Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi!
I have been finishing with aerosol lacquer for several years now, but would like to step up to a spray setup. The problem is lack of funds. But I have two friends who have rather large compressors. I'm thinking of buying a cheap gun from Harbor Freight, as well as lacquer, retarder, and whatever else I need, and borrowing the use of their compressor until I can afford a decent one. One has already given me the go ahead.
Right now HF has one of their cheap guns on sale. It's gotten decent reviews on the amateur forums I visit, but it says it's HVLP.
Do you forsee any difficulty related to using a standard compressor and this type of gun?

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8-cfm-gravity-feed-spray-gun-67181.html?ccdenc=eyJjb2RlIjoiNDIyNDMxNzUiLCJza3UiOiI2NzE4MSIsImlzIjoiMTEuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk%0D%0AIjoiNjYwMSJ9%0D%0A

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Yes, that will work with a standard compressor. Probably use somewhere around 30 psi. At a minimum you will want oil and water filters before the gun and a known clean air hose (one not used for pneumatic tools using oil) from the filter to the gun.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Steve, thanks. The filters I was aware of. The hose I hadn't thought of.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I use a Walcom EGO HVLP with a small Ingersoll Rand compressor rated for about 5 cfm at 90 psi. Gun spec calls for 5.1 to 6 cfm at 29 -36 psi, pretty easy for even my small compressor. It works very well. I spray at 29 psi.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I used the cheap HF guns for years with no real problems.

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Brian

You never know what you are capable of until you actually try.

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

Key is to check the manufacturer specs. HVLP can mean lots of things.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

That spray gun is most likely a conversion gun. They use as much air as a regular high pressure gun but inefficiently convert it to low pressure air. For the small stuff we spray this inefficiency is not a big deal. The atomization and transfer rate is what we are concerned with. I wouldn't expect it to be as good as a true HVLP, but it might be better than a high pressure gun (but then again it might be worse - a quality high pressure gun should do as well and give a better finish).
A cheap gun is a good way to start out. No spray gun will give you a perfect finish without learning how to use it. I still use a cheap jamb gun and grind down the finish with sandpaper and polishing compounds.

Thanks to all who replied. I'll most likely get the gun and give it a shot. Not out a whole lot if it doesn't work well. Kinda think it'll beat the aerosols I'm using now. Even if the finish requires more work, the lacquer itself has got to be much better than what I'm using now.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I Mike,
I bought one of those for $12 (20% off coupon).
I have a standard Sears 15 gallon oil compressor. I bought a water trap and filter.
I've sprayed two guitars with it and have never got good atomization or a "wet" look finish.
I'm still playing with mine - I may try thinning the lacquer, although drying time may be longer.
I have no real spraying experience, so if something works good for you with that gun, pass it along.
BTW, I used Behlen Instrument lacquer and sealer straight out of the cans.
This stuff was dry enough to wet sand in one week and polish after the second week.
The Deft rattle cans I have used took 1-2 months to get hard.
Dan

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Dz, thanks. I've used the Deft as well. It takes forever to cure enough to sand and buff, but comes out looking great. My problem is that months later, the lacquer is still so soft that just hanging it on a stand leaves pressure impressions where the weight of the guitar rests on the stand. At first I thought it was a reaction to the rubber on the stands, but I am using cotton cloth between it now, and still get the impressions. Some even showing the weave in the cloth. I don't think the aerosols get hard enough, and Deft isn't the only ones I've had this issue with.
I'm looking at Cardinal or Behlins.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

first thing with a HF gun is to take everything apart and clean it out , you will find all kinds of putty inside , get in the habit of using a wrench to tighten and loosen the plastic cup, if not it will leak if you keep tightening and loosening it by hand , the fitting strips out in the plastic cup, In fact the gun will leak sooner or later, I have been thru several on the first 14 I finished and got satisfactory results using a compressor rated at about 4 cfms at 40 , I have since upgraded to a belt driven compressor rated at 7.2 cfm's at 40 and just got a sharpe fx 1000 with a 1.4 mm tip which uses 6 to 7 cfms at 40, of which I hope to use for the first time tomorrow....I just wasn't satisfied with the atomization with the cheaper guns and smaller compressor when trying to spray a burst....

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MK5acoustics.com

I don't see what the huge concern with super fine atomization is.
It seems to me that the ability to flow out without running is the key.
Atomization only needs to be "fine enough" to flow out smoothly, even with satin finishes.

I guess burst finishes are a concern.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Yeah it seems like atomization shouldn't matter too much on clear coats since they'll be cut and buffed anyways. I'd think for color coats you could just thin them down and/or jack up the pressure, both ways should help give a finer spray.