Anybody know anything about Qtech spray guns ?

[TRITON]

Or Qtech as a company. are they fairly good quality kit, or a bit overpriced for what they are.

In need of a gun, and they do one but it comes with extra needles and caps, which themselves usually bump to price up on any gun. To have a few sizes in there inc cost is deffo a big plus point, but theres no point in buying one if its not up to the job.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Or Qtech as a company. are they fairly good quality kit, or a bit overpriced for what they are.

In need of a gun, and they do one but it comes with extra needles and caps, which themselves usually bump to price up on any gun. To have a few sizes in there inc cost is deffo a big plus point, but theres no point in buying one if its not up to the job.

It is rather difficult to know if the gun you are looking at is up to the job you have if you have given zero details of the job, the equipment you are buying, what you already have or the type of spraying (airless, turbine, compressor HVLP, or regular)

Quality spray guns and systems range in prices from over £2,000 to under £300 each has its place and is suitable for a particular range of jobs. all the better quality guns are more expensive due to the parts being available and well made. A quality gun is very unlikely to have problems and if it does then the manufacturer will fix them.

You can be lucky and get a cheap gun that works perfectly but once bits start to wear you have to throw it away as there are no replacements available.

Personally I started with a small 6 CFM single cylinder compressor with a suction cup gun, I now have a 3 cylinder 16 CFM 3.75kw motor compressor along with a 5 litre pressure pot that feeds a gun that is about £400 without any of the additional bits. This is modest in price compared to an airless setup that is good for house painting where you won’t get change from about £3,000

 

[TRITON]

Well thats not very helpful, and i would have thought at least a basic idea of a spray gun is quality wise, without having to know usage, what material is getting pumped through it or anything like that. I was wanting an idea if anyone knew the brand and had experience, that was all.

A spray gun by Clarks is likely to be rubbish, as its costing 20 quid, but one costing £150 is going to be acceptable. Fuji guns start at £215, which isnt far off price wise on the one im considering. But the basic fuji gun doesnt come with 3 needles/caps, and just for that from them add a few hundred quid more.
Would have though a fair indicator. But if it helps. Its to be paired with a Fuji minimite 3
General spraying. Paint, standard house paints, likely 2 pack, shellac, car paint maybe.
From just googling it myself, Qtech seem to be the equivalent of someone like Fuji. Complete systems but more aimed at professional painters with large pumping units costing serious money.

 

[Sachakins]

Qtech do a lot of excellent kit, especially for the professionals.
If you got the skills to use them they are pretty good and well respected in the trade.
But if your a beginner then they are overkill. Worth starting off with a cheaper brand, like Clarkes etc.
I started with mini cup gun, Blue Spot Tools 07909 Blue Spot Mini HVLP Spray Gun, 0 V, Blue, 125 ml https://amzn.eu/d/0RwcnrD

And to be honest it's been quite good for my limited spray skills. Used mainly for spraying melamine lacquer and cellulose sealer on turned items and small flatwork.

For really small stuff and colour work on bowls I use a basic air brush which is great for colour, but lousy for lacquer finishing, it's so fine the lacquer dries before it hits the job.

Hope this helps?

 

[Beginner.]

Depends. Spray gun to psi from your compressor and are you a bottom or top container spray. I can spray better with the bottom can type

 

[Beginner.]

q

 

[Beginner.]

I prefer the bottom one Clarke's / any type between £25 to £70

 

[TRITON]

As said, its basically the same as the Fuji range, and the minimite3 platinum which i have, looks to be the same as this system here - priced at £630
https://www.hvlp.co.uk/q-tech-3-complete-3-stage-turbine-hvlp-spray-system-clone/

But if your a beginner then they are overkill. Worth starting off with a cheaper brand, like Clarkes etc.

Im not. I've used spray before, only big professional stuff. This is for my home workshop with occasional usage.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

A spray gun by Clarks is likely to be rubbish, as its costing 20 quid,

I’ve used a £20 gun and it’s far from rubbish, though there are no parts available so once it gets worn out it’s dead.

Would have thought a fair indicator. But if it helps. Its to be paired with a Fuji minimite 3

That makes a huge difference and restricts any information I have as it’s a 3 stage turbine HVLP system with some unusual features.

General spraying.

not a category

standard house paints,

unlikely to perform well as they require a 4~5 stage turbine (I use a compressor and a 4mm tip, but airless is the way for that and if you are doing much they cost thousands)

likely 2 pack, shellac

No idea why there is a 2 pack shellac as CH3OH (Methanol) has worked for hundreds of years as a solvent. But anyway a small tip works as it should be very thin

car paint maybe.

