Replies

1. 
   highfigh | Oct 28, 2006 04:56pm | #1

   If you mean a setup with the air pump, I haven't used one of theirs but I bought a conversion gun there. It's a gravity feed model and I used it for spraying my kitchen cabinets with Minwax satin poly. They came out really nice- smooth, even coat and I only bought it to try one out but it was well worth it.

   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
1. 
   morty | Oct 29, 2006 12:59am | #3

   Thanks for your reply. I forgot to specify - to be used with your own air compressor for wood finishes.

   Morty

1. 
   highfigh | Oct 29, 2006 02:55am | #4

   That's how I use mine. It was on sale for about $50. Works surprisingly well.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

1. 
   morty | Oct 30, 2006 09:32am | #10

   Which model is yours?

   Morty

1. 
   highfigh | Oct 30, 2006 03:56pm | #11

   http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430This is the page on their site.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

2. 
   xmike | Oct 29, 2006 05:34am | #5

   Highfigh,

   How quickly does the poly set up after you've sprayed it?  The reason that I ask is that I'm presently researching what to put on my kitchen cabinets. 

   The experts who write books suggest that spraying poly is a bad idea for the reasons that - it dries so slowly that it gets a zillion dust nibs,

   and that  - it dries so slowly that a fine mist of poly gets on everything in the shop.

   Has this been your experience? 

   Do others on this forum have experience spraying poly? (I may ask that under it's own heading if this draws no response).

   Mike D

1. 
   highfigh | Oct 29, 2006 06:01am | #6

   I thinned it with naptha so it would skin over faster, on the advice of a painter. I really have no dust specs to speak of but I had cleaned my garage, where I sprayed them, before I started. I don't sweep the floor, I vacuum it. I also wait till any dust in the air is settled before I spray. If it's warm enough, I wet the floor to keep the dust down even more. As far as the fine mist, being HVLP conversion, it wasn't bad and I was in the center of the garage so it was basically dry by the time it floated over to any other surfaces. The only thing that really had any on it was the hand and forearm of the hand with the gun. I usually wear gloves and a long sleeve shirt so even that wasn't a problem. I have an old furnace blower and I'm going to build a spray booth soon. That way, the garage dust won't be an issue and I'll be able to do other things there while any finishes are drying.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

2. 
   JeffHeath | Oct 29, 2006 02:29pm | #7

   Mike

   I spray all of the cabinetry and furniture that I make with a product called Crystalac. 

   It's water-based.  It comes ready to spray right out of the can with no thinning, it dries in about 15 to 20 minutes, so dust nibs are negligible, it doesn't yellow, and it is hard and durable.  I spray one coat, and let it sit for 24 hours.  I can then spray 2 to 4 more coats the next day, with light sanding in between, and be finished quickly.

   $45.00 a gallon at McFeeley's.

   I use an hvlp setup.

   Jeff

2. 
   pcooper | Oct 28, 2006 04:59pm | #2

   Well this loosely goes along with your question, my experience with 'cheap' guns have been not too bad, usually the problem that I run into is they put a bit too much material on compared to higher end guns, but you can adapt to that, and in the world of woodworking maybe that isn't all that bad compared to guns made for automotive painting. My range of paint guns has been primarily for auto painting, and I used the cheap guns for primer and epoxy coatings that are generally thicker and have to have more delivery. I used a $600 gun for final finishing, and it had better adjustment quality and you could get different spray nozzles with different size orifices to change paint delivery. Maybe someone else can more directly answer your question, but hopefully that helps you out some.

3. 
   forestgirl | Oct 29, 2006 06:28pm | #8

   Morty, I haven't used any of those guns, but just wanted to bring your attention to this Wagner gun at Gleem Paint.  In one of the other threads, it was mentioned as a pretty satisfactory gun that would run on a pancake compressor, which is why I bookmarked it for future reference.  I might be able to find the thread if you'd be interested in reading it.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   

1. 
   highfigh | Oct 29, 2006 07:02pm | #9

   Probably the same regulator as my gun, the only other parts that would be different are the orifice and the needle, which are brass and stainless, respectively. I bought the gravity feed because it's smaller and you can still spray at odd angles, but I also have a regular gun like that and it's not HVLP.
   "I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."

2. 
   xmike | Oct 30, 2006 07:40pm | #12

   Hi Forest Girl,

   This gun certainly does use significantly less air than other guns that I've seen.  This one looks really interesting.  Do you know if the gun comes with a cup? 

   Mike D

1. 
   forestgirl | Oct 31, 2006 06:09am | #13

   Hi, Mike.  According to the description on Amazon, it comes with a 1 quart cup, as seen in the picture at Gleem (but not described).  I've called the guys at Gleem before, they're really friendly,  so don't hesitate to give 'em a ring.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   Edited 10/30/2006 11:10 pm by forestgirl