Worked for me

I painted my interior with PPg paint and my old style gun and had terrible results, fogged me out, lots of over spray, runs. I bought a LPHV spray gun at Harbor Freight and tried it again. Big difference. 95% of the overspray was eliminated which allowed me to see how I was applying the paint. At $54.00 I would highly recommend it!

P.S. I bought the full size gun on sale.
 
I spoke with Larry Koutz at SnF 2004. He had a Quickie 2 on display in Teal and Peach color. A very beautiful paint job. He said he used the "Poly" system recommended by Ron Alexander. He, also, stated he used the HVLP spray gun from Harbor with no problems. I believe it was the larger model they have on sale all the time. I know he used the same tip for the primer and the paint.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430

Sorry I'm not sure about the spellings and I couldn't find any pics on the Qlist.

FWIW
Bob MO
 
Plastic Cup

Thanks for the replies. I had heard some horror stories about epoxy not playing well with PLASTIC. Since this gun has a plastic feed cup.....
 
Works with AKZO

As another data point ... I've used the bigger version of this same gun from HF (I think it was ~ $40 on sale when I bought it) with AKZO epoxy primer for several years and it's always worked great.
 
OK, I got to the link - It looks like the exact same gun!

Thanks for the help everyone. I think I will just buy at HF since I get a discount there.
 
Get the one with the bigger cup (at least 20 oz). I used the siphon feed from HF with the small 8 oz cup. It is way to small. I would have to stop too often to refill. From the other posts, it looks like the larger volume it is cheaper anyway.

If I did it again I'd definitely go gravity feed--I think I'd get a more uniform spray.

I'm using Variprime 615/616 and my siphon cup is lined with plastic. No problems whatsover with the primer attacking the plastic.

Good luck.
 
Steve,

I was thinking that the 20oz would be too big for priming internal parts (variprime is $$$ don't wanna waste it). Also what kind of prep are you doing for internal priming with the veriprime? I have heard that a simple laquer thinner wash is all that is required.

Thanks
 
I use that exact gun to spray PPG DP48LF (epoxy). I have been very pleased with the results, and have had no problems with the cup.

IIRC, the gun with the larger cup also had a larger tip and therefore consumed more air. I stuck with the smaller cup version as its air consumption was inline with what my compressor is capable of producing.
 
Last edited:
Will Womack said:
Steve,

I was thinking that the 20oz would be too big for priming internal parts (variprime is $$$ don't wanna waste it). Also what kind of prep are you doing for internal priming with the veriprime? I have heard that a simple laquer thinner wash is all that is required.

Thanks
Click to expand...


Hi Will-

You're right, Variprime is expensive (though not as expensive as a lot of otehr priming systems). Fortunately, I've primed my whole empennage (internals plus inside of all skins) and all but my main skins on my wings and still have over half a gallon left. Unless your unsure about what you'll use over the long term, buy a gallon rather than a quart and shop around for prices. I found a significant variation in prices. If you tell the paint shop you'll be buying a lot of it, they'll sometimes give you contractor prices. I've found that this is negotiable at some shops.

Don't worry about wasting it with a 20oz cup--you won't. I have never used less than 20oz of Variprime at a time. I primed in batches. All my HS and VS parts at one time and then all my elevator and rudder parts at the same time. I probably used on the order of 32-40 oz each time. Even if I would have done just HS by itself I would have used well more than 20oz. If you're not priming the inside of your skins, that may be a different story. Once you get to your wing ribs and skins, however, you're going to have to do a LOT of refills with a 8oz cup. No big deal--it just adds to the time you have an uncomfortable respirator on.

For a few small parts where I don't want to break out the Variprime (and the mess associated with it), I'm just using the Sherwin Williams GBP 988 spray can. I've just started my second can of that--it costs about $7.00 a can and works pretty well.

Yes, lacquer thinner wash is all you need. I VERY lightly scuff the alclad skins for adhesion purposes, but you don't really need to. Once this stuff dries it is HARD and it sticks! I've had much difficulty even getting it to scratch when the bucking bar slips.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions.

Steve
 
Last edited:
Compressor

Good points all. I just checked my comp stats: 8.6@40 6.8@90. The 20oz gun uses 9.5-14.8@15-50. Not sure if I have enogh air!

Steve, thanks for the info on the price too. I was quoted $141/gal for the primer and $65 for the converter locally. maybe I should shop around a bit.

ps You are east of the Cascades, yes? I used to live in Seattle and ski at Stevens Pass all the time.

