Disposable HVLP Spray Guns?

One of our local body shops offers flat rate gun soaks/rebuilds on HVLP guns. It was about $60 plus parts. I guess it depends on what you're spraying. If you don't need the better quality gun I think you're on the right track. I use an Accuspray, but haven't tried epoxy in it. Just cleaning it from automotive acrylic paint that was built up was enough of a PITA.

Yup. Unless you really NEED the higher quality of the more expensive gun, or your EGO needs the boost of having the "best" tools.

I am surprised you say you spend hours cleaning your guns. After I shoot some paint I disassemble my Sharp Cobalt ( an American made cheapy) and the Chinaco guns and clean them in less than five minutes. I dump out the left over paint, fill the cup half full with used lacquer thinner, swab it out with a paint brush, after pulling the trigger to flush out the paint from the nozzle I wipe the cup out with a rag , then I remove the paint cup, air cap and fluid tip and needle, wash with clean lacquer thinner, blow dry and reassemble. I have been using epoxy primer and urethane topcoats without a problem. I think the key is clean it right away before the paint sets. Steve

The paint build-up was in the air channel, the place where paint isn't supposed to go on that gun. The only way to get it out is to completely disassemble the gun, scrub the parts and flush everything with thinner. I found out that the polyurethane CARC paint we use hardens and leaves a film after a couple of weeks, even if the gun is submerged in thinner. And I'd estimate it's an hour's work to tear it down, clean the parts, and then put it all back together and get it adjusted. Add to that the cost of the thinner used and other disposables, and it seems the expense of using these high-end guns just isn't justified. Here's my take on using these guns twelve times a year:

HVLP gun, $300 cost, life = 3 years $100 Time to clean 12 hours/year @$50/hour $600 Disposables (thinner, parts, etc.) $200 TOTAL $900 / year

OR:

12 X $60 for no-name, HVLP gun tossed after each use = $720 / year

What am I miss>

That there is something wrong with either the cup or the gun if paint is getting in te air channel. Try a different brand.

Steve E.

You might take a look at the one I made. It isn't HVLP but it does have very little overspray and is quite adjustable. I've had very good results from it for my purposes.

I have used it with epoxy several times and my usual clean up procedure was quite adequate. Even if it wasn't, repair would be trivial.

There's been some mods since I wrote that up so let me know if you want an update. (remove the obvious from the address)

Ted

Fuji is supposed to be one of the best, so I doubt that's it. Mine got paint in it mainly from trying to spray horizontal surfaces with a regular cup gun, I should have used a gravity fed gun or a pressure pot fed setup. I have a pressure pot material feed and a cupless gun I'm going to try now. Woodweb has a forum for spray finishing, those guys use a lot of HVLP and can probably offer some practical advice. If the Fuji rep is good he should also be able to help.

5 gal lacquer thinner $21.00 Gun parts $0.00 Chinaco guns $125.00 for two Sharp cobalt $135.00 10 minutes a day to clean the guns $5.00 A clean gun Priceless I use my guns on a daily basis and don't have a problem keeping them clean. But you can throw them away too cause if you don't have a clean gun you can't get a quality job done. Steve

That's what happened to our guns. The assembly is large with recessed fasteners and deep grooves (why we're using HVLP) and the gun has to be moved around and tilted a lot to get into corners. The main reason I haven't tried one of the gravity fed guns is that the cup will probably bang into a painted surface. A pressure pot system might work, but at $600 and up, I'm now a little "gun shy" of throwing any more money at this problem.

BTW, parts for the Fuji guns are not easy to buy -- I wouldn't give them high marks for distributi> Mine got paint

On Sat, 12 Feb 2005 15:09:10 -0600, "Steve Peterson" vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I wonder if that second line is part of the answer? If the calculation is 12 guns over 1 year, thrown away after each job, then the guns sit for a long time unused if not thrown away. Using them every day and cleaning them will make a heck of a difference.

I've seen good American ones on ebay, brand new, usually about 250 or so. Some on Woodweb have reported good results with the HF 2 1/2 gallon cheapo- they just put a can inside under the pickup tube. I bought an older American unit with hoses, I wasn't too comfortable with the rather low pressure rating of the HF pot.

Accuspray is not too bad- the common stuff is at a local autobody shop, Compliant Spray Systems on the web has everything, and parts are listed on ebay with some regularity.

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 20:18:48 -0700, the inscrutable Tim Killian spake:

When you can find HVLPs as low as $30 on Ebay or straight guns for $15 at HF, why worry too much about cleaning?

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I've used a HF gun to apint a race car. Turned out wuite well, for an amateur job. You can catch the HF units on sale for $40, Homier for even less. Stock up.

A middle ground might be the new Sharpe Finex guns. You can buy them under $100 every day. I think there are 5 models.

How much can you throw out in a year before the town starts charging extra? :-)

Enjoy, DoN.

On 14 Feb 2005 23:31:29 -0500, the inscrutable snipped-for-privacy@d-and-d.com (DoN. Nichols) spake:

The guns are made of aluminum. Recycle 'em!

quick change of topic:

STEAMERS: I just found "A Catechism of The Steam Engine" on the Gutenberg Project site. The free download includes pics.

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