Paint Sprayer for DIY use

[Glynne]

I shortly will need to paint both sides of 9 internal doors (6 panel) and am thinking that spraying will be a better option than using brushes.
I did do a brief search for HVLP sprayers but the results I found were either for systems you could use to paint large areas (i.e. walls, ceilings etc.) or smaller items (i.e. furniture, cabinets) were perhaps precision is more important.
Can anyone recommend something reasonable, say up to £150 please?
Thanks.

 

[pcb1962]

I have an Earlex HV3900 which I bought for exactly the same purpose. Whilst it does an adequate job it's easy to see where spending more money will get you something superior.
Peter Millard, of this forum (though I don't think he has time for here any more), has recently done a series of videos on spraying, starting with this one

 

[MikeJhn]

This thread should interest you: hvlp-investigation-t97331.html

There is no substitute for a quality gun and HVLP system.

Turned this:

With Satin Lacquer Into this:

Mike

 

[ScaredyCat]

Peter Millard is currently raving about his Graco Ultramax cordless, airless sprayer. It seems to be very, very impressive - if not expensive.





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[ED65]

Nine doors both sides, yeah not the kind of thing you want to use brushes for given the choice!

Have you thought about using rollers though? You can get a nice finish (really nice) with a roller, although numerous guides are now recommending a hybrid technique where you apply by brush and then spread out and level with the roller.

 

[Glynne]

Thanks everyone for the replies.
Obviously the better quality gun and turbine, the better the end result but the doors aren’t brilliant (fibre board on frames) and with 4 grandkids and a black lab charging around, I’m not sure that a finish like Mike’s would survive for too long. Hence I was looking for a compromise as it’s only the doors I’m ever likely to spray.

 

[AES]

I appreciate that with "just" a 1 time job to be done you want to keep the cost down (though if you buy well - I have no recommendations - you can re-sell after the job's finished with minimal losses).

BUT I wonder if you're not falling into the trap of thinking that spray gear will automatically give you a better finish? In my experience (no HVLP, but quite a lot of compressor & various guns experience), that is NOT necessarily the case - at least, not until you've gone up a pretty steep learning curve with practice if you've not sprayed anything before.

Added to which there's all the prep (not the doors themselves, but the area, masking up, etc, as even with HVLP there MUST be overspray). Not to mention experimenting with correct ratios for spray, the smell, the drying time without (at this time of year) any "nosy" little insects landing on your nearly dry work, etc, etc. And then the cleaning up afterwards!

That's quite a few doors, but in your case, if this really is going to be just a 1 off job, I'd suggest either roller, which really can produce excellent finishes (and with respect, probably better than you can with spray if it's your first time spraying). Or, if you can make the contact/s, getting a car body shop to do the job for you (you supply the paint).

Don't want to sound critical, just HTH

 

[large red]

I have the Graco, it brings my work to the next level and gives me a factory finish that I could only dream of before, (I'm a good carpenter but a average painter) and what is a very important point, I achived this level of finish after a very short learning period, it's easy! I have tried compressor and gun, disaster! I have tried cheap HVLP! Slow drawn out disaster! The Graco is the nuts, but it does have it's draw backs, overspray/fine paint dust literally gets every where though I have mitigated this to an extent and cost it's the guts of £500!
When o first got it I thought "I'll only use it for big jobs" but now after seeing the level of finish that I can achieve I'll use it for everything, I couldn't finish a job with a roller knowing I could achieve so much better it would be settling for mediocre. I'll just have to live with the dust!

 

[Eric The Viking]

Today I very nearly bought the Graco.

Instead I pulled the trigger on a Wagner airless. I got advice from one of the paint-spraying specialist companies that the Graco (the one that Peter M. uses) couldn't deliver the pressure and flow rate I need for smooth masonry paint, which will be its first job.

The Wagner kit (ProjectPro 117 + accessories) was actually 200 quid cheaper, but it's mains and might be a bit more awkward in use (the pump is static).

If it hadn't been for this particular urgent job (masonry paint needs around 2000 PSI, apparently), I'd have got the Graco - more expensive, but a very well thought-out bit of kit.

 

[pollys13]

Amazon have the Sealey S701G Spray Gun Professional Gravity Feed 1.4mm Set-Up for £29.99 RRP £59.94 free delivery.
Has 64 positive reviews after reading them I bought one.

" I've been a pro automotive painter for many years and I have always thought that guns like sata's and devilbiss were unbeatable.....until now. This is now my main gun and will have another one on the way shortly.Don't waste your money on over priced guns get yourself one of these!"

 

[AES]

Very interesting pollys13. Was that quote from you or from a customer on the Amazon web site? I've used SATA guns a lot (NOT for furniture) and find them very good, BUT a L-O-N-G learning curve (for me anyway).

