My Paint Spray Setup with a Fuji MiniMite 4

[butzla]

I just started Phase One of painting my kitchen cabinets.  I built them in '96 and painstakingly painted them by hand and vowed to never do it again.  About 8 years ago, when they first needed repainting, I hired a professional but was aghast by how much he charged me.  I didn't think his paint lasted as long as my first paint job, it's only 8 years later and they are filthy and worn.  I figured with the money I saved my doing it myself, I could justify the cost of a Fuji Mini-Mite 4 and I'm sure glad I did.

When I first painted them by hand, I would brush on one side, lay them out on a table to dry, turn it over to paint the other side.  With over 40 drawer fronts and doors, I can't tell you how long it took me.  Not to mention the horizontal real estate in my shop they consumed.

I purchased my sprayer about a year ago and took this time to hone my technique and find the best paint combo before I would try painting my cabinets.  After several days of cleaning and sanding, I first sprayed BIN shellac based primer unthinned using the 1.3 tip.  After it dried I carefully hand sanded with 180 grit 3M sanding sponges.  Gave them a good vacuuming with my CT.  This morning, I applied the first of two coats of Ben Moore ADVANCE alkyd waterborne paint.  I added Floetrol and thinned with wiper fluid and sprayed with the larger 1.8 tip. 

I must say, even after only one coat, I couldn't be happier with the finish.  It's almost like an automotive finish, certainly the smoothest finish I've ever achieved.  I'm not even sure I need a second coat.

The other great thing I did was used cup hooks and coat hangers to spray and hang dry vertically.  I won't bother filling the holes created by the cup hooks, I located them on the bottom of the drawer fronts and base cabinet doors, on top for the upper doors.  They will be completely out of sight.  I can't take credit for this idea, I copied it from a friend and even borrowed his coat hangers.  Worked great!  Anyone out there thinking of doing the same, I have no regrets, do it!

 

[mrFinpgh]

That looks excellent - can't wait to  see the final product.  We have the same sprayer, and I hope I can get results like yours.  How much did you thin the Advance to shoot it through a 1.8 tip?

 

[ben_r_]

Wow, that's pretty cool. Thinking I might pick up a Mini-Mite 4 this Black Friday.

 

[Bob D.]

I know next to nothing about finishing, and even less about spraying,
but I would like to learn, so please explain the use of 'wiper fluid'.

I like your temporary spray booth, and I can feel for the time it took to
paint all those cabinet piece parts with a brush, because I have done the
same when I built a new island. I had no spray equipment and I knew that
'learning' on a project of this importance was not the way to go, so I chose
a method by which I knew I could get decent results, though no where near
as good as sprayed. They didn't turn out bad, but I would like to do better
next time.

 

[brewster201]

Glad it worked out for you
I would NEVER spray doors verticaly, just spray them horizontally and rack
They level out perfect! No one sprays door like that!

 

[bkharman]

With wiper fluid, the ammonia dries away without impacting the paint. Temporary way to make it lay down better

Cheers. Bryan.

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[butzla]

Glad it worked out for you
I would NEVER spray doors verticaly, just spray them horizontally and rack
They level out perfect! No one sprays door like that!

I do.    My way I can spray both sides at the same time.  Your way you have to wait for one side to dry.  With ADVANCE paint they recommend 16 hours between coats.  Additionally, it takes several weeks for the finish to harden up.  I'd be worried about impressions left by the drying rack bars.  Do automotive painters flip cars on their sides to paint?  There are 10 ways to skin a cat, there's no right way.

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[butzla]

That looks excellent - can't wait to  see the final product.  We have the same sprayer, and I hope I can get results like yours.  How much did you thin the Advance to shoot it through a 1.8 tip?

I forgot to mention, I use the 3m pps system.  I can't say enough about this.  It replaces the standard cup with disposable inserts.  The beauty is there is a filter built into the lid so no more straining and no more messy cup cleanup.  That said, plan on spending another 200 on it with all the adaptors and accessories you need.  Money well spent.
To answer your question about thinning, there are plastic film inserts with graduated lines and ratios that fit between the outer and inner cup.  My friend that loaned me the hangers told me he thinned ten percent.  I remember reading that Ben Moore recommends six percent.  I'm no chemist so just winged it.  I chose the 8:1:1 ratio on the insert.  8 paint, 1 floetrol, 1 wiper fluid.  It happened to work out correct

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[tjbnwi]

Glad it worked out for you
I would NEVER spray doors verticaly, just spray them horizontally and rack
They level out perfect! No one sprays door like that!

I do.    My way I can spray both sides at the same time.  Your way you have to wait for one side to dry.  With ADVANCE paint they recommend 16 hours between coats.  Additionally, it takes several weeks for the finish to harden up.  I'd be worried about impressions left by the drying rack bars.  Do automotive painters flip cars on their sides to paint?  There are 10 ways to skin a cat, there's no right way.

