Official Luthiers Forum!

Santa brought me a 4 stage Fuji sprayer with a gravity T-gun. I totally don't know what I'm doing. Any advice on getting setup in the right ballpark would be appreciated so my trial and error isn't just lots and lots of errors. I've been practicing with Sherwin Williams vinyl sealer and NC lacquer. It amazes me how fast that stuff dries.

Is there some approximate guideline for the fluid control knob? When adjusting it, am I tweaking it a couple degrees at a time, or more like a half a turn? What about the air valve? Is there subtlety to the trigger or is it more of an all or nothing thing?

When spraying, should it be more like a rattle can, or washing the car? Mine's pretty forceful at the moment.

Thanks for any help.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

I dialed my air hose way down because I was getting bubbles blown into the finish I was using, the air valve on the hose.

Then I dialed in enough laquer to get a good flow without running.

It almost doesn't feel like I'm spraying enough 'cuz it's so much more efficient than the compressor system I was using.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I find the air valve on the hose the most finicky to dial in. I start with that valve completely closed then slowly open it until I think I'm getting enough air flow, then go to the other settings and back to it if needed. I also have a tendency to bump that valve while spraying & mess up the setting.

Hopefully others with more experience will chime in.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I generally set my guns up for guitars to spray a 4" wide (or tall, depending) pattern with the gun about 4-6" away from the surface. You want the surface to wet out so the droplets of material can flow together.You want enough air to atomize the material but not so much as to create a push back off the surface. This will all combine with the speed at which you make your passes and amount of pattern overlap needed as determined by the shape of your pattern to put down a coating of even thickness. It should not feel like either a rattle can or a hose washing a car.

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Brian

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

https://www.howardguitarsdelaware.com/

using the same set up, full bore at the hose/ gun attachment, and just adjusting the controls on the gun. you just have to mess with it, and learn as you go. good news is you can sand back and redo until you are happy with it. i got bubbles in my first attempts too. imagine every one goes through the same trial and error at first. following the guidelines in the fuji booklet, and not force drying anything (in the first hour)
delivered excellent results in the end. let it gas off slowly and give the bubbles time to rise to the surface and disappear. that was my biggest learning, as a complete beginner a few months ago.


Oh! And dont leave the turbine running any longer than necessary. i left my first one on while i was adjusting things, and burned it out, dead. in about 15 minutes.

Your turbine shouldn't have burned out like that, Jason. I use mine for 90 min. at a time with no problem. I also leave the air all the way open, and do some testing on cardboard to get dialled in.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I sure remember replying to this at least a couple of different times, but it's not there. I must keep getting distracted before I can finish and hit submit. One distraction was the new washer showing up. Sadly, Santa did not bring that. He didn't even know it was needed until yesterday. Why aren't there lint traps in washers any more?

But back on topic, thanks everyone for sharing your methods. I was hoping to have everyone agree with consistent, easily replicated advice, but of course that's not how things usually go in this pastime, is it?

Mine certainly gets hot. The first time I used it, air wide open, after about 15 minutes of use the hose was pretty hot when I went to remove it. Painful, but not hot enough to burn me.

For those of you with the Fuji gun, when you "dial in enough lacquer," is that like a quarter turn out, or more like 3 turns?

Thanks,
Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

It was the fuji gold 3, with their gravity gun. nothing was bleeding when i wasnt sparying, just pumping air with no where to go, so i think that was the heat issue. first tripped on high heat, then i reset the breaker, cooled for an hour, then it ran for about 5 mins, surging on and off, then dead. fuji took it back, and i went up to the gold 4. sounds like it was infant mortality, if others are not having issues. would still buy another one

Yes, that spokesmodel is the main reason I ended up getting the Fuji. Good looking guy, must know what he's talking about.

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Mike Lindstrom

Mike, I've used a Fuji system for 12 years and it works great. In addition to the above suggestions I spent a lot of time in the early days adjusting all of my settings (air flow, lacquer flow, spray pattern) and experimenting on scrap cardboard. Pretty soon you will get the hang of it. Simply put, you want enough lacquer to lay down a solid coat without risk of running. You want enough air flow to finely atomize lacquer without so much velocity that the finish bounces off the piece.

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Doug

Don't let fear or common sense stop you from trying to build something

What are "olids"? For that matter, what's a wet mil gauge?

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Great and timely thread. My new Fuji System is still sitting here staring at me wondering when I might give it a whirl. Problem is, I'm still in building mode and not quite ready to spray.

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Rob Flindall
Flindall Guitars
http://www.flindallguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/FlindallGuitars

Fill the cup with water, turn it on, and start spraying. It's a good way to get a feel for the gun and the controls.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

How did you decide which of the many Fuji systems to buy? I'd like a better sprayer (which wouldn't be hard cuz I'm currently using the Harbor Freight $99 special), but probably wouldn't want to spend more than around $400, unless there were overriding reasons to spend more. Also, for comparable price points, is Fuji better than, say, Earlex or Apollo?

I just shot my first coats of vinyl sealer tonight with my new Fuji system and Wowza! Once I got it dialed in pretty good, it laid down a beautiful, flat coat. Why didn't I get one of these systems before!? Lol. This pretty much makes my two compressor guns paper weights now. I'm looking forward to shooting the clear coats tomorrow.

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Rob Flindall
Flindall Guitars
http://www.flindallguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/FlindallGuitars

Todd, I'm using an Asturo ECO/SX gun. When I use enough pressure to atomize well (40 - 45 lbs.) I get more overspray than I like. Dialing back the pressure results in orange peel (spraying Target EM6000). Would I like the Fuji Q4 better than what I have now?

I need to get a Fuji as well. Starting out with the Q4 at the beginning is probably the safest bet I would imagine?

Thank you for the information. This is a hard one to evaluate. It sounds like more pressure is better. So, if I keep the compressor, will a better gun allow me to spray a clean coat with less overspray?