First, I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Robert (a.k.a.
"nailshooter41") for selflessly sharing his knowledge on this subject.
Robert definitely knows his stuff, and he willingly takes the time to
share his knowledge.

I'd asked here about spraying latex paint with a 4-staje Fuji HVLP.
While the paint seemed to go on OK, the luster wasn't what I expected at
all. Even gloss paints dried flat.

I was following the instructions that were provided with my sprayer,
which said to thin with water and add Floetrol to get 20-30 seconds
through the viscosity cup. The Behr "Premium" interior and exterior
paints I was using required A LOT of water to get that time through the
cup. This was, it turns out, altering the chemistry of the paint in a
not very desireable way.

Robert suggested not using the Floetrol, and thinning MUCH less. He
suggested starting at 10%. I did thin 10% at first, and it didn't seem
to change the viscosity of the paint noticeably. It sprayed just fine. I
figured I'd try not thinning at all, and I found that my sprayer (with
the #4 needle and cap) worked fine with paint straight form the can. I
was amazed, seeing that this paint would take tens of minutes to get
through the viscosity cup unthinned.

Another error I'd been making was in the thickness and the timing of the
application. I was applying a very light coat, and waiting only 15-20
minutes between coats (as soon as the paint seemed dry to the touch, I
was recoating). Robert pointed out that, properly applied, latex will
take MUCH longer to cure to the point that it can be recoated. So I
fooled around a little with speed of gun movement and distance to the
piece, and found that I could apply a pretty wet coat without having any
runs. I let this dry for a couple of hours before a recoat. The result
was, naturally, many fewer passes to build a sufficient covering. And
the results are as they should be; gloss paint is actually glossy when
its dry! (And, it is amazing to see the paint continue to level itself
out after it feels dry to the touch - a fingerprint put into the paint
20 minutes after application was gone within another 30 minutes or so.)

I like working with water-based coatings primarily because I don't have
a proper place to work with laquers, and because cleanup is so easy.
Painting a woodworking project is something I do very rarely at the
moment, so far confined to a couple of plant stands for use outdoors, a
small closet shelving system for SWMBO and a couple of picture frames
made with poplar. But having some success with gloss latex now (and it
seems so easy, thanks to Robert), I'm a bit more emboldened. SWMBO and I
like the mid-century modern and some contemporary furniture styles, and
lots of the pieces we've seen and like are painted. So perhaps I'll try
making a few small pieces in that style now.

And no, I won't be painting any cherry .....

--
Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net

"Art Greenberg" wrote

And no, I won't be painting any cherry .....

Great follow-up ... nice, and ultimately more informative, when someone
takes the time to do so.

Thanks,


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/14/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Art Greenberg" wrote

First, I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Robert (a.k.a.
"nailshooter41") for selflessly sharing his knowledge on this subject.

Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net

Thanks for the follow-up.
It's nice to get first hand experience.
I bought my Fuji 4 stage just awhile before Robert and exchanged some
pictures with him.
I don't have near the experience that he does and his contributions are
priceless.
Many thanks to you both,

Max

Art,

Thanks for taking the time to update us.

cm in az


"Art Greenberg" wrote in message
m...
First, I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU to Robert (a.k.a.
"nailshooter41") for selflessly sharing his knowledge on this subject.
Robert definitely knows his stuff, and he willingly takes the time to
share his knowledge.

I'd asked here about spraying latex paint with a 4-staje Fuji HVLP.
While the paint seemed to go on OK, the luster wasn't what I expected at
all. Even gloss paints dried flat.

I was following the instructions that were provided with my sprayer,
which said to thin with water and add Floetrol to get 20-30 seconds
through the viscosity cup. The Behr "Premium" interior and exterior
paints I was using required A LOT of water to get that time through the
cup. This was, it turns out, altering the chemistry of the paint in a
not very desireable way.

Robert suggested not using the Floetrol, and thinning MUCH less. He
suggested starting at 10%. I did thin 10% at first, and it didn't seem
to change the viscosity of the paint noticeably. It sprayed just fine. I
figured I'd try not thinning at all, and I found that my sprayer (with
the #4 needle and cap) worked fine with paint straight form the can. I
was amazed, seeing that this paint would take tens of minutes to get
through the viscosity cup unthinned.

Another error I'd been making was in the thickness and the timing of the
application. I was applying a very light coat, and waiting only 15-20
minutes between coats (as soon as the paint seemed dry to the touch, I
was recoating). Robert pointed out that, properly applied, latex will
take MUCH longer to cure to the point that it can be recoated. So I
fooled around a little with speed of gun movement and distance to the
piece, and found that I could apply a pretty wet coat without having any
runs. I let this dry for a couple of hours before a recoat. The result
was, naturally, many fewer passes to build a sufficient covering. And
the results are as they should be; gloss paint is actually glossy when
its dry! (And, it is amazing to see the paint continue to level itself
out after it feels dry to the touch - a fingerprint put into the paint
20 minutes after application was gone within another 30 minutes or so.)

I like working with water-based coatings primarily because I don't have
a proper place to work with laquers, and because cleanup is so easy.
Painting a woodworking project is something I do very rarely at the
moment, so far confined to a couple of plant stands for use outdoors, a
small closet shelving system for SWMBO and a couple of picture frames
made with poplar. But having some success with gloss latex now (and it
seems so easy, thanks to Robert), I'm a bit more emboldened. SWMBO and I
like the mid-century modern and some contemporary furniture styles, and
lots of the pieces we've seen and like are painted. So perhaps I'll try
making a few small pieces in that style now.

And no, I won't be painting any cherry .....

--
Art Greenberg
artg at eclipse dot net

Wow... thanks Art. Knowing you were actually able to help someone out
is a nice thing to here. I was glad to help, and glad I was of help.

From time to time this can be a really good community of information
on all manner of woodworking and related subjects. I like it a lot
when someone has something to offer and they take the time and effort
to make their expertise available to the rest of us.

I remember Max (just up this thread) being good enough to take the
time to go outside, run his paint gun on his new Fuji HVLP system down
to a small spray fan and put some Xs, and Os (or similar) on a piece
of cardboard so I could see for myself exactly how small the spray
line could go. He emailed me the pictures personally so I could have
them right away. Now how cool was that? What a help, too. That
wasn't the deciding factor in buying the Fuji system, but it sure was
one of the major ones.

Like I said, this can be a good place to be, and it can really be good
when someone takes the time to let the guys know how things worked
out, and to thank them for their time.

Thanks again, Art. You are a class guy, and I appreciate your kind
words.

Robert

wrote in message
From time to time this can be a really good community of information
on all manner of woodworking and related subjects. I like it a lot
when someone has something to offer and they take the time and effort
to make their expertise available to the rest of us.

And it's useful to remember that no matter how much bickering or flooding of
spam that happens here, there's always people that are willing to help one
out.