Fuji sprayer question

[rocky100370]

Hi all

Had a Graco sprayer and hated it. Could never get a nice finish. I’m considering purchasing a Fuji sprayer if you all think that would be a huge improvement over the Graco one. I’ve also had Wagner and didn’t like that either.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[afish]

what are you trying to spray? latex, lacquer, etc.

 

[Sparktrician]

You might want to discuss your needs with Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing Products.  [smile]

 

[xedos]

Agree Homestead is top of the food chain.

Nothing wrong with graco products , especially their hvlp turbines.  There are certainly better hvlp guns out there, but it’s not like graco is crap.  Their 5 stage turbine with auto shutoff is pretty stout.

It would be helpful to know what you have now, what material you are spraying , and what your issues are before we could really advise you.

 

[blues]

Apollo sprayer is also an excellent choice. Their 7700 gun is a class apart. Control is fantastic and clean up a breeze. Best of all the quality of the finish is stellar. They have diff models spread across the price performance curve.

 

[rocky100370]

The issues I had with the Graco was spitting blobs when I was spraying thinned latex paint. I was spraying my doors and it just came out like crap. Used different thinning ratios and just couldn't get the smooth finish. Not sure if it was the turbine model but didn't impress me the least. So now I don't have a sprayer and using the roller/brush finish. Ill be spraying both clear coat finishes and latex.

 

[afish]

As I figured it was a bad latex experience.  Some might disagree but to spray latex you will need to spend around $1000 min for a 4 stage turbine or preferably a 5 stage and even then Im not not sure but Anything smaller is going to be problematic for sure and require more thinning than I would want to do to latex.  I use a Graco TC pro airless cordless sprayer for latex and a devilbiss FLG4 for pretty much everything else.  Both units have served me well.  The only negative I have with the Graco is it requires a lot of refilling if you are spraying a lot but I get the trade off if the cup was bigger and held more paint it would be heavier, so...I just refill as needed.  I dont spray latex a lot (mostly some interior passage doors and trim) so the size works well for most jobs.  If I wanted to spray larger surfaces I would get a airless rig with hose and cord but thats more for spraying walls, ceilings, fences etc.  For woodworking projects the cordless is the perfect size.  I have the cheaper TC pro that cant spray lacquer or anything that requires clean up with thinner.  I did spay some Lenmar water based lacquer and man it did a good job.  I use the FLG4 for anything that requires thinner for clean up but you will need a big compressor.  The Turbine systems try to give you both but for myself I prefer airless for latex and HVLP and large compressor for lacquer, C.V., urethane, etc. Having a large compressor comes in handy for other tasks I do that a turbine cant such as running air DA's impact tools etc. 

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Several years ago I purchased a Fuji Q4 system with a G-XPC gun, all the needle/air cap sets, and added the 3M PPS system. This is a gravity fed pressure assisted gun. I have all the I have been very happy with this system but really don't have experience with spraying latex. Probably like most systems you need practice/experience to perfect your results. There are many here that do this for a living that can give better feedback but not only is the gun/system important but also the finish.

 

[Packard]

I have the Sprayfine 40stage turbine unit with their gun.  It got good reviews and it has been pretty easy to use.  I am not an experienced painter and I have never used an airless, but this one has turned out nice work.

It had excellent reviews.  The turbine generates a surprising amount of heat though.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GAFDOXO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[krudawg]

Hi all

Had a Graco sprayer and hated it. Could never get a nice finish. I’m considering purchasing a Fuji sprayer if you all think that would be a huge improvement over the Graco one. I’ve also had Wagner and didn’t like that either.

Any help is appreciated!

I own a MiniMite 4 Platinum and have sprayed Latex Paint.  The paint absolutely must be thinned (I use bottled water but some recommend using Windex (believe it or not) AND at least 1.8 Needle/aircap.  Some of my worst paint jobs on a project of mine was when I was spraying GF Topcoat Clear Satin.  I had a lot of orange peal.  Afterwards, I sent it to Phelps Refinishing (a Fuji Dealer) for service.  He called my and asked me if I knew I was spraying with a 1.3 needle in a 1.8 nozzle.  I was stunned but obviously mixed up my nozzles and needles. 
So, watch a few videos on YouTube on mixing Latex paint and make damn sure you don't mix up your needles with the nozzles.  Practice makes perfect

 

[tjbnwi]

[member=74041]rocky100370[/member]

What are you sprsaying and how often?

Which Graco do you have? Graco units are our most used machines when we are applying finish.

The Fuji's are nice units (I have a Q4 and a Q5 with X and T guns). 

Latex does need to be thinned. As mentioned above bottle water works. We also use non-methonal base windshield washer fluid.

The cabinet picture was sprayed with the Q4, T-70 gun, 1.3 needle/nozzle set, 1.5 air cap, 3M PPS, materialwas SW Pro Classic  Acrylic.

Tom

 

[rocky100370]

Now thats what kind of finish Im looking for! I don't have to use latex but being a newbie to the spray gun techniques I thought that was the best thing to use. As I mentioned in my first post I thinned it many different ratios using tap water and or Flood. It was a disaster and super glad the project was for me and not a customer. Tom is there a topcoat? Im guessing sanding in between coats? How many coats?

Again THANK YOU all for the replies and help!

[member=74041]rocky100370[/member]

What are you sprsaying and how often?

Which Graco do you have? Graco units are our most used machines when we are applying finish.

The Fuji's are nice units (I have a Q4 and a Q5 with X and T guns). 

Latex does need to be thinned. As mentioned above bottle water works. We also use non-methonal base windshield washer fluid.

The cabinet picture was sprayed with the Q4, T-70 gun, 1.3 needle/nozzle set, 1.5 air cap, 3M PPS, materialwas SW Pro Classic  Acrylic.

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

Now thats what kind of finish Im looking for! I don't have to use latex but being a newbie to the spray gun techniques I thought that was the best thing to use. As I mentioned in my first post I thinned it many different ratios using tap water and or Flood. It was a disaster and super glad the project was for me and not a customer. Tom is there a topcoat? Im guessing sanding in between coats? How many coats?

Again THANK YOU all for the replies and help!

[member=74041]rocky100370[/member]

What are you sprsaying and how often?

Which Graco do you have? Graco units are our most used machines when we are applying finish.

The Fuji's are nice units (I have a Q4 and a Q5 with X and T guns). 

Latex does need to be thinned. As mentioned above bottle water works. We also use non-methonal base windshield washer fluid.

The cabinet picture was sprayed with the Q4, T-70 gun, 1.3 needle/nozzle set, 1.5 air cap, 3M PPS, materialwas SW Pro Classic  Acrylic.

Tom

You're better off looking into acrylics for what you want to do. All of the large paint manufatures have an acrylic line as far as I know. The one drawback to acrylics is the long coalese time.

I only sand the primers, sanding between topcoats, if all the stars align, should not be necessary.

If it has a clear coat it would have been Kem Aqua +, that picture is from a job I did 7 or 8 years ago. For some reason I don't think that one has a top coat. The reason for the use of PC is that is the color of the homes trim.

Tom

Tom