painting my dear cabinets

[pascal]

newbie here who mostly browses and learns from all you great folks.

I've been building cabinets in preparation for the bathroom and I'm really happy with how they are coming out.  Alas they are so nice I'm afraid to paint them!  I painted one vanity I built with a graco 360 and Sherwin Williams snap dry (https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/snapdry-semigloss-door-trim-paint) and had issues with with orange peel and pulses showing in the paint.  The paint was going on too thick for sure.

Our trim is painted with Sherwin Williams ProClassic Waterborne Interior Acrylic Enamel (https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/proclassic-waterborne-interior-acrylic-enamel) and ideally we would like the same finish on the cabinets.

BONUS ROUND: I made a built-in cabinet (1st of 3) which won't fit through the door - it needs to get painted, if I can spray indoors with minimal overspray that would be great.  doors and drawers can go outside.

I'm not looking for more tools at the moment (rare case) however if I need to get a turbine setup then be it so, though I would like to keep it under $650 with the tip needed if that is possible.

Please help, open to all ideas as I'm looking to do this right.

I have the following:

graco X5 - lots of tips, works great for walls and ceilings, still struggling with overspray which is likely a setup issue on my part

graco 360 hand held - used this for the vanity and had some orange peel, felt it went to thick.  this only has two tips available which I believe are .15 - I have seen the sprayer modified to take RAC IV tips which I don't mind doing

30 gallon air compressor 6.2 SCFM at 40 PSI and 5.3 SCFM at 90 PSI  https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/porter-cable-portable-belt-drive-air-compressor-30-gal?rfk=1

thanks!

[Coop]

It’s not that we’re ignoring you but using the word paint on here is like mentioning Trump’s name in good taste at Brownsville . It happens but not very often. 

[Tom King]

I have the very first version of that Graco 360, but it's battery powered.   Good work can be done with it, but for an experienced hand.

I don't have any experience with the X5, but it should be a plenty good enough pump.   I owned a Graco air assisted airless for a while, but when they came out with the Contractor gun that took the same Fine FInish tips as the AAA, I needed a new gun anyway, and bought that one.   I sold the AAA pretty soon after I bought the new gun.   The FIne Finish tips make airless spraying a whole new game for spraying anything but walls, roofs, and such (which haven't really changed with the new gun).  I don't know anything about the gun that comes with the X5, but expect it's much like the gun that came with my pump, that I bought sometime in the very early '90s.

Don't try to use the smaller tip recommended for a particular paint, but stay towards the larger end of the scale.  You do have to plan each pass ahead of time, and just like any other spraying, keep the same distance from the surface, and perpendicular.

When spraying walls, and ceilings different colors, I'd spray the walls first, not worrying about overspray on the ceiling, then tape the top of the wall, and use the clinging wall drape.  The wall drape is good for all other masking for spraying anything you don't want to get on the walls.  Wall drape comes in a bunch of different widths, but they all start out as a narrow roll.   You just roll it out along the top of where you want it, and reach up under it, and pull it down.   It's not cheap, but it's so fast, and easy that it's worth what it costs.   Sometimes I use the type that has masking tape on the starting edge, but always put it on a good type of tape underneath, if you need to tape a transition.

Airless doesn't really have overspray, like other types of spraying, but it does have a lot of bounce, since it comes out at such force.

Practice on a big piece of cardboard to get the adjustments just right.  Don't try to finish with one coat.  You can always build up with another coat.

Another good thing about airless is that you can just drop the sprayer in a bucket of water, and wait until tomorrow for the next coat.  Put a layer of Saran Wrap over the top of the paint in the bucket.   As fast as airless is, don't race to get the job done as fast as you can.

The ProClassic is very easy to spray, but try to put too little of it on with your first coat, and it will probably surprise you.  I have sprayed cabinets in place with it, and they came out looking like they came out of a factory like that.  I think I used 3 coats.

I do other types of spraying too, but that compressor won't do as good a job with any spray gun, as you can do with your airless sprayers.

[Llama]

I sprayed latex acrylic with no issues using my Fuji hvlp with a 1.8 tip. Added some floetrol, helped lube things up  

[pascal]

@Tom King

thanks for the advice!  sounds like you are suggesting giving the hand held graco another go since I have it anyhow and to turn it down to get better control.  makes sense as the orange peel is from too much.

how has overspray and bounce back been for you?

[pascal]

@Llama

which fuji unit are you using?  curios on how many stages it has.

thanks!

[Tom King]

Turn the pressure down the most you can, and not have hard edges on the spray fan.  The reason air assisted airless provides a nice finish is that the added compressed air blows out the hard edges on the spray fan, so you can spray with a much lower pressure.  The Graco Fine Finish tips are made to help with eliminating the hard edges, and ended up working so well that a lot of painters don't need the air assist.  The lower the pressure, the more control you have, but hard edges on the fan will leave streaks, so you have to use enough pressure to eliminate them.   

There is only so much you can do with a cheap gun, and standard tips.  It just won't let you turn the pressure down but a little bit.   You have to make up by moving fast.   Don't fan the spray at the start or end of a stroke.   Your timing on the trigger needs to be perfect.  Watch some youtube videos of pros using different airless rigs, and finishes.  Tail the hose where it's in a good position for the next stroke, so it doesn't put any drag on your arm.

If I'm spraying trim, or cabinets inside, I'll use a fairly short 1/4" hose.  Spraying walls, ceilings, and outside, I'll use a much longer 3/8" hose.   The 3/8" hose is a lot more to deal with.   Make sure the next stroke has a free path, and you won't bump your wrist or elbow into anything during that run.

Practice on large pieces of cardboard, or plywood before you start putting a finish on something that matters.

You're going to get spray on something that you don't cover up, even spraying something outside.

[pascal]

thanks, I'm going to wait till it warms up a bit and experiment with the airless that I have.  I keep thinking of caving in and getting a mini-mite 4

[wdwerker]

What you have with a touch of floetrol is fine as long as you are spraying house paint.

 The HVLP and some pigmented (or clear) waterbourne, pre cat or solvent based cabinet finishes is a definite step up in quality (and price).  Since you are trying to match the existing trim I would stay with what you have. 

[Tom King]

The paint won't look smooth when you first spray it on.   DON'T keep putting paint on in any one coat to try to get it to look smooth.    It will smooth out as it dries, but only if you haven't put too much on.  It's much better to have any coat too thin, than to have even one sag to have to deal with.