OK, here"s my chance to show how little I know about these things. What is the difference between a single stage, a 2,3,or 4 stage. Will a 4 stage do a better job than a single stage. How much CFM and pressure are we looking for?
Would one of the expandable garden hoses "as see on T.V." work for the air supply hose? If so, seems it would be a very lightweight and maneuverable way to go.
No, it cannot take the temperature, and is too restrictive. The Tuff-Guard is the only "garden" hose I am aware of that meets the temperature, pressure, and flow requirements. Plus it is very light and flexible to boot.
Yes, that is what I use. If you are running a 3 or more stages and plan on a high duty cycle, I suggest making a a short hose with 3/4" radiator hose about 2 feet long to connect the flexible hose ( any brand) to the turbine. This short length of radiator hose will take most of the heat abuse. Graco started doing this a few years ago and it has turned out to be an excellent idea. Now in my shop, the turbine is plumbed with 1.5" PVC from one end to the other so my turbine can be up out of the way on the wall, drawing in fresh air from the adjacent window, yet I can still take it down and use it as a portable unit. The PVC plumbing runs right into the spray area, and I have a switch there that runs a remote outlet to turn the turbine on and off.
How did you hook the pvc to the turbine and the pvc to the spray gun hose? How about a picture of your setup? Thanks for all of your insight on this subject.
Turbine to foot long 3/4" radiator hose (with standard 3/4" garden hose fittings on turbine end), to PVC via standard PVC adapters and 3/4 nipple, across the shop, ending with a PVC adapter and NPT/male garden hose fitting. Big box home improvement stores are great, I think the total setup cost me around $25, Ill take some pictures when I get home.
Here is a quick drawing with some dimensions. You can vary it accordding to your turbine size, filter used etc.
Here are pics of the stuff I have acquired so far: used Fuji 3-stage HVLP ($99) and a new Sprayfine gravity-feed gun with 1.3 ($139) and 1.0 tips, gun cleaning brushes and adapter to fit 3/4" garden hose. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Good swap meet day today I scored a super deal on a Hobby Air supplied breathing air respirator system for fresh air when spraying catalyzed urethane paints Brand new never used for $200. Will come in handy when I get my turbine put together.
Just a little update on my end. I have been putting some of the guns through their paces and keeping notes on each one. I am going to basicly compile a file for each gun that will list its strong and weak points, useage tips and suggested needle/aircap setups for the various materials from my testing. Would you guys rather have it as a word doc, or as a PDF?
Aero metalworker what kind of mask & paint suit do you use. Are you using a fresh air system or just a real good respirator mask set up. I see they use a turbine for the air pump also so. Is it basickly the same type deal turbine & garden hose. I will be putting my booth together over the next few months so I want to plumb in the fresh air at the same time. Booth will be 19ft wide & about 26ft long. I have the TP2 gun turbine set up now for the paint. I am thinking 1 to 3 completes a year plus parts & panels as needed. My brother paints for Boieng here in Seattle but that is a whole different deal versis the home or small pro shop.
OK PDF it is! Carbuilder, If its something with iso's (most 2K). I use one of the turbine products "breathe cool" setups, and a Tyvec suit. If its just organic vapors ( 1K paints) then a charcoal element mask is what I use (with gloves always). Some of the waterborn 2k polys used in aircraft need only the charcoals.
. I've been waiting to pull the trigger on buying a set up until we get some results. Any update aerometalworker? Thanks again for all your efforts. .
Here is my setup now that I have added the garden hose. I think I have about $400 total invested. I am using 5/8" hose up to the gun. I hope this does not reduce volume significantly. Anybody have any experience with this vs. 3/4" hose? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hey Jack, Looks good. Not sure about the 5/8" hose. I would guess it to be an issue. Another thing I see to be a potential problem is its location. Don't run it on your workbench. The 90* bend in the hose hanging down from the Turbine will be too restrictive, causing the hose to overheat and deform. Instead set the unit on the ground to run it, keeping the hose running straight and level as it exits the Turbine for a few feet at least. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hey guys! In between real work and all that kind of thing, I have been putting some hours on these various guns. One thing I have been quick to discover is that A) they are indeed not equal B) each one needs different nozzle sizes for the same material C) Some parts are interchangeable. The Apollo Atomizer shoots really well, but it is a pain to clean and has lots of little plastic parts in it that make me cringe. The Fuji "T" series gun is much simpler in its parts, is made very very well, is very effecient, but does not atomize quite as well as the Apollo ( It does quite well though ). Here is the kicker though, Apollo aircaps fit the Fuji.....best of both worlds there. The Accuspray Shoots very well, and is almost as "air thrifty" as the sicmo. The "plastic" handle kinda creeped me out until I found and old one that has spent 22 years in a production shop and looked like hell, but it was still in working shape and the handle was still flexible (not brittle or cracking). All in all I got almost every gun to lay down nice finishes in various materials once each one was dialed in. The only ones that has been a disapointment have been the Graco Edge, and Sprayfine. The Edge lacks the energy to break up urethanes, and seems best suited for architectual coatings (seems to be their market), however it is very well made and handles well. The Sprayfine suffered in a couple areas. First off it is very restrictive (less energy at the aircap), second the tap for the cup pressure is in a high velocity part of the gun body, and so generates almost 25% less cup pressure than the others, this is bad for orange peel as it forces you to use a bigger nozzle. Third was the sloppy fit between the aircap and nozzle which would produce and inconsistent pattern....very frustrating. Now.....all of these can be fixed if you have some machining capability. I did modify mine to make it better, however I will relegate it to a primer/loaner gun. I will be finishing up the setup sheets and such for each gun in the next couple weeks, time permitting. That being said if I was in the market now for a gun for auto finishing, I would avoid the Sprayfine and Graco Edge, and look for a Sicmo, Apollo 7500, Fuji T, or Acuspray in a heartbeat.
This is good info - even if I have a Sprayfine (have not used it yet). The Accuspray ... is that the modular, plastic-bodied gun now offered by 3M? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hi Jack, The sprayfine will be ok. There are some things to do that will make it better. If you are interested PM me and I will e-mail you some info/ pictures. Hose size, stick with 3/4. The accuspray model 10 is the hvlp turbine gun, different than the disposable head gun. It uses metal fluid parts, but has a plastic handle and comes in both a gravity and bottom feed.
I have a Accuspray Model 10. I am looking forward to your final writeup. Thanks for taking the time to do this research. VR&C.
Can the Apollo 7500 gun be used with the TP turbine? I don't mind that it's a pain to clean . I remember you saying something about the Apollo needing at least a three stage system. I'm not sure but I think the TP turbine is only a two stage system. Here's a video of a guy painting a car with the TP system I found it to be interesting . The end results look good but If you read the comments he talks about orange peel and using a different gun to finish the job. Looks like the same gun to me .
I have seen what results the Sprayfine gun will produce, that's why I bought one. For the average guy they will do a nice job.
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