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And also while I'm at asking real basic questions, what's the cheapest/best
quality spray gear I could buy? To finish flat-tops, of course, and with a
variety of finishes (shellac, waterbase, nitro etc.)… I bought a small vintage
Wagner sprayless last year and that was a total fiasco, I mean that thing is
uncontrollable, makes an awful noise and a big mess.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

To start I would get a compressor, somthing with at least 4cmf @ 90psi, 20 gal tank and a desent touch up gun, a good filter and water trap. Keep in mind that this is a starter rig but will do a good job. I shoped around the pawn shops and got my first rig just just over $130. That was compressor, hose, filter, water trap. I bought the touch up gun at Harbor Freight for $20.MichaelP38722.7217592593

   
   Laurent,
   You can get a very decent finish with the spray cans of nitro from Stew-Mac, and at much less expense than the spray equipment.
Any finish , no matter how good the equipment, will be no better than the sanding/pore filling job done prior to finishing and the buffing done afterward..
regards,jack

Hey Jack, I used cans from StewMac and also from Guitar ReRanch (much
better…) for some repairs and refinish jobs. The problem is whatever they
put in the can to preserve the laquer and pressurize I think. The finishes are
not as durable and hard than a McFadden for example (even sprayed with
the Wagner…). I've seen the finish from cans flake and they don't take a
polish like the McFadden. What do you think of HVLP systems that can be
had for a decent price?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

     Laurent,
     Sorry, no experience with HVLP systems.. I use a compressor, touch-up gun and sometimes an air-brush.
    regards,
    jack

Laurent, I have a conversion HVLP gun that I use all the time. Seems to work well for me. I use McFadden's unthinned and spray away.

I think it cost around $90.00 or so. You will need a compressor with it though.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

I've had good results with the $100 HVLP rig that Rockler sells. I've successfully sprayed McFaddens nitro as well as KTM-9. It's very basic but effective.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

So Guys... Are you using a standard portable (piston type) compressor to supply your HVLP guns?

[QUOTE=JJ Donohue] I've had good results with the $100 HVLP rig that Rockler sells. I've successfully sprayed McFaddens nitro as well as KTM-9. It's very basic but effective.[/QUOTE]

You mean you can have enough control to spray laquer, shellac or WB on a guitar and get smooth coats?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Here is the gun that I have, works very well spraying shellac and laquer (this is all I've sprayed so far).



This is a Canadian site with the specks on the gun. The cost is good too.

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The gun Rod shows looks pretty much the same as mine. Mine is a Porter Cable brand and usually retails for 80-90 bucks. I just use a small PC compressor with a water trap and a filter and regulator on the gun itself.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Hi Laurent,
I use a cheap air gun I bought at home depot for around $50.It works great.
Over the years I have had more expensive guns($125.+)but having used the cheaper ones extensively cannot see any real difference in the quality of the spray pattern.
I don't like small touch-up type guns for spraying clear coats-(great for sunbursts and touch-ups)I like a big enough fan to cover a back horizontally in about 6-8 passes.
I have a small Emglo Compressor (double "hot-dog" tank)
I also have a hvlp rig.
The hvlp does not put on as smooth a coat as the air gun.
I think Charlie Hoffman uses the hlvp to do the "building" and then uses the air gun for the final few coats.This makes sense to me ,but seems cumbersome to clean two guns.
I have had a few wagners and I hate them.
By the way, I only spray nitro.
Also I have found that the order in wich you spray the various parts of the guitar can make a huge differance in how the job comes out i.e. starting at the head,then doing the front,then sides and back,then neck so the overspray doesn't screw you up and you don't get too much build at certain places-especially if you have the neck on like I do.
I could go on......

Thank you guys for the answers! I think a small compressor and cheap gun
might be the answer for me, what specs should I look at for a small
compressor? Michael, you mention a 20 gallon tank, that seems huge to me!
Can I get away with a 2 gallon tank?

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Laurent,
I don't know how many gallons my emglo is-might be 4,It's the one with the two horizontal small tanks.
It keeps up with the gun just fine though-also runs my framing nailer and finish guns.

Laurent, I would suggest that you pick the gun you want to use and see what the CFM requirements are fo it. Then you can easily pick a compressor that meets those specs.

You might want to consider getting as big a compressor as you can afford though. Since I've had one I tend to find more and more thing to do with it.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

Laurent, 2 gallon would be to small as you would continually be charging the tank. I have a 2.5hp 4 gallon and that doesn't allow much use before it cycles again.

I would think that 5 gallon should be the minimum you would want, if you can that is and of course, in the case of a compressor, the bigger, the better.

And as Dave Rector said, make sure you have a water trap and filter at least.

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