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There is a rack system that allows you to spray flat and flip the panels while wet to spray the other side (even with Advance).

I totally agree there are many ways to get the products sprayed. Flat decreases the risk of runs, but increases the risk of airborne things getting in the finish.

The doors look good by the way.

To answer the question about flipping cars on their side---yes (at times).

From my previous career. View attachment 1

Adaption of the process to what I do now. View attachment 2View attachment 3

One of many completed.

Tom

 

[brewster201]

Hello just some ideas try Kem Aqua plus, can be tinted most colours and dries in 40min to recoat. We have discussed all of this before
I find BM Advance takes forever to Harden, doesn't sand well to prep for a second coat and really not suitable for doors compared to a pigmented Lacquer such as SW Kem Aqua plus.
BM takes way too long by the time you spray two coats and let dry
Buy a gallon, no thinning 1.2-1.4 tip and reduce the air. Smooth as butter, hard durable finish

Thanks

 

[Bob D.]

Is that a Pantera ?

 

[butzla]

Hello just some ideas try Kem Aqua plus, can be tinted most colours and dries in 40min to recoat. We have discussed all of this before
I find BM Advance takes forever to Harden, doesn't sand well to prep for a second coat and really not suitable for doors compared to a pigmented Lacquer such as SW Kem Aqua plus.
BM takes way too long by the time you spray two coats and let dry
Buy a gallon, no thinning 1.2-1.4 tip and reduce the air. Smooth as butter, hard durable finish

Thanks

I do want to try Kem Aqua but lately I've been reading here about problems with viscosity.  Also my buddy with the hangers recommended Advance so I had to oblige.  He cautioned me about the initial softness but I found it to be harder than I thought.  Also, I just applied the second coat and found it to sand like any other latex paint. 
I do like the sound of lacquer though and spraying without thinning is a huge plus.  IIRC, my local SW doesn't stock it but told me they would order it for me.

 

[tjbnwi]

Is that a Pantera ?

Yes, that one is a 74 GTS, twin turbocharged 351.

72-L model

70-push button.

Tom

 

[tjbnwi]

Hello just some ideas try Kem Aqua plus, can be tinted most colours and dries in 40min to recoat. We have discussed all of this before
I find BM Advance takes forever to Harden, doesn't sand well to prep for a second coat and really not suitable for doors compared to a pigmented Lacquer such as SW Kem Aqua plus.
BM takes way too long by the time you spray two coats and let dry
Buy a gallon, no thinning 1.2-1.4 tip and reduce the air. Smooth as butter, hard durable finish

Thanks

I do want to try Kem Aqua but lately I've been reading here about problems with viscosity.  Also my buddy with the hangers recommended Advance so I had to oblige.  He cautioned me about the initial softness but I found it to be harder than I thought.  Also, I just applied the second coat and found it to sand like any other latex paint. 
I do like the sound of lacquer though and spraying without thinning is a huge plus.  IIRC, my local SW doesn't stock it but told me they would order it for me.

Your BM dealer may carry Lenmar. Similar to KA but owned by BM.

Full coalesce is minimum of 30 days.

Tom

 

[JBag09]

+1 on KemAqua Plus. With a lot of help from Tom, I've done pretty well with it so far. Have been using a 1.5 tip, gonna try a 1.0 to see if that eliminates some of the "splatter" I get. But otherwise I love working with it.

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[butzla]

Can you brush kem aqua or Lenmar?  Reason I ask is I have to brush on the paint on the installed cabinets

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[brewster201]

Hello Kem Aqua is spray only, I usually sponge roll the cabinets if I can't masking spray. You can use BM Advance or SW Pro Classic

Thanks

 

[butzla]

I just came from my ben Moore store and was told lenmar can not be tinted,  its a clear polyurethene

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[tjbnwi]

I just came from my ben Moore store and was told lenmar can not be tinted,  its a clear polyurethene

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Tell them they're full of it. Lenmar can be matched to any BM color by stock formula and custom color matched.
http://www.lenmar-coatings.com/product-detail/pro/lenmar/duralaq-wb-waterborne-acrylic-white-finish
http://www.lenmar-coatings.com/category-listing/pro/waterbornefinishsystems

Tom

 

[butzla]

I thought so to.  But therein lies the problem.  Lenmar is a line of coatings ranging from waterborne lacquer to polyurethenes.  I simply asked if they stocked any "Lenmar".  What I should of asked for is if they had any Lenmar "White Duralaq Acryllic"
But I agree, the women should have known this, she hadn't even heard of Kem-Aqua.  Thanks, Tom  Even if they stocked it, I'd be worried about them color matching it.  I think I'll stick with Advance for this project, which BTW seems very hard having only sprayed it yesterday.  Much harder than any latex paint I've used.