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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Phil Goldberg on April 17, 2017, 12:33:33 PM
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Before purchasing HVLP equipment I want to ask opinions on the HVLP Turbine (like the Fugi System) vs. traditional compressor and HVLP gun. Also gravity feed vs. siphon feed. Thanks
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Phil I can not comment on the turbine you mention but I will offer what I frugally did for my painting needs
I used to paint cars taught by my dad and inherited a lot of his better guns (Binks Model 29s mostly)
The biggest thing I think is knowing HOW to Properly pick material, thin, and spray properly
I have seen some gorgeous bikes, cars, and airplanes painted with so called junk equipment...by real craftsmen
I also have a crafty daughter who learned airbrushing and I got her mostly top of line stuff. Later when I retired she helped sort of teach me with the expensive tools.
BUT it was she (who owns her own business) who steered me to the lower end things as good enough for my model finishing
That said... if hobby funds are NOT unlimited
There is a LOT of value in most of what Harbor freight has and some of the lower end Hobby Lobby air brushes... The Pasche VL series is low cost and very good for what we do
A $39 small compressor from HF is NOT quite but has all the air and control needed for most all smaller guns we might use
Their (HF) 20 Oz Gravity feed general guns are only $9.99 at any given time...I have 4 of them
A bit more pricey are the 4 Oz fine detail guns at $29 each and I have 2 of them
and of course I use a lot of Rustoleum and Napa DC 540
Truth is I have a LOT more invested in good Respirators than I do in my good enough spray equipment
I guess my advice is... a $4000 ARF can not make you fly like Paul or Brett
a High buck paint sprayer will not make you a Foose level guy either
In ALL cases no mater the tools or medium... good paints...proper mixing, proper filtering, and thinning for the conditions with the correct reducer/additive/thinner are the real keys to success
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In ALL cases no mater the tools or medium... good paints...proper mixing, proper filtering, and thinning for the conditions with the correct reducer/additive/thinner are the real keys to success
Or, you can use aerosol cans, as I did with these models. ;D
CB
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Before purchasing HVLP equipment I want to ask opinions on the HVLP Turbine (like the Fugi System) vs. traditional compressor and HVLP gun. Also gravity feed vs. siphon feed. Thanks
Hi Phil,
An HVLP turbine system has the disadvantage of heating (a lot) the compressed air that is fed to the gun. This can be mitigated somewhat by adding another 25' or so of air hose. Much more simple is the HVLP system using an air compressor; I use gravity feed Sata Jet 3000 guns for large areas and the small Sata Jet gravity feed gun for detail work. For our model painting purposes Fred has the right idea in using the Harbor Freight HVLP gravity feed guns, large for big areas & the detail gun for small stuff. Whatever you do it is vitally important to keep the equipment clean! One other thing about the spray guns: be sure to get the correct size fluid tip & needle for the material. About a 1.3 or 1.4 mm for dope & for 2-part polyurethane (i.e. automotive clear) use a 1.2 mm fluid tip & needle.
Also, invest in an air filter, at least at the compressor & drain it frequently. I use a pressure gauge and flow control valve at the gun for repeatability.
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What size compressor minimum CFM at 40lb pressure? There is so much info out there that I actually just need an experiences person to tell me what rating gravity feed gun and what compressor rating. Will the small 2hp to 3hp with 4 to 6 gallon tank work for intermittent spraying of thinned dope?
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I have written a ton on spray guns,, I recomend somthing like the FInish line series, detail or touch up gun, an airbrush with dope is ONLY good for small areas, you wont be painting more than a 1/2a with it for overall use. And not just because its painfuilly slow, but it wont let you put enough material to get it to flow.
you can use a HF 10 gun if you want, but unless you know what you are doing, you wont know if the problems are you or the gun, ,I totally recomend against it except for maybe primer,,
You can do what you want, but thats my recomendation.
Personally I spray with an Iwata airbrush ( 400$) only for shading and detail, an Iwata cup HVLP gun detail 4oz cup ( again 400 ) I use this for color and intercoat clears. and for Urethane clears I use a Sata Minijet again 400$
Now you do not have to spend that kind fo money , the finish line detail gun is a very good gun for the money , around 100$. It is HYPER critical to keep clean, but as long as it is clean it sprays wonderfully and you can get parts.
for a compressor, they only make pressurized air for the bgun to spray, buy what you can afford, remember the smaller the compressor and more important the tank, the faster it wear out. for modeling, a cheaper compressor is fine as long as it doesnt start puking oil past the piston into your airstream. drain it religiously before spraying, if you can let the tank sit for a bit to cool before you spray so you dont push condensed air through the hose. Use a larger size hose ESPECIALLY with HVLP guns, its HIGH VOLUME, so you need a good crossection on the airhose, also remember the longer the hose is the greater the friction loss and thereby pressure drop there is before the gun. setting the regulator to 40 PSI at the compressor and then pushing it through a 25 foot hose especialy a smaller hose, will net much less than 40 at th egun. ALso , your hose laying ont he cold ground will condense water out of the compressed air and give you fits.
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Before purchasing HVLP equipment I want to ask opinions on the HVLP Turbine (like the Fugi System) vs. traditional compressor and HVLP gun. Also gravity feed vs. siphon feed. Thanks
I use Fuji turbine(more than 10 years) for base and clear but for detail use an airbrush compressor. Big advantage of turbine over compressor is zero humidity in the lines(hot air is dry) and compact size. Spray pattern is much better with turbine but I cannot say for sure because when I bought the Fuji, I also bough a better HVLP gun so it might be the gun and not the compressor.
Abi
السلام عليكم
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I use Fuji turbine(more than 10 years) for base and clear but for detail use an airbrush compressor. Big advantage of turbine over compressor is zero humidity in the lines(hot air is dry) and compact size. Spray pattern is much better with turbine but I cannot say for sure because when I bought the Fuji, I also bough a better HVLP gun so it might be the gun and not the compressor.
Abi
السلام عليكم
Spray pattern has everything to do with the quality & cleanliness of the spraygun, which is why I use the Sata Jet high-zoot gravity guns for everything - both in my business & for my models. When I was using DeVilbiss spray guns way back when they were legal in California they gave as good a pattern as you can get with any gun...even the modern ones.