Anyway, thanks
 
Just one more response:
I purchased both sizes of the HVLP guns from Harbor Freight and have used both of them to prime and paint the interior of my RV8 using epoxy primer and PPG Concept paints. No problems with the plastic cups with either the paints or clean up thinnner.
HVLP is, to me, better than the normal high pressure spray guns, once you figure them out. You will use less paint since there is less over spray, but there are differences in how you use them.
Following are some lessons I learned in using HVLP:
-Make sure you have the pressure going in to the gun set high enough. These guns use 43 PSI going in. This allows the correct pressure at the nozzle, which is about 10 PSI.
-There are three basic settings on the gun as follows:
-Trigger/needle...hold the trigger completely open (Squeezed in, like a gun) and adjust the needle so that you just begin to feel the trigger move.
-Adjust the fan knob (The knob by the cup inlet) to full open.
-Adjust the cheater valve (Material control) at the bottom of the handle to full open. (Note: If the material is not full open, the gun will "spit" paint and you'll get orange peel.)
The above would be the basic settings for the HVLP gun. If you need to make the fan smaller, you would need to turn down the material some as well to compensate.
Other tips would be to make sure you at least use a disposable filter at the inlet to keep water from the air hose out of the gun.
If you will be turning the gun upside down or tilted, put an old sock over the cup to catch drips from the air hole.
When actually painting, if you are used to a high pressure system, you will need to change technique a little bit. The following should help:
-Hold the gun a little closer to the surface being painted. Remember, with the lower pressure being used, the paint will not spray as far as under higher pressure.
-Move the gun along faster than you would, but not much, since you are closer to the surface. Also, the HVLP will put out more material than you may be used to.
The hardest part for me in painting is patience. Make sure all of your surfaces are properly prepared. Put on a light initial coat (Don't worry about coverage) and let it set up for at least 15 minutes or a little more. (During this time, I pour the unused paint back in the mixed batch and put some reducer in the paint gun. This keeps the paint in the gun from setting up and clogging things up while you wait for the current coat to dry. Put some reducer in the cup, spray some reducer through the gun, then disconnect the air and let the spray gun sit till you are ready to paint some more. A very small amount of reducer is all that is needed for this.) This will allow your subsequent coats to have something to stick to. My second coat is usually a covering coat and then a third (Heavier) cross coat to flow out and make a smooth surface. This has worked well for me, but don't forget to allow enough time between coats for the paint to set up or you will get runs.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
There is nothing wrong with most cheap paint guns. Just use them untill they don't work anymore then toss them in the trash. The big difference with expencive spray guns is the spendy ones are easy to rebuild and buy replacement parts for.

Before you prime anything with variprime sand your areas with a DA sander then wash the surfaces down with a cleaning solvent or MEK. No matter what you do though MEK will wipe variprime right off. It's not good stuff to use IMHO.

:)
 
sf3543 said:
Make sure you have the pressure going in to the gun set high enough. These guns use 43 PSI going in. This allows the correct pressure at the nozzle, which is about 10 PSI.
Click to expand...
Excellent post by sf3543!

That being said, I spent about 45 minutes getting educated by the guy who sold me my PPG DP48LF (he paints custom motorcycles on the side). He asked me what size tip my gun has, and what pressure I was running. I told him 1.0mm and 45psi. He commented that he thought that was too high a pressure for that size tip and recommended I try turning it down (at the gun) to 25-30psi, which is what I have been using since. My point isn't to contradict sf3543's post, but just to say that each set-up can be slightly different and you will need to experiment with different pressures to see where you are able to produce the best results.

Good Luck!
 
Oh yea, one more thing...

I was told by my paint supplier and the folks at AFS that if I was going to use a touch-up spray gun (tip size around 1.0mm), I would need to reduce or thin the primer a little more that normal. Currently I am using a ratio of 2 Primer:1 Catalyst: 0.5 Reducer and it sprays great from the HF HVLP Touch-up gun. I am certainly no expert, just doing what I am told. :)
 
I use the HF Detail HVLP gun to shoot my AFS primer. It works great as long as you filter the paint before filling the cup up. The biggest problem I found was the instructions that came with the gun, it didn't explain any of the various knobs and screws (Thanks sf3543! I'll have to print that out and save it.) The biggest thing that sticks out in my mind about the instructions is that it tells you to make sure to put 2 drops of oil in it every day. (I didn't, I use a clean hose and plug it straight into my filter, removing the oiler form the line. At any rate it worked OK for my.

Jeff
 
I have both the large and small HF HVLP guns. Got 'em both on sale, and they're a good value for shooting primer. I actually like the smaller cup, since I tend to make the primer up in smaller batches and waste less of it.

