I would probably suggest masking off everything just as a matter of course.  However, having said THAT, I would think that if you compared the time to painting by hand, with masking and spraying, you will find that the masking/spraying option would be shorter overall.
Just my opinion, of course.

As for epiphanies.  Mine came when I bought my Domino.  All the times I spent making mortise and tenons.....  WOW, I could have had my projects done a WHOLE lot faster (and probably more accurate).

 

[Neill]

Like Shane, I also have the 5000 that I bought about 18 months ago.  As a novice, I found that it works very well.  There is some overspray, but not like you would imagine.  It may be because while perfect for almost everything you might want to do, it is not one of those heavy duty commercial units.  I usually use mine in the garage so there is very little wind to blow the mist around.  I use drop cloths to protect the floor and have not noticed paint on any of my garden tools, walls or garage door.

You might want to look at The Wood Whisperer web site.  He has a video titled "Music to my Earlex" which I watched prior to buying my unit.  I still watch it every once in a while.

Neill

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Yeah, there's going to be some overspray. In my opinion, it's not that bad at all. I also lay down drop clothes or some cardboard.

 

[peter halle]

I love my 5000 also.  I have sprayed thinned latex and have had good success.  I thought that the amount of overspray was reasonable considering that some of what I was doing was spraying a ceiling and standing directly below it  [scared].

Just remember to clean your gun well!

Peter 

 

[atogrf1]

Yes, I was spraying outside, so some of that overspray on the glasses could have been "wind generated".

 

[AlexThePalex]

Do you guys think the Earlex can be used to spray in-place inside a house, or is the overspray just too much?  I absolutely detest painting and have been looking at moving to spraying, but if you have to mask off half the house to protect it, it's not really worth the effort.

You really have to mask a lot when spraying inside a house, and I wouldn't opt for it, but it can be done. I've done quite some painting and spraying, but for me it wouldn't improve anything on both time and result. I hate masking, it often takes up more time (with removal included) than the paint job itself and also makes it more expensive.

Spraying could improve the result for people who are not that good at painting because one of the most difficult things about painting is getting rid of the brush marks when using a brush or the orange peel when using a roller. Spraying eliminates this problem, provided you do it good. But to get the same protection with spraying as with brushing you'll need to do an extra layer because a sprayed layer of paint is not as thick as a brushed layer.

Only place where a sprayer would really improve on the time and the result is with doors or panels. You can take out a door, put it against a wall, put some plastic up behind it and spray it. Works fast and is way better looking than with a brush or a roller.
 
Sprayed walls also look a lot better, but you need a special sprayer for that.
       

 

[fdengel]

I built a frame using PVC pipe and use spring clamps to attach clear plastic to three sides and the top.  This sits on a drop cloth.  As long as what you are spraying is relatively "safe" (water-based, non-explosive fumes, etc.), that seems to work fairly well for containing overspray as long as you are careful.

 

[johnbro]

the Earlex is nice, I really like mine. But for spraying latex house paint, forget it. Get (or rent, or visit your local pawn shop, where I see zillions of these things) a graco airless sprayer from lowes for latex. first of all you don't thin it, so you can put on a coating that just blows the earlex away (for latex). For poly or any non-latex coating I would choose the Earlex in a heartbeat.

 

[nickao]

I think this Earlex may be a cheap solution for the Fuji I sold, but is this thing any good for a deck other then the railings. Should I just go airless for the decking, its an awful lot.

One couldn't spray an entire building with this thing, Right? With my Fuji you actually could. An airless is better for a metal building though, correct, just because of the vast area?  

I have not used an airless in 13 years and all I remember is it being a nightmare and going back to the roller and brush, have things changed a bit since then? I only ever did exterior with an airless and all I probably would do with it now.

I really wanted that cheap Earlex, but I have a couple large things to paint(buildings and deck) and I think  I may need one of each now.

Comments.

 

[tiralie]

I think this Earlex may be a cheap solution for the Fuji I sold, but is this thing any good for a deck other then the railings. Should I just go airless for the decking, its an awful lot.

Depends. What are kind of coating (stain or pigmented paint) are you putting on the deck?
Why did you sell the Fuji?
I have a Fuji (Q4) and wouldn't dream of using it for my deck (approx. 10'x10'). I would rather use a roller on a handle even if I was staining. I don't have one but I might use a Graco Pro shot for that kind of a job. I little bit of a pain stopping to refill the canister all the time but a lot less clean up.

