I just got the $80 HF turbine/gun kit (not conversion gun):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44677
(That link shows it as $90, but catalog #44677-2bpa is $80.)

I took some 35 year old paint (from back when they made the good stuff)
and started playing with the sprayer. Thinned the paint twice & it was
still too thick (paint drops too big). The 3rd time worked very nicely.
It measured 9 seconds with the supplied viscosity cup.

Desperate to paint *something*, I took a sanding-belt holder that I had
made & gave it a shot. Very satisfying! The holder is 6 or 7
compartments, each 3" wide & 4" deep. I.e., not just big flat surfaces.
The sprayer did a very nice job. With negligible spraying experience
on my part & my first use of the sprayer.

Cleanup was easy - they recommend that you do not disassemble the gun.
Just spray solvent through it.

'Course the Operating Instructions left a lot out. Like:
- there are 3 tip & needle sets (1.0, 1.5, & 1.8 mm diam). I assume
that their use depends upon the viscosity of the paint to be used. But
paint can be thinned to any viscosity, so there is some uncertainty here.
- there is only one operational adjustment: paint volume. I used it
barely open & it was fine for me, but what are the criteria for setting it?
- the HF listing says that it can spray a circular pattern, but the
manual doesn't say how. I suspect that it doesn't do circular.

Anybody else own this "kit"? Any help with my questions?

Thanks,
Bob

--
Nota for President

On Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:12:28 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

I just got the $80 HF turbine/gun kit (not conversion gun):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44677
(That link shows it as $90, but catalog #44677-2bpa is $80.)

big snip

Anybody else own this "kit"? Any help with my questions?

Can't help with your questions, but what I usually do is go
looking for a similar item from a better company. Maybe
Campbell Hausfeld has some better instructions? Here is a
link to one of their lesser model manual pages:

http://www.chpower.com/webapp/wcs/st...ndModel=hv2500


--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
. ..
I just got the $80 HF turbine/gun kit (not conversion gun):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44677
( link shows it as $90, but catalog #44677-2bpa is $80.)

I took some 35 year old paint (from back when they made the good stuff)
and started playing with the sprayer. Thinned the paint twice & it was
still too thick (paint drops too big). The 3rd time worked very nicely.
It measured 9 seconds with the supplied viscosity cup.

Desperate to paint *something*, I took a sanding-belt holder that I had
made & gave it a shot. Very satisfying! The holder is 6 or 7
compartments, each 3" wide & 4" deep. I.e., not just big flat surfaces.
The sprayer did a very nice job. With negligible spraying experience
on my part & my first use of the sprayer.

Cleanup was easy - they recommend that you do not disassemble the gun.
Just spray solvent through it.

'Course the Operating Instructions left a lot out. Like:
- there are 3 tip & needle sets (1.0, 1.5, & 1.8 mm diam). I assume
that their use depends upon the viscosity of the paint to be used. But
paint can be thinned to any viscosity, so there is some uncertainty here.
- there is only one operational adjustment: paint volume. I used it
barely open & it was fine for me, but what are the criteria for setting
it?
- the HF listing says that it can spray a circular pattern, but the
manual doesn't say how. I suspect that it doesn't do circular.

Anybody else own this "kit"? Any help with my questions?

Thanks,
Bob

--
Nota for President

My HVLP conversion gun will shoot a circular pattern by turning the air
nozzle to 45 degrees. Air nozzles horizontal for a vertical fan, nozzles
vertical for a horizontal fan and at 45 degrees the air is shut off for a
circular pattern. Mine is an Apollo brand and cost way more than the HF
unit. It has an air adjustment and paint volume adjustment. Different paints
require different needle/tip sets. The high solids paints like hi-build
primer need the larger ones.
Tom

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
I just got the $80 HF turbine/gun kit (not conversion gun):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44677
(That link shows it as $90, but catalog #44677-2bpa is $80.)

I took some 35 year old paint (from back when they made the good stuff)
and started playing with the sprayer. Thinned the paint twice & it was
still too thick (paint drops too big). The 3rd time worked very nicely.
It measured 9 seconds with the supplied viscosity cup.

Desperate to paint *something*, I took a sanding-belt holder that I had
made & gave it a shot. Very satisfying! The holder is 6 or 7
compartments, each 3" wide & 4" deep. I.e., not just big flat surfaces.
The sprayer did a very nice job. With negligible spraying experience
on my part & my first use of the sprayer.

Cleanup was easy - they recommend that you do not disassemble the gun.
Just spray solvent through it.

'Course the Operating Instructions left a lot out. Like:
- there are 3 tip & needle sets (1.0, 1.5, & 1.8 mm diam). I assume
that their use depends upon the viscosity of the paint to be used. But
paint can be thinned to any viscosity, so there is some uncertainty here.
- there is only one operational adjustment: paint volume. I used it
barely open & it was fine for me, but what are the criteria for setting it?
- the HF listing says that it can spray a circular pattern, but the
manual doesn't say how. I suspect that it doesn't do circular.

Anybody else own this "kit"? Any help with my questions?

Thanks,
Bob



The spray guns USUALLY have two knobs on the back, one for trigger pull
control (amount of paint that comes out when you pull the trigger) and
the other for air control. The air control is usually the top one. Get
a piece of trash cardboard or some other flat surface and start with
short busts of the gun. After each burst turn the air control in about
1/8th of a turn. After a few tests you should start to see the pattern
go from oval to circular. Good luck. I've used the HVLP for years and
like it for small jobs where the 2.5 gallon paint pot is just a bit too big.

Jim

Leon Fisk wrote:
... what I usually do is go
looking for a similar item from a better company. Maybe
Campbell Hausfeld has some better instructions? Here is a
link to one of their lesser model manual pages:

http://www.chpower.com/webapp/wcs/st...ndModel=hv2500

Good tip, thanks! The link is to a sprayer that's very similar (can you
say "reverse engineering"?). It has directions on tip selection & a
troubleshooting guide that were useful (& copied).

Thanks,
Bob

Jim Chandler wrote:
The spray guns USUALLY have two knobs on the back, one for trigger pull
control (amount of paint that comes out when you pull the trigger) and
the other for air control. ...

Ah, I only have the amount-of-paint control. At this point I'm glad of
that - it's a parameter that I don't have to learn about. Maybe someday
I'll "need" a gun with that control.

Thanks,
Bob

--
Nota for President

Tom Wait wrote:
My HVLP conversion gun will shoot a circular pattern by turning the air
nozzle to 45 degrees. ...

Ah HA! Thanks. How hard would it have been for them to put that in the
"manual"? \rhetorical

Different paints
require different needle/tip sets. The high solids paints like hi-build
primer need the larger ones.

The C-H manual that Leon pointed me to ranks "paint" by increasing
solids as: acrylics (whatever they are), stains & sealers, oil base, latex.

Thanks,
Bob

--
Nota for President