First Time using sprayer


prov163

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My wife bought me one of the self contained Rockler HVLP sprayers on sale for $100 as a gift. While I wish she had bought me a Fuji Mini this will be a great way to learn which will help me decide what I really want when I buy the next unit

So, I'm going to spend some time the next couple of nights practicing with water.  I picked up some Hydrocote from HH to use on my next project. Can I spray it straight or will I need to thin it?  If I need to thin it, how thin using a viscosity cup?  Any other suggestions?  Everyone says once you learn to spray you'll wish you'd started earlier. We're gonna see. 

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most waterbornes can and should be sprayed without thinning.  Read the data sheet for that finish.  It will tell you how much you can thin.  Usually manufacturers recommend that you do not thin more than 10%.  

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I spray a lot of high performance poly through an earlex spray station (in fact, I'm awaiting a drying projects first coat as I type).  I don't thin at all, and have never had an issue (even though the can says thinning is okay up to 10percent).

Be careful when spraying straight water.  I did this as well, when I was learning.  Water sprays WAY differently than Finish, but it will give you a good feel for the mechanics of the gun.

wear a respirator with a filter and organic vapour cartridge.  Water Bourne is still not safe to spray without respitory protection.

have fun - spraying is awesome!

oh, and if you wear prescription glasses, make sure you wear an old pair or cover them with safety goggles.  Finish is really hard to get off of the lenses!

 

Edited by Pug
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wear a respirator with a filter and organic vapour cartridge.  Water Bourne is still not safe to spray without respitory protection.

 

 

Which 3m cartridge do you recommend?  I only have particulate filters right now so I need to get a cartridge before spraying. (I'm using the 3M 6503QL.)  Would the 6001 be appropriate/safe?

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==>when you spray waterborne material, you obviously clean up with water, but I have found that it is best to run something other than water through the gun before you put it away to keep anything from seizing/rusting (I usually put a cup of mineral spirits in the gun and spray it).

+1

MS, Naphtha, etc are OK... Alcohol is really the better mousetrap to dry-out spray gear... Since shellac is ubiquitous (or should be), denatured spirits is usually at hand...

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I keep Graco Pump Armour for my airless sprayer.  I tried it once in my HVLP sprayers that I use water bourne stuff in, because that was all I had on that job, and since have never used anything else to store in one. You can spray it down a sink with no worries.  You can find it where the airless sprayers are in Lowes and Home Depot.

When spraying, the only time you bend your wrist is to keep the gun perpendicular to the surface being sprayed.  I see so many people move like they are fanning something.  Put on less than you think you need to, and see if that's enough on a practice piece of cardboard.  Practice your first passes without pulling the trigger.

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Which 3m cartridge do you recommend?  I only have particulate filters right now so I need to get a cartridge before spraying. (I'm using the 3M 6503QL.)  Would the 6001 be appropriate/safe?

I use the 3m 6001 OV cartridge underneath a P100 dust filter (2091).  I got thes filters from Marc's recommendation in his video.  I also called general finishes and confirmed I had the right set up for the stuff I normally spray.

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Well I did some spraying with water tonight and while Pug is right, it sprays differently than I expect the poly will, wow was that fun!  I have a project that will be ready for finish in a week or so and I plan to spray it. I'll have some scrap material to test on. 

I'll also pick up some 3M 6001 cartridges for safety's sake. I love waterborne finish and don't worry when I'm brushing, but I can where atomizing the material could be hazardous. Great advice. I also appreciate the clean up suggestions. I just bought some denatured alcohol the other day. 

Thanks guys. I'll keep you posted - I'm sure I'll have more questions. 

 

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I thought I've read somewhere that some mineral spirits can leave an oily residue. Don't know if this is true but I've always used denatured alcohol to be safe.

I've used mineral spirits a few times and never noticed any residue. I usually store my gun disassembled, then spray lacquer thinner, water, etc (depending on what im spraying) through the gungun after I put it together and before I load it with new finish material for a job, so maybe the residue gets washed away?

 

My main point to Prov163 was not to spray water through a gun and then put it away or it will cause problems.

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==>Occasionally I use Laquer thinner to do a through deep cleaning.

same here... I keep one PPS cup filled with alcohol, one with lacquer thinner and one with CV reducer... Just plug and play...

I use the pps system at work, love it for ease of use in production. For cleaning though, i just use a condiment style squirt bottle with lacquer thinners to flush the gun out. 

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==>For cleaning though, i just use a condiment style squirt bottle with lacquer thinners to flush the gun out. 

I do that if the gun has undergone a recent through cleaning -- I saw the PPS marketing video on YouTube cleaning with just a squirt bottle... It's what sold me on the system... But I'm pretty lazy and tend to only clean a gun when I have to... I have one gun for shellac (which is never cleaned), one for lacquer-based (only cleaned when I can't get a good fan), one for conv-varn (that I clean at the end of the day, for obvious reasons) and one for WB (which I shoot alcohol to clean)... BTW: for those that come later -- this is not recommended practice -- you should clean guns after use...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I did it. I was building a rustic cooler for a friend and decided that would be a great project to try spraying. All I can say is wow!  That was fun and easy. I did have one set of drips where I obviously put too much material on, but once it was dry I just sanded it and brushed on a little finish. Used Hydrocote since this one is staying inside. Cleanup was easy and I took advice from here and ran a cup of denatured alcohol through the gun before I put it up. I know this will really help with my finishing process. 

Thanks for all your advice and suggestions. 

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