At first I didn't know how to properly set up an HVLP gun, but then found this link -

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/HVLPspraygun.html

It has some good information on setting up and using Harbor Freight's guns.

Hope this helps...

Dave
 
Comment on the plastic cup

I just wanted to comment on the 20. oz plastic cup on harbor freights HVLP gravity gun. If you do buy one, It is a good idea to open the cup and see how the threaded metal adapter is attaches to the gun, the round one is more durable than the hexed one. I have one of each and the hexed one worked loose from open and closing the cup without holding the cup itself while the other one has lasted me a year so far without any problems. Also I'd like to say they are the best gun for the price I spray lacquer with them and they always create a flawless finish, just remember to keep it clean
 
I agree

My painting coach who has been painting for 20 years threw a gun at me when I was starting on my interior saying "this is the best gun I own"...Er...Ok this is from Harbor freight (I'm now looking at all the Devibliss gear on his shelf)

"Thats what i said...its the best gun i own"

I eventually bought both sizes and painted the whole airplane with them...looks hot!

I used the $14.00 gravity feed gun for primer (lloks exactly the same as the HVLP gun but does not have "HVLP" stamped on the side...But perfect for primer.

I also found that winding the air plressure up to about 45psi gave much better results than the 28 they suggest.

other than that they are cheap and awesome guns!

Frank
 
Harbor Freight HVLP gun

I used this gun to paint my interior of my RV7a and to prime and paint my panel and I pleased with the results.
 
Metal cup

I have the large gun and I love it. I've been using it to spray P60 G2 and it works great. Low pressure about 35-40 psi works good for me. Also I changed out the plastic cup on my gun to the metal cup with the rubber lid. The lid opens much easier and the vent on top doesn't leak when I tilt the gun forward like the plastic cup did.
 
I've got the HF gravity feed with the 32 ounce plastic cup, works great for me shooting AKZO. I tested the feed cup first thing for exposure to laquer thinner and MEK, no issues.
 
I bought the same gun from Harbor Freight a couple years ago to shoot my interior & it worked great.
 
Turbine?

I don't see any mention of turbines here (just an hvlp gun with a normal compressor right?)

I am ready to start setting up for the paint process and thought a turbine style compressor might eliminate a few things like filters for oil/water, undersized compressor, air temp issues?

Does HF sell something like this, will it address some of my concerns, is it needed?

I will be painting in the hanger, in the midwest (RV-6). I have painted some with a standard gun but I want to use hvlp because of what I read about reducing the overspray.

What about using the water based paint I read about somewhere here on the site? Any experience with that in an hvlp? Is that stuff new, I have not heard of it until recently.

Thanks for all the great info!

Jim
 
Prices...

The link in post #1 shows a HF price of $29 on-line to-day.

My local HF had them for $54 yesterday ($59 for the large cup one).

If you want one, buy it on-line now....:)

Pressures...

I'm not sure if the 43 psi is the recommended pressure, or the maximum pressure that give 10 psi at the cap.
IIRC, the 10 psi cap pressure is what makes it a HVLP gun, which is mandated in some localities...

I have an almost identical 15+ year old Taiwanese gun, and it seems happiest at the 40 psi mark. That cost me almost $100 back then.... which shows the price drops due to Chinese production and HF stores...:)

gil A
 
HF instructions

I beleive my HF guns came with instructions to run at 28psi...I found about 45 gave much better results.

As to oiling the gun don't even think about it..I started by using an air hose that had used an oiler for a few years...i got fisheyes all over my paint.

Fortunately I figured what was going on, bought brand new hoses, used and oil free air compressor and got fantastic results from then on.

The trick wih the plastic cups is to make sure they are clean and leave the lids unscrewed...I permanently glued a lid on my primer gun when I sort of forgot to clean the threads properly...:)

Frank
 
turbine

jmid
I painted my 9 with a turbine and of course the job is only as good as the painter, and I have never been accused of being a painter.
The turbine paint setup is better than the other kind of course but they cost hundreds of dollars more. They put out no oil or water and the warm air can help avoid runs to an extent. I think one can do as good af a job with the cheaper guns. They may take more skill to run but so what you built or are building an aircraft, right? so you can learn the art of painting if you try. Buy the cheep one from HF and have a go. One disadvantage with a true HVLP is the 3/4" hose you have to drag around.
 
At the gun

tin man said:
Where are you measuring the pressure at? Gun or compressor?
Thanks
Tin Man
Click to expand...

Using the little guage they give you...Set it up by pulling the trigger and setting the pressure....Preferably before you put expensive paint in the cup...:)

Frank
 
You must log in or register to reply here.