Confused about basic HVLP setup...


tkpunk

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Hi guys, I'm going to "need" to buy an HVLP setup of some kind, but I'm getting confused with what I'm reading online. Are my options: 1-HVLP turbine system, and 2-HVLP Conversion gun and Air compressor? Or does an HVLP gun that's not called "conversion" work with an air compressor???

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In that case you might not need to worry to much about the types of gun just yet.

most people would tell you to go with a turbine because your going to have to spend money on a compressor and a gun and a turbine is bought as a complete set .

When it comes to a compressor there are a lot of cons such as size, noise, you have to install inline filters for oil and moisture and the setup.. But I really like my compressor, I don't just use it for spraying, I have sanders, drills, staplers and pin / nail guns that I can conect to it. I've been using a compressor for so long that it doesn't take me long to setup for the different tools or processes.

I can't compare prices because here in Ireland a multy stage turbine is about the same price as a large compressor and a reasonable hvlp gravity fed gun

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here in the states you can get a good  complete turbine system for less than a compressor by it's self

 

2 stage:

$299 http://www.amazon.com/Earlex-HV5500-Spray-Station/dp/B004RGOKR2/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395861936&sr=1-3

#399 http://www.amazon.com/Fuji-2203G-Semi-PRO-Gravity-System/dp/B00D4NPPQY/ref=sr_1_11?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395862540&sr=1-11

 

3 stage:

$590 http://www.amazon.com/Fuji-2803-T75G-Mini-Mite-Gravity-System/dp/B00D4NPPO6/ref=sr_1_16?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395862540&sr=1-16

 

4 stage:

$730 http://www.amazon.com/Fuji-2804-T75G-Mini-Mite-Gravity-System/dp/B00D4NPPNM/ref=sr_1_24?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395862540&sr=1-24

 

 

a decent compressor starts around the price of a 2 stage turbine, and it will run constantly to keep up with gun. I think Wagner recommends a 2hp compressor minimum.

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The difference is internally .... True hvlp guns have bigger air ways inside the gun to allow for conversion of high pressure air from your tank to the low pressure needed for the gun because they use more air at a lower pressure to atomise the finish, the holes at the cap are also bigger to control the spray patter with less pressure and speed ..... A conversion gun is / or is designed like an old school high pressure gun which has much smaller airways inside the gun requiering much more pressure from a bigger compressor , the difference is the cap, in a conversion gun the the conversion of high pressure to low pressure happens in the cap where the airways are enlarged.

Unless your thinking of buying a really big compressor you should stick with the true hvlp

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Unless your thinking of buying a really big compressor you should stick with the true hvlp

 

You are getting sound advice here. 

 

I spray with a compressor driven system and get good results.  One consideration that has not yet been addressed is filtration:  much care must be put into filtering moisture and debris from the air using a compressor system.

 

If you spend your money on a high quality gun and filtration you will be right up there with a good quality turbine system.  But I agree with the notion that a turbine is a "one trick pony" and prefer the compressor systems versatility.

 

miw!

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Ace ... When you say toilet paper do you mean an actual roll of toilet paper ?!?!?!? .... If yes, is that the actual recommended filter or just a trick of the trade ???

 

Yes Sir!

 

They sell a filter roll which is similar to a toilet paper. Most guys just load a "single" ply roll of toilet paper, its cheap, available and works.  

 

-Ace-

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2 other things worth mentioning.

1. sound - turbines are at about the same level as a loud vacuum cleaner, some compressors can be defining 90+ decibels, and normal ones run in the upper 70 to low 80 decibel range. so if noise level is a concern, that's something you might want to take into consideration.

2. size matters - get the absolute biggest tank you can afford if you're going to go the compressor route. Nothing kills a compressor faster than constantly cycling, because it's not big enough for the jobs it's asked to do.

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Which has less overspray?

I sprayed (1.4mm paint, 1.8mm primer) using a Graco FX3000 around 30psi on the gun and still felt like I had a decent amount of overspray.

It was much better than the old IR gun I used before that which was around 50psi Iirc.

I want to get something for home. I already have a 2 stage T30 compressor. (175 psi @ 24 cfm I think)

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

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HVLP was designed for less overspray..... You'll always get overspray but If your still getting a lot of overspray with your hvlp try tweaking your settingsj your pressure might be to high even if you are at the recommended setting and gravity fed guns require less pressure , I dial in a gun by opening the fluid and fan controll needles fully but drop the the pressure and slowly increase until I get the desired pattern and fan width and then tighten up the fan controll to clean up the edges of the pattern and the fluid needle depending on how thick I'm laying on the finish.

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Thanks Marco. I'm still new to spraying but I get to practice at work. Street light poles, transformers, a dump truck. For never doing it before the dump truck was fun and turned out pretty well. Gave me about 40 hours of practice.

What size tip do you use in your gun?

I will probably only spray water based finish which seems pretty thin compared to oil.

Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk

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The heaviest I spray is water based paint ( started recently ) and I water that down by 1/3 so I use a 1.8, it's a bit big and doesn't give me the same controll as a smaller needle would with thinner material but it works well for me.

I don't get to concerned about needle selection because I'm just to lazy to change a setup every time I use a different medium, I just thin the heavier liquids down but that's not a luxury you might have.

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