HVLP purchase help!

[crsowa]

looking to step up my finishing game soon.  Looking into getting an HVLP setup, just not sure which one and I KNOW that you all have some opinions.  For some background... I am solely a hobby woodworker.... But I make a lot of things, no cabinets or anything... Yet, but I'm sure I will someday.  I make book shelves, furniture, gifts, tables, chairs, etc.  I don't need anything too large, as it will most likely only get used a couple times a month.  I use stains, latex paints (sometimes), polyurethanes, so water/oil based compatibility is important.  Also, looking to spend $400 or less, hopefully. Thanks guys!

 

[Sparktrician]

Suggest that you get a copy of Fine Woodworking, #242, October 2014.  There's an article by Teri Masaschi on p. 50 on low-dollar HVLP rigs that might give you some useful information.  Just remember, you get what you pay for (and you pay for what you get)... 

 

[crsowa]

There's a good chance I have that copy at home.  I've been to busy to read any mags the last few months.  Thanks for the heads up!

 

[roblg3]

I made my first HVLP purchase recently.  Others here, some pros!, like the affordability and the very good results that we achieve with the FUJI minimite 3.  Very well rated and as most hvlp very compact.  I'm a total novice with it and clients are amazed at how well i can match my custom stuff to their factory finished stuff.  It was easy right out of the box!

 

[sae]

Just remember, you get what you pay for (and you pay for what you get)...

Yes and no. I've had really good success w/ the Harbor Freight Professional gun, something that I haven't been able to replicate in some $300+ setups. This has been corroborated by a few fellow hobbyist painters as well. Problem is if you ask the pros, they'll turn their nose up to you and say it's user error, and rattle on about how much their Devilbiss/SATA/Iwata setup cost them.  [wink]

 

[Grasshopper]

I've heard good things about the Fuji Minimite.

I purchased the Wagner Control Spray Max HVLP on Amazon for around $100.  I considered the Minimite, but bought the wagner for simple stuff like spraying trim, etc.

Now that I see built ins in my future, I wonder if I made the right choice.  (The Wagner has good reviews, I haven't even opened it yet as I am waiting for Spring).

I made my first HVLP purchase recently.  Others here, some pros!, like the affordability and the very good results that we achieve with the FUJI minimite 3.  Very well rated and as most hvlp very compact.  I'm a total novice with it and clients are amazed at how well i can match my custom stuff to their factory finished stuff.  It was easy right out of the box!

 

[tjbnwi]

Most of the system will spray the vast majority of finish and stains. Latex paint is the killer for the smaller systems. There is the option of thinning the paint, I prefer the paint at full body. The smallest nozzle I use for latex is 2.0 mm. At times I do use a 2.7 mm nozzle.

If you're using an HVLP gun with heavy material the turbine may not produce enough pressure to get the fluid smoothly to the nozzle. A pressure pot solves this problem really well.

3M PPS is a system you need to look into. For wood finishing products use the 125 micron lids.

Tom

 

[Iceclimber]

You get what you pay for with sprayers.

So e will say talk to a pro and they bad mouth inexpensive machines. To that i would say some people have a different idea of what a quality finish does and does not look like.

The other thing to consider is inexpensive spray setups don't last very long when compared to quality ones.

http://www.lexaire.com

http://www.lemmer.com

 

[crsowa]

Okay.... I got impatient and pulled the trigger on the Fuji Mini Mite 3.  Does anyone know what adapter I will need for the 3m pps system?  Thanks

 

[tjbnwi]

Need to know which model gun.

Xpc-G has the side mount and takes a #10 adapter

T-70 and other bottom feeds take a #18 adapter

T-75G gravity feed takes a #2 adapter

What's your culinary specialty?

Tom

 

[roblg3]

Just an insight...Tom knows what he's talking about here!  everything he's ever told me has totally checked out.

 

[crsowa]

I got the T70.  Looked it all up.  Ordered the adapter, and the 3m pps mini cup and box of lids and inserts... Thanks all!!

I teach Culinary arts at a school in West Michigan.  I am the restaurant chef.  I specialize in French cuisine and charcuterie.

 

[rnt80]

Tom, do you use the 200 micron for paints and/or tinted lacquers.  I got the MM3 a few weeks ago and intend on using it exclusively for spraying those products.  I ended up taking the filter off of the fluid tube after spraying some tinted lacquer since I wasn't able to get the fluid to the gun I wanted.

 

[tjbnwi]

I got the T70.  Looked it all up.  Ordered the adapter, and the 3m pps mini cup and box of lids and inserts... Thanks all!!

I teach Culinary arts at a school in West Michigan.  I am the restaurant chef.  I specialize in French cuisine and charcuterie.

Make sure you get some blue lids for latex. They have 125 micron filters in the lid instead of the 200 micron filters.

Asked cause I love to cook, well above average at it.

Is that the campus in 'Kazoo, off 31? If so my sisters backyard is the campus.

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

Tom, do you use the 200 micron for paints and/or tinted lacquers.  I got the MM3 a few weeks ago and intend on using it exclusively for spraying those products.  I ended up taking the filter off of the fluid tube after spraying some tinted lacquer since I wasn't able to get the fluid to the gun I wanted.

At first there was no choice, replacing the 200's with the blue 125's. The 200's work fine with stain and shellac.

Tom

 

[crsowa]

I ordered the 125 micron lids only. Will they work for most things?

I work at a campus in Muskegon.  The Culinary Institute of Michigan.

 

[tiralie]

I ordered the 125 micron lids only. Will they work for most things?

Yes. That's all I use.
I always strain before use anyway.
It's a good habit to get into. Mise en Place as it were.

I am the restaurant chef.  I specialize in French cuisine and charcuterie.

The perfect background...I think cooking and carpentry/cabinet making have a lot in common.
Tim

 

[tiralie]

I ended up taking the filter off of the fluid tube after spraying some tinted lacquer since I wasn't able to get the fluid to the gun I wanted.

Hu? Which filter on which fluid tube? Which lacquer were you using? If you were using Target 6500 (pigmented) lacquer the mini mite 3 will not be able to atomize it without a lot of frustration resulting in a less than optimal finish.
Tim

 

[Grasshopper]

How does the Fuji minimite setup compare to say an Iwata lph-400 with a good compressor?

I had been thinking down the road that the iwata was my upgrade path. The Fuji, by comparison is a bargain so I wondered how they would compare.

 

[tjbnwi]

I ended up taking the filter off of the fluid tube after spraying some tinted lacquer since I wasn't able to get the fluid to the gun I wanted.

Hu? Which filter on which fluid tube? Which lacquer were you using? If you were using Target 6500 (pigmented) lacquer the mini mite 3 will not be able to atomize it without a lot of frustration resulting in a less than optimal finish.
Tim

I believe he is referring to the 200 micron filter in the PPS lid.

Getting the fluid to the nozzle is the most important aspect of all of this. That is why I use a pot so often. No matter how thick I can get the pressure up in the pit to move the fluid. After that all the turbine has to do is supply air cap air. The guns are the same across the board, pick the proper nozzle and air cap, you're good to go. Most times I have the sets mixed, one up or down on the air cap, depends on what I'm trying to accomplish.

In the video with the door finish the stain was a 0.8 nozzle with a 1.0 air cap, finish was was 1.0 nozzle with a 1.3 air cap.

Tom