 

[ED65]

Amazon have the Sealey S701G Spray Gun Professional Gravity Feed 1.4mm Set-Up for £29.99 RRP £59.94 free delivery.

30 quid! At that price someone looking to get into spraying would be mad not to try it assuming they already own a suitable compressor. Just like with airbrushing, those just dipping a toe in consistently underestimate the compressor side of things.

Um the Silverline is only £11.88 delivered and has a marginally higher average score with 103 votes

 

[dzj]

Amazon have the Sealey S701G Spray Gun Professional Gravity Feed 1.4mm Set-Up for £29.99 RRP £59.94 free delivery.

30 quid! At that price someone looking to get into spraying would be mad not to try it assuming they already own a suitable compressor. Just like with airbrushing, those just dipping a toe in consistently underestimate the compressor side of things.

Um the Silverline is only £11.88 delivered and has a marginally higher average score with 103 votes

Perhaps the OP could rent a compressor for the day. He'd need at least a 100l one for doors.

 

[pollys13]

Quote from a customer, one other reviewer has had very satisfactory results using for furniture and doors, which what your after. I know sometimes the reviews can be, 'fixed' by manufacturers paying people to write favourable reviews. One way to check on that, is see if reviewer has reviewed any other products. Can't go far wrong for 29 quid, if goes pear shaped, might be able to return, not fit for purpose.

 

[custard]

Can't go far wrong for 29 quid, if goes pear shaped, might be able to return, not fit for purpose.

But it's not 29 quid, it never is. There's the cost of the paint and thinners/cleaners, any measuring cups and related accessories, connectors and hose, filters and traps for your compressor, materials to make a spray booth to try and contain the overspray, plus a load of other bits that you'll only discover once you get into the project. Bottom line is you'll inevitably sink hundreds into this, all spent around a crepe 29 quid tool.

Either think (and cost) it all through, or just get a roller. Spraying isn't something you can be half *rsed about. Done well it's amazing, done badly it's a joke.

 

[dzj]

"But it's not 29 quid, it never is."

All of woodworking is like that. Spend 20 on a chisel, then another 100 to keep it sharp.
Buy a thicknesser, then spend as much on dust extraction...The torture never stops.

 

[MikeJhn]

With the HVLP the overspray is very minimal the paint goes on warm from the vacuum unit, which is what the turbine substantially is, so the paint touch dries very quickly, less chance of insects on the finish, I am no expert at spraying, but the finish I achieved on the wardrobe doors has been compared to a professional finish by those that have seen them, with a not very steep learning curve, got rid of my compressor spray equipment as it is now redundant, do have a look at the investigations I carried out into HVLP spraying and posted a link on the first page, the whole thing was a revelation to me.

Mike

EDIT: to add link: hvlp-investigation-t97331.html

 

[colonel-cueball]

HVLP is a wide category, I have gravity compressed air fed HVLP gun, my dad has a few in different styles.

 

[pollys13]

OP said, " I've used SATA guns a lot "SATA is an expensive professional gun. So I assumed he had all the kit to go with it.

 

[petermillard]

I have an Earlex HV3900 which I bought for exactly the same purpose. Whilst it does an adequate job it's easy to see where spending more money will get you something superior.
Peter Millard, of this forum (though I don't think he has time for here any more), has recently done a series of videos on spraying, starting with this one

To be fair it’s been a particularly busy first half to the year (!) and whilst I don’t contribute an awful lot here I do look in regularly to see if I can offer anything - my apologies, I missed this thread.

I think an awful lot has been covered here already, so I’ll just add my few thoughts on airless vs HVLP v compressor fed guns.

I outline my reasons for picking the Graco airless in Part 2 of the video series, but in brief; my compressor is nowhere big enough for spraying and I have no need for anything larger going forwards. I have a small Earlex hvlp and found the overspray (paint dust that dries in the air and settles) to be particularly bad. Also, I don’t have water / waste in the workshop, so clean-up and paint thinning would always be issues for me, plus part of my reasoning for getting into spraying was a particularly large job that needed some cabinetry spraying onsite in a client’s (occupied) home- not somewhere I’d want to drag an hvlp system into.

The Graco Ultra series OTOH are compact, self-contained airless sprayers that have sprayed everything (primer, emulsion, eggshell, gloss) without a murmur, straight from the can with no thinning. Cleanup to switch between paints/finishes (eg primer to eggshell) is around the 5-minute mark, and a more considered ‘deep clean’ at the end of the day around 10 minutes max.

If you watch the vids you’ll see that early on I have some issues with overspray from the Graco, and not to give the game away, this has now been resolved, and I don’t expect any ongoing issues.

I have no axe to grind with Graco or any other manufacturer, and the one I bought was a particularly good fit for my needs. They’re not for everyone (Part 8) but they tick an awful lot of boxes.

HTH Cheers, Peter