Spray Gun purchase advice

[will delaney]

I am interested in buying a spray gun for paint and stains. I do have a Porter Cable compressor 8 hp 6 gal tank which I can use.   It will be using for furniture projects.  Any advice or suggestions? Thanks Will

[will delaney]

I have ordered the Earlex 5500 from www.paintsprayersplus.com for $319.00 with an extra needle included and no tax shipping and handling included.  Staining  and polyurethane will be my first  attempt. I will post the project  and share my experience. Thanks for all you input. Will  

[DAVID CZUPRYN]

Hey, John!! That's what's stopping me too. You're exactly right. A five stage Titan is about $1600.00 or so,as is Graco's five stage. Add some accesories, and round about you're at $2000.00 bucks !! I can't justify the cost. A three stage goes for about $700.00 or so. That's not as bad. I might be ok with that, provided I stay away from heavy latex. What are your thoughts about that? Thanks,Dave

[John Schaben]

Hi Dave - I've sprayed Behr Ultra Premium Plus gloss paint to finish up some trim when I painted the house last summer. I did most of the house with a Spraytech airless but had a few feet of trim around one porch to finis so I thought I'd try it.

I did have to thin it quite a bit. I was at about 5% or so with Floetrol for the airless so I added some more floetrol and then bottled water until I got good atomization. May have been up around 20% + diluted. That thin I did have to go back over it several times, maybe 5 or 6 but ended up with a very nice finish. Rather than risk runs, I just sprayed it on and if it covered OK, if not, OK too. When I got to the end I just went back and did it again. Small area, about 30 ft of window sills and trim, It flashed off and was ready for recoat in about 5 minutes so recoating wasn't a big deal. I think I will be planning an upgrade to the unit though, definitely not up into the $1000 - $1500 range, way to rich for my blood.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Fuji Mini-Mite, 3 stage for $550 or so.

DAVID CZUPRYN said:

Hey, John!! That's what's stopping me too. You're exactly right. A five stage Titan is about $1600.00 or so,as is Graco's five stage. Add some accesories, and round about you're at $2000.00 bucks !! I can't justify the cost. A three stage goes for about $700.00 or so. That's not as bad. I might be ok with that, provided I stay away from heavy latex. What are your thoughts about that? Thanks,Dave

[DAVID CZUPRYN]

Hello, John. I can't thank you enough, for your valued response. Your advice and expertice, was just what I was searching to find. None of the reps,nor the guys, that do this for a living, provided me with the right answers. YOU did !! Thanks to you, I've now got the info I need. The multi stage turbines, offer little to no thinning, less multipal, repeated coatings, so they finish much faster. Now they can proceed to their next job,more quickly. Less thinning, means a better, higher quality finishing job, because of less dillution to the coating and providing lower VOCs. You CAN work with smaller turbines; It's not impossable, like I was led to believe. Now for my point of view. I've conducted much research, concerning hvlp systems. Here's my advise.Fuji, Appollo, Turbineair along with others, are considered "turbine in a box". Stay clear of those. Why? Again, we arrive at the heat problem. If you can't get rid of the heat, the life of any turbine gets cut short. From my research the only two turbines, that get rid of the heat correctly are Titan and Graco. I prefer the Titan; that's just me,tho. The Titan's a monster, well constructed, has all the "creatures features", is small enough to fit anywhere in my truck, has an onboard tool box, and a built in cup holder, and at 20lbs.,fits my needs. It also has dual air filtration,providing better longgivity to the turbine, and no "heat up the hose". If you purchase it from a SherwinWilliams dealer, Titan offers a FREE spray gun, in addition to the one it comes with. That gun's not a toy. The gun's about $250.00, or so. For me, I can use one for primer, the other for finish. I think the free gun offer expiries this June. When in June, I don't know. Again, please, thank you so very much for your kind response to my question. This typing is killin me !! Gotta go for now. I'm sure others have also benafitted from your information. Thanks again, Dave