I really wanted that cheap Earlex, but I have a couple large things to paint(buildings and deck) and I think  I may need one of each now.

I think I would go nuts if i had to paint a whole building with a turbine HVLP unit.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Yeah, I did my deck with mine and it's not something I'd do again. Faster and easier than using a brush, yes. But there are better options.

 

[nickao]

That's what I wanted to hear, thanks guys. I am just going to get an airless and strap on a 5 gallon drum for the building and deck and use the Earlex in the shop for small pieces.

I can use a roller for the deck, but if you saw my railing you would see why I want to spray, it would be 90% brush work and we are talking a lot of railing, my deck is over 2000 sq feet with railing around 2 of the levels. That does not count the two balcony's(decks) off the bedrooms on the second floor and a landing in front of the house. I definitely can not use a roller on my building, the metal has a funky shape to it so a roller with out back brushing would be impossible. Plus, I think on metal a nice spray finish will look better.

I sold my Q4 simply because it sat for a year and I decided to sell everything that sat for a year or longer(hence my last frenzy of sales a few months ago)and purchased new stuff. Time has come around that I need to do some painting and maintenance at the new place. With the new shop I can have a dedicated place for a spray area as well so an HVLP will be nice. Even with the Q4 it was a hassle in my 3 car with the shop in there as well. I just did not have the time to get the shop clear in order to spray since the shop work was always deadline, the spraying wasn't. I simply can not afford another Q4 and was looking to go cheaper, but get a similar finish. That Fuji was dam nice!

It looks like the Earlex is now a 5500 model, it is has a larger motor than the 5000(650 watt vs 500 watt) and some more upgrades than the 5000 people here seem to like. For 319.00 shipped, no tax, that Earlex is super inexpensive. Plus, with the airless I chose both together still cost less than a Q4! As long as both units are half way decent I should be happy, plus I can always return them if I don't like them.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Kevin Stricker]

Dovetail,I might consider looking into the Graco Proshot or Proshot fine finish as well.  Seems like a pretty versatile unit from the videos and reviews I have seen.  HVLP is great for some stuff,but not everything. If you have a big compressor then check out the conversion guns sold by Homestead finishing, good value there. I have a Fuji Q4 with two guns and pps systems on both so I can't justify the cost of the Proshot, but it sure would make paint spraying go faster.

 

[Jesus Aleman]

Shane, what were the issues?  How often were you refilling the pot.  Next spring I have to refinish about 250' of 7'high fence. I'm looking for the best mousetrap.

 

[nickao]

Thanks Kevin, but  am looking for cheap, I had a Fuji 4 stage that I actually sold and just do not do enough to justify for anything expensive at all. I got something for 208.00 its back to 319.00 already(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002VA5A6Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6) on sale through Amazon to paint the big stuff already.

That pro shot cordless looks pretty cool though!

http://www.amazon.com/TrueCoat-Handheld-Airless-Sprayer-258864/dp/B004ZGWDM8/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t

http://www.raeprostores.com/servlet/the-241/Graco-ProShot-Fine-Finish/Detail

 

[Scott B.]

We have a 5500 Spray Station in our hvlp fleet. It is by far the least expensive hvlp we have, and it is handy as heck. It delivers as promised, and is convenient and user friendly. Our other more expensive units have better components and deliver nicer finishes across the spectrum of products, but in sheer bang for buck, Earlex is great.

Here's a picture of it doing some cabinet grade.

 

[peter halle]

I just want to report in on my Earlex 6900.  Before you form your opinions based on what I write, things happen with tools occasionally and both of the issues I will describe will be covered by their two year warranty.

While spraying some cabinet doors with stain a couple of weeks ago outside - I hadn't gotten my shop space yet - the hose separated from the coupling at the turbine unit.  The turbine unit then blew dust all over my still wet work.  Looking back I have to laugh.  Needing to finish I used duct tape to reattach the hose.  That worked for a few minutes, then the warmth of the hose defeated the duct tape adhesive and guess what....

Two more times with extended lengths of duct tape and hvac tape and the same result.  I finally drove a screw thru the coupling and the hose to trap the wire reenforcement of the hose.  That will get me thru this project.

While spraying stain yesterday I suddenly had huge blotches of stain on me, the floor of my new shop space, and my project.  I thought that the gasket was leaking.  Nope.  It turned out to be one of the locking pins on the cup that had loosened somehow and was not allowing leakage.

They are going to take care of these items.  I love the outfit and would not hesitate to recommend to anyone.  Sometimes things happen.

Peter