jsollows Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 I am a hobbiest woodworker and I'm considering purchase of an Earlex. I'm hestating because I do not have space for a dedicated spray booth. I also live on Canada's west coast where it rains 11 months of the year (at least it seems that way). Suffice it to say that spraying outdoors is pretty much impossible except perhaps in July and August. I have visions of all my hand tools and power tools in the small garage shop, covered in a fine mist of paint. Is that a legitimate concern with the Earlex and is there anything I can do to prevent it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Dwacker...can probably speak to the west coast humidity thing, he is from WA. Yep spraying finishes gives you good amounts of over-spray, remember you spray multiple coats so multiple over-spray. I spray with a compresses air gun from Iwata, its an LVLP ...still get a fair amount of over-spray. Just try to keep everything covered up with bed sheets or plastic. Think of it as sawdust...it goes everywhere. I find shellac and varnish seems to be the worst. Shellac seems to stick to about everything and varnish just stays sticky. Water-based finishes wipe off like sawdust. I spray large cases and such in the garage. Small clocks and boxes, I spray water-based finishes over a down-draft table I made using a furnace motor and stacked furnace filters in my basement workshop. Spraying opens up so many finishing option to you...outweighs by far, any over-spray on the tools. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbell78 Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 I recently got an Earlex sprayer and have a similar set up to you, garage shop. I am in Illinios, but still prefer not to finish outdoors. What I have done is to create my own spray booth that I can put up as needed. Essentially it is 3 tarps that I hang from the ceiling that create an enclosure. I then take my dust filter box (a cage blower with filters on inlet and outlet) and place that at the end of the enclosure next to the garage door. When I am spraying I then open the door the foot or so needed for the blower and kick it on. It seems to do a good job of pulling the air born finish out. I have sprayed water based poly and some white paint and haven't noticed any of it get onto tools in other parts of the shop. - Also note that this set up is for NON-Flamable finishes - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 15, 2011 Report Share Posted December 15, 2011 Those cheap roll down blinds that look like the old overhead projector screens we had in high school make good walls. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 The following applies to spraying NON-Flammable finishes only. My shop has a tight clothes line that runs along three sides. I hang old sheer curtains and flat bed sheets from the lines when I set up to spray. Every so often, it's easy to wash the drapes. If you aren't replacing your linens soon, you can often find this stuff for a quarter at yard sales. I prefer the cloth over plastic and tarps for several reasons. Cloth is easier to fold and store, is free or cheap, hangs better with clothespins, and best of all, sawdust and dried finish sticks to it. I've had issues in the past where dried finish or dust came off the plastic and became airborne. Cloth seems to hold on to it until I wash the cloth. Heavier curtains are used to cover the my tablesaw and outfeed, as they usually become the spray bench. A home made turntable goes on top of the bench. The turntable is (2) 2' square 3/4" plywood tables. One has a 2" iron pipe flange on the bottom, the other a 1-1/2" flange. Suitably sized pipes are screwed into the flanges, and the small pipe slides into the larger pipe. If the 2" pipe is slightly longer that the 1-1/2, the flange will act like a bearing against the end of the 2" pipe, creating a stable turntable. I have three sets of pipes, a 30", a 12", and a 6". This lets the turntable stand on the floor or table, and accomodate different height objects. It's easy to screw cleats or other appliances to the table for specialized work. Set up some work lights to shine across the sprayed surface from the back and one side. Raking light makes it much easier to see the quality of your sprayed coat. I use a pair of 2x500 watt adjustable height pole lamps, available from any big box store. Have fun! It's a great way to finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 I'm spraying today, so I uploaded a photo of the Church of HVLP... Happy curtains, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Reminds me of the '60s. Far out, man! -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 Coming from Pilot Barry....I bet it's probably parachute silk :P :P :P Yee!!!!!! Haw!!!!! -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 That would cause me to have a seizure. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted December 16, 2011 Report Share Posted December 16, 2011 I've never paid more that a quarter for lots of drapes and bedspreads! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted December 17, 2011 Report Share Posted December 17, 2011 More about cloth vs. plastic... That white dust is dried finish. On plastic, it blows right off and becomes airborne. I can swat at the cloth, blow on it, and very little dust flies. The dust easily washes out in the washing machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbell78 Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I like your idea of using cloth instead of tarps, I have noticed that the finish builds up on the tarps and then flakes off when fold them up. I imagine that some of the dried finish on the tarps comes off as I am spraying too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsollows Posted December 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2011 Thanks guys, I appreciate the responses to my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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