The same answer as for shellac

But the basic fuji gun doesnt come with 3 needles/caps, and just for that from them add a few hundred quid more.

my experience with spraying doesn’t include a turbine but does include several different guns, caps, tips and needles

The general guidance is that you need the smallest (usually about a 0.8mm) for shellac and other thin finishes a larger one (probably about 1.8mm) for most others and a huge (probably 4.0mm) for latex
you should be able to thin the finish enough for it to work with those combinations.

I have got several different tip sizes than the ones mentioned but really don’t need them, their usefulness is in using finishes thinned for them.
So my opinion is that unless you are putting a lot finish through the gun multiple tip sizes are not worth spending a lot of money on.

The most useful addition to my spraying is the pressure pot as it means that you don’t have anything restricting the angle or orientation of the spray gun. Though for it to be most useful I need to put a lot of finish through it to justify the cleaning time and wasted finish required. This of course is irrelevant to you since you have a turbine.

 

[TRITON]

No idea why there is a 2 pack shellac

Im unaware of a 2 pack shellac. Is there such a thing.
Or did you miss the comma ?. 2 pack as in acid catalyst(lacquer) or shellac. Different finishes, not a 2 pack shellac

 

[sometimewoodworker]

i would have thought at least a basic idea of a spray gun is quality wise,

The indicator of quality is the price

Cheap guns generally have no spare parts available, if sold by a company that also sells expensive guns, they will be perfectly good for the application (the company can’t sell rubbish)
Medium priced guns will have most spares for servicing available and be reasonably easily serviced.
Premium guns will be made of top quality materials, have all parts available, multiple variants of tips, and are likely to have a rebuild service.

All guns will spray well
The more expensive, the easier and faster to service, and the more finish you can put through before needing service.

An occasional user will find the cheapest gun will probably be good enough.
Someone who isn’t very concerned with cost will have the better equipment.
Someone who is making money with spraying will have the clients paying for the best as they will save enough time to justify the added cost.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Im unaware of a 2 pack shellac. Is there such a thing.
Or did you miss the comma ?. 2 pack as in acid catalyst(lacquer) or shellac. Different finishes, not a 2 pack shellac

Since 2 pack finishes are virtually unknown here and the formatting of the post on my device obscured the comma, yes I did miss it.
As I haven’t had any chance to use an acid catalyst(lacquer) I don’t know its Ford cup time so don’t know the tip size. Another thing that is not available is Floetrol (or not easy to find) so I have to rely on tip size and minimal thinning for Ford cup timing.

 

[TRITON]

Pretty much anything thinned is going to spray.
Lacquers,Varnish,Stains,Wood preservatives,most water or solvent based primers, undercoats and top coats. would be ok on my system.

I think you're right,I'll take another look, maybe be better buying the Fuji, or maybe a 2nd hand Devilbiss.

Soo decided to take another look on ebay and 2 minutes ago, I happened upon this.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115838603183?hash=item1af884cfaf:g:lC8AAOSwBy9kkdK1
So that pretty much sorts that issue out. £100 off new and it is new is the type of bargain i do love

Thanks for the thoughts and insights @Sometime. Plenty of info to mull over.

 

[johnnyb]

I think the q tech is better than the ive used all the above gunsfuji and much better than the graco edge 1 and less fuss than the edge2.
the q tech is a great simple to use turbine hvlp. it won't spray much water based well. but clear lacquers and pigmented lacquers and primers its great. fuji are not the best tbh. and graco are a bit gimmicky. the q tech is simple and works better than the others.( I've used all the guns listed and the Warner cheaper gun)

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Pretty much anything thinned is going to spray.

Undoubtedly completely true, there is a caveat though, with water based finishes the makers have strict limitations on the amount of water that can be safely added so the costs of the spray equipment begins to rise enormously and is prohibitively expensive for anyone who isn’t earning from the equipment or has zero concerns about price.

 

[TRITON]

Undoubtedly completely true, there is a caveat though, with water based finishes the makers have strict limitations on the amount of water that can be safely added so the costs of the spray equipment begins to rise enormously and is prohibitively expensive for anyone who isn’t earning from the equipment or has zero concerns about price.

I think I'll be fine, its not a professional paint spray shop im setting up.
Probably stick to solvents, after all, they smell best.

 

[Sachakins]

FYI

https://www.axminstertools.com/fuji-semi-pro2-hvlp-spray-system-501285