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 Post subject: HVLP Gun Advice
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 9:14 am 
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Contributing Member
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Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:12 am
Posts: 147
First name: robin
Last Name: courtenay
City: andover
State: hants
Country: uk
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I've just got a HVLP 3 stage turbine from ebay and need advice/recomendations as to which gun, cup size, tip size to get.I plan to be spraying nitro and would like to try my and at spraying bursts using dye on bare wood.Would it be best to get two guns, one for the nitro and a smaller one for the dye.Thanks Rob.


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 Post subject: Re: HVLP Gun Advice
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 9:40 am 
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Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 5924
If you have a small compressor you could buy a $15 HF detail spray gun ( www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-detail ... 92126.html ) and a $5 regulator (www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-too ... 68223.html) so you can regulate pressure at the gun. The small size of the gun and easy to clean 4 oz cup makes it a handy tool for bursts and detail work.
You might want to mix a little bit of nitro in with the dye to act as a binder and help it stick to the surface.


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 Post subject: Re: HVLP Gun Advice
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 6:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 7:15 pm
Posts: 1041
First name: Gil
Last Name: Draper
City: Knoxville
State: Tennessee
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I dont know much about turbine HVLP spray systems but I thought the were bought as a whole package; turbine, hose, and gun. If you just got the turbine you may need to get a turbine specific hose and gun.

My advice, which applies to regular air compressor HVLP set ups, might not be completely helpful to you. Those Harbor Freight guns are a great way to get into spraying if you are just getting started. You don't really need a second gun for doing color but it's nice to have, and the HF guns are so cheap, might as well get two of them. You get what you pay for, just like most things, so you may want to upgrade to a better gun at some point. I did my first 10 or so instruments with an HF gun before it wore out. Good buy though considering. I upgraded to an Iwata LPH-80 and it sprays like a dream. I use a 1.2 mm tip. When doing a burst I still use a little HF gun for the main base layer, and an Iwata Eclipse airbrush for doing the perimeter. Like Clay says, get a regulator for each gun, and a water catcher for each gun, but I am not sure if those are needed for turbine rigs.


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 Post subject: Re: HVLP Gun Advice
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:50 pm 
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Cocobolo
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Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 11:46 am
Posts: 155
Location: Heaven and Hell (Florida)
First name: Julie
Last Name: Moriarty
City: Punta Gorda
State: FL
Zip/Postal Code: 33950
Country: US
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
I have a Fuji HVLP with XPC gun. For nitro I use a #2 air cap. I've tried spraying water based dye but found flooding it on much easier.

As for getting another gun, I've used the same gun for nitro, Endurovar, Minwax poly, and GF sanding sealer. I clean the gun thoroughly after each use and switch air caps to match whatever product I'm using. General Finishes tells you what size air cap to use for their products and I've used that as a guide for other finishes - GF poly needs a #3 so I used that with Minwax poly.

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 Post subject: Re: HVLP Gun Advice
PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:23 am 
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Koa
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Posts: 1831
First name: Willard
Last Name: Guthrie
City: Cumberland
State: Maryland 21502
Zip/Postal Code: 21502
Country: United State
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
Summary:

- Make sure your turbine is set up for a non-bleed gun...a non-bleeding gravity feed turbine gun with fan width control is the modern standard - avoid bleeder or cup-fed guns, as well as those without fan width control.

- The Fuji T-75G is state of the art, and at about the same price point as much less capable guns from Apollo, Titan, etc. Excellent customer service - we've had the president answer the tech advice line, and when we've had issues (a dropped XPC gun that cracked the metal cup), we've had a replacement in hand the next day...at Fuji's expense.

More details:

You will need a turbine HVLP gun - unless the gun is specifically turbine-compatible, it will not work with your turbine. This seems obvious, but guns which convert low volume, high pressure air from a compressor to high volume, low pressure air inside the gun are referred to as 'HVLP conversion guns' to distinguish them from conventional spray guns. This can be confusing if you are just getting into spray work, and frustrating in terms of returning the gun and finding one which will actually work with your system.

In terms of compatibility, you might check to see if the turbine is configured for bleeder gun use (air always flows from gun) or non-bleeder use (air flows from gun only with first stage of trigger depressed) ...if set up for bleeder use, you'll need to drill a small hole in the output fitting (1/16" -3/32" should be enough for a 3 stage) or use a relief port adaptor between the turbine and hose when using a non-bleeding gun. The hole is needed to allow enough air to continue to move through the turbine to provide cooling when a non-bleeding gun is used. It may very well be that your turbine is set up for either type of turbine gun if it is less than 15 years old. All of Fuji's turbines over the last 15 yeas or so have been compatible with either type of gun, while other brands lagged behind, so worth a check.

Most higher-end turbine guns (Apollo, Accuspray/3M, Fuji, Turbinaire, etc.) will work with most brands of turbine and air hose sets; we had both Apollo and Turbinaire turbines in the shop for a while until we standardized on Fuji - all compatible in terms of fittings. While turbine air is turbine air - just like compressor air is compressor air - the bargain-brands like Earlex may or may not be compatible in terms of fittings, so worth checking with your vendor when shopping for guns. Also consider whether the gun you are considering will take PPS and other similar paint systems...3M has conversion fittings for most guns, so if set on using PPS, check that the gun you are considering is one of those covered with available fittings.

Avoid cup guns, guns without fan control, and guns that do not use 100% stainless steel in the fluid passages if spraying waterbased materials. We use several T-75G Fuji gravity guns in the shop (gravity feed, composite cup and lid, all-stainless fluid passages, excellent fan width control), with a 1.3mm #3 tip set for lacquer and a 1.0mm #2 for waterbased materials. Used turbine guns you may encounter will likely be older bleeder guns or non-bleeder guns without fan width controls - modern non-bleed guns like the Fuji XPC and T-75G (Fuji's latest generation of gun) handle like compressor-driven gravity guns, and match up well in terms of performance with $400-$600 conversion guns.

We have found that most sellers will substitute the tip set desired in a gun package if asked, so if only shooting EnduroVar or other water-based material, you might ask (for a T-75G, for example) for a #2 tip set (nozzle, needle, and aircap) as a substitute for the standard #3 set.

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