TECH POST HVLP spray guns and the KEY to make them work...

I got an HVLP gun at Harbor Freight for $50. I got it just to paint lawn equipment, but it worked really well. It looked like the cobalt gun but is purple anodized I think. Cleaned really easy too. I have a 30 gallon Craftsman upright compressor and it didn't even run that much to keep up. Painted a tow behind chipper shredder with two guns full of paint, I thought that was pretty good. I laid it on thick too as this was just rust prevention.
CHAZ

 

That's a great tip on the fittings. We have some Iwatas at work and they are awesome.
I have an old Optima with a 3.0 nozzle, you can just about spray bondo with it.....

 

Thanks for the tip Tuck!! !Also when we have been shooting standard flake, we have been using a 1.7 tip. No problems at all.

 

Has anyone heard of an Accuspray HVLP? Opinions? I can pick one up for cheap, but don't know anything about them.

 

Ya know before I brought this thread back, it had only 60 views and 25 posts? Crazy...

Anyway give me feedback guys, pressure, what PSI ya runnin to your hvlp?

 

Wow another OLD post...

20psi-40 on the HIGH

I use Iwata's now... I bought them about two years ago... probably right after this post. I have three, my favorite is the offset cup model-

One thing you have to watch out for are these female ends unscrewing... they need loc tite-

if they blow apart you get BB's in your paint and your air hose will come alive... like snakes on a plane. Trust ME.

Heres some of my old flake work from the same era.

Tuck

 

Every spray gun mfg has a preferred psi and cfm air requirements, fluid settings and fan adjustments that are necessary for proper paint application and spray patterns . Read and understand these settings and adjustments before you even take the gun out of the box. A spray gun is not much different from a carburetor in the respect that both flow a liquid through a needle valve and atomized the liquid into droplets. Both need to be sized and adjusted according to the application needed and are affected by the amount of air that is pulled or forced thru the assembly. All of these minimum baselines from the instruction manuals need to be in place for good performance . Put 14 psi into an Iwata Lph 400 at the gun and the gun will spray terribly, but this is the recommended setting for some Sata's. I know many of us hate to read the instructions but their there for a reason. Many small home type compressors dont have the reserve capacity or pumping volume to keep up with many HVLP/LVLP spray guns and this is the first critical area that must be in line for proper spray gun function.

The inexpensive offbrand spray guns are ok for spraying tractors once or twice but have several long term disadvantages . Most internal parts are made of soft steel that has poor wear and moisture resistant characteristics which even after limited usage can result in worn needle seats and shafts , gaskets and orings that are not compatible to all solvents, poor air cap machining tolerances which can cause many types of spray pattern problems . For some these are great beginner guns but if your going to get serious consider upgrading if possible. Once you see and expierience the difference you wont go back.

 

THREADSURRECTION!

hey tuck...thanks for this info...it was the cure for all my ills!

i went to grainger and got all 3/8 hose, line and fittings from the compressor to the gun.

my clear coat has NEVER gone down so nice.

its all about VOLUME!

 

Here in San Antonio the Harbour Freight store is advertising the 20 oz. gravity feed gun colored purple for $20 thru 10/30. For $6 more you can get the air pressure regulator for mounting on it directly. I'm no pro but I use the heck out of these guns and shoot at about 20 psi, but I'm sure those little cheap guages are questionable. Anyway, at that price they're practically a "disposable gun".

 

As much as I hate to bring up Ebay- it works to your advantage sometimes- I got a Sata R.P and a N.R.2000 for less than 500 bucks-FOR THE PAIR. Either one usually runs that by itself.

The secret? misspell whatever it is you want-Think about it- if someone asked you to spell "sata", What would you write down?

"Sayta" God, I love poor Grammar.