On May 13, 4:30 pm, Prometheus wrote:

Might work for me, though- laquer is the only thing I spray from the gun (most other things can be brushed on successfully),

The lacquer that I spray now is actually spray only. It was not
designed or intended to be brushed or padded. This stuff was a real
step up for me, and at $42 a gallon it was hard to part with the dough
to practice with this stuff.

It is designed for HVLP as atomizing the finish (like the good old
high pressure days) will cause dusting of dried particles in the
finish.

and it's not a super high-end piece
of equipment in any case. At $80, it's not junk-
but it's definately not in the same league as some heated true HVLP rig.

Just like with all tools, it is almost always the user more than the
equipment when you see a failure. I have a Taiwanese touch up gun
that I bought from HF about 7-8 years ago that I love. It is a
knockoff of a Binks touch up gun, and it works just as well. It is a
high pressure gun, but can be powered by a 3hp roll around compressor
pretty easily. I put an in line dryer on it and take it to the site
to spray industrial urethane on metal doors, burglar bars, custom
metal work, etc. It uses a lot more material, but it eats that
urethane up.

My other favorite gun (besides my HVLP stuff) is a knockoff of a SATA
auto painting gun. It is an HVLP conversion gun (not turbine
powered), but puts a great deal of the material on target. This gun
has shot everything I shoot, from metal primers to finishing
lacquers. If I go to a job that just has one or two things to shoot,
I put this gun in the truck with the inline drier, and use a jobsite
compressor.

Like a lot of guys in woodworking (or metal working ?for that matter), finishing is sort of a chore for me. I make a point to always do my level best at it, and research it before doing something new, but it's
really not something I *want* to spend a day doing!

I don't like a steady diet of it either. I did a lot of finishing and
refinishing for a while, but that has slowed down. I really like to
finish here and there, using some of the specialized coatings to make
more money.

I have a kick ass super hard enamel (again - no brushing or padding
and the colors have to be mixed at the batching plant) that dries in
15 minutes. Recoat in 20. Third coat in 30. Dried for use in one
hour. Cured hard in two. Great for handrails at a commercial
building , coating metal table frames, chairs, etc. I can start in a
morning and have them up by opening for lunch.

And that is one of the main differences between a hobbyist and a pro- if you're shooting laquer everyday, you're bound to have preferences
like that. For me, I just get it close and tweak things until it looks good enough. That's the beauty of no longer doing this stuff for a living- the one or two things I'm coating are never really that
big of a rush, because there usually is a week or two between side
jobs. That, and I almost never have a full shop full of trim to spray- though I will next week (I'm milling some custom ash trim for a
guy at work), which is why your run down was greatly appreciated!

I am glad to hear I helped. I spent so damn much time learning some
of this stuff I just don't see why someone else should.

Actually I think one of the big differences in the "pro v. hobby" guy
is the need for speed. I have seen some non professionals that turn
out a pretty damn good product. It takes them longer, but they get
there.

For me, the term is "off the gun". My last coat, my finish coat, has
to be the money coat. No fisheyes, fruit rind, craters, spots,
blemishes, blush, crazing, witness lines, holidays... nada.

But some days, not matter what you do, the finishing sucks. Those
days are few and far between for me, but when something goes wrong
sometime it just keeps acting up all day. The next day, you follow
the same procedures, and it works perfect. Drives ya nuts.

Not sure what you mean- are you putting the thinner in the bottom of the bucket, then setting the open can of finish in there as well before snapping on the cap
so the fumes keep the finish from skimming
over, or putting the gun in there?

I put the thinner in the bottom of the bucket. and put the gun in
there with it still attached to the canister. I just disconnect it
from the air and put it in. I have a 2 1/2 gallon bucket that I keep
the gun in most of the time, and I actually use that, too. If the gun
has an aluminum canister, don't leave it in too long as some of them
will pit from the thinner. A couple of mine sure did.

Just put the thinner in the pail, put the gun in, snap on the and
that's it.

As for the finish, I never leave it open. I am not so much worried
about the drying of the top as the attraction of bugs, and any blowing
debris.

No matter what I am spraying, I measure out anything that is going
into the coating on the side into paper cups I buy at the dollar
store. At the last minute, I pour out the finish into the canister
after a quick stir. Then I close the can, and put in the additives
into the coatings and mix it in the canister.

I usually mix a quart at at time, but usually no more than 1/2 gallon
at once. This give me a chance to fine tune the application if I need
to. But the key here is to have those adds on the side ready to go
and keep that material open for a little time possible and the can
sealed tight when not in use.

When I get to the lower third of a can and know I won't be back to it
for a couple of weeks or so, I will put a very thin layer of
compatible thinner on the top and leave it without mixing. I don't
know that it actually does, but it seems to help.

Robert