Earlex HV5000 (or similar) Turbine Paint Spray Finishers - created 10-19-2010

Rhoney, Paul - 10/19/2010.14:22:21
Proud recipient of the American Dream.

I'm very interested in picking up an Earlex HV5000. I have a friend who recently exhausted his second air compressor and decided to give the Earlex a go. He says that it sprays lacquer beautifully, and he's spraying guitars with it.

I would have bought an air compressor and set up a proper spray booth by now if it weren't for the fact that I live and work in an apartment. I already make too much noise, and bringing an air compressor in would just be overkill. So the lower noise of a turbine HVLP system really appeals to me. I know that turbine sprayers are more expensive, but at this point price is not as much of an issue as just being able to do it myself.

I read up a little on specs, and it looks like the Earlex puts out a maximum of only 2psi, which seems really low to me. Don't we typically need more like 3-4psi for spraying lacquer? I only have a little bit of experience with spray finishing, but is it a matter of using the right psi for the gun and such?

I have that model and just did my blue guitar with it. I really like it! It's good for the money and ideal for you since you're in an appartment. You're only other choice is a hand-applied finish. The noise it makes is about as loud a shop-vac so it's still not something you can use in the middle of the night, but compared to a compressor, it's doable.

Marc (The Wood Whisperer) has a great review on it. That was the final thing that sold me on it.

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-45-music-to-my-earlex/

Your going to spray lacquer in an apartment???

spray lacquer in an apartment

Yikes! That won't make your family or neighbors very happy.

Well no, I wouldn't actually be spraying lacquer in the apartment. I have a balcony attached my apartment that I would set a booth up on. It would be very much outside.

Apologies for the confusion.

Hi Paul,

Picking the right time to do it might be the key to keeping the peace.

Some lacquers are less noxious smelling than others, but most have a strong odor. If I were in close proximity to my neighbors I think I would go with a good brush and brushing lacquer, and use a box to keep dust off while the lacquer dried. It is a bit more work to sand and buff out, but with the money not spent on spray equipment you could buy a good buffer.

But you know your neighbors and situation better than any of us, and things might work fine with the turbine. They do seem to atomize less and produce less overspray, an advantage over a conventional spray gun.

I have been using a Titan T.S.40 turbine for years now.It sprays lacquer like a dream,also latex, oil,etc.I buy my lacquer locally at a shop that makes nitro primaraly for furniture.In the past I used a compressor and gun but this has far less overspray and the results are far superior.I must add that it is loud.Cheers,J.A.

Well, I just pulled the trigger on the Earlex HV5000. I have some upcoming finishing work to do and I don't want to struggle with finishing any more.

I'm going to get some 2x4's and plastic sheeting and convert the balcony on my apartment in to a spray booth. If I plan it all out well enough then I don't think I'll bother my neighbors or anyone in my home with lacquer fumes or overspray. I'll still have to deal with spraying in cold weather, and venting the booth so as not to kill myself in there, but I'm excited about this new direction for my finishing needs.

I'll report back here with a review of the machine after I've had a chance to put it through its paces.

Well, I've had the Earlex for a few weeks now. I must say, it's perfect for my needs. I really couldn't have asked for anything more, and I think that I'll continue using the machine for a long time.

I'm happy with the the atomization, though it's not as fine as an air compressor setup. It's about the same quality is a really nice rattle can, which is what I'm used to, and really not a problem for me. So there's some orange peel that has to be sanded back to level, but nothing serious. In fact, this may just be an issue I'm dealing with spraying the white-tinted lacquer I'm currently using. The white pigment seems to make everything a little more difficult. I think that when I get to my acrylic lacquer color coats it may go down smoother.

One thing I really like is that, as I had hoped, the machine is not very loud. I don't feel like my neighbors will ever have anything to complain about with me using this machine noise-wise. I still have to build the booth to contain my mist, but at least I don't have to feel like I'm going to get in trouble if I spray a few coats earlier in the morning, or a little later in the evening.

The only things I can think of that I'm not crazy about are that the machine only has one gun you can use with it, and it's a big gun. There's a few tip sizes (I'm using the 1.5mm) available, and I plan on getting a smaller tip kit, but I wish that they made either a second, smaller gun, or just a smaller cup kit that you could get for it. It's not like it's that heavy really, or that cumbersome, but I would feel better about spraying sometimes, if I had a smaller, lighter gun.

I think you'll get better results when you get the 1mm tip. That's my go-to size. You should have very little orange-peel when you get it all figured out on dialing it in and technique.

That's kind of what I was thinking, but good to hear a second opinion on that. Thanks Nick!

I thought I would do a quick update on some of my further experiences with my Earlex HV5000, before this discussion disappears. I want to make sure it sticks around long enough so I can write something up about the 1mm, after I get a chance to use it.

However, so far I haven't used the 1mm tip. I've been using a 1.5mm tip, and I gotta say, I love this paint sprayer. In just a short time I've learned how I should formulate my paint differently to get good results with this sprayer, and I'm in heaven, getting great results. My orange peel has gone down quite a bit, I'm thinning the lacquer way less. So it takes fewer coats, and with how few good spraying days I get, that matters a lot.

Yesterday I sprayed white-pigmented clear lacquer (McFadden's) on one body (Fender-style bolt-on), and over one whole guitar (LP Jr.-style set-neck), and both came out looking great. I brought the LP Jr. inside for just long enough to spray red acrylic lacquer on the Fender-style body and it looks amazing. One coat and I'm done. I'll need to sand it back slightly to really make sure it's perfect and spray another coat of red. But both guitars are looking fabulous, and I couldn't have done it so fast without the Earlex.

Another thing I want to do is get a second gun, possibly one with a smaller can (if they make one), so I can switch colors without having to clean the gun between. Just in case I have another day like this where I want to shoot more than one color.

You'll want a full-gun and cup setup if you intend to switch colors. You don't want to have any residual paint in the gun to mix in with the new batch when you start to spray the 2nd color.

I agree a smaller cup would be nice for the quantity of material we're spraying on a guitar, but it would have to be the same height and only be skinnier in width. Otherwise, you won't be able to set the gun down unless you hang it. Even then, I think it would be too unstable to for the gun to stand on its own.

Yes, I meant to say that I want to get a second full gun with cup and everything. Detaching the hose from the gun on this machine is stupidly easy, so just swapping out the whole gun between two preloaded with different colors is what I mean.

But I would still like to have at least one gun with a smaller cup, and I'm not too worried about whether or not I could stand it up on it's own. Others might though, so you make a good point.

There's been times when something happened while I was spraying (like debris landing in the finish or the hanger for the guitar didn't work out like planned) and I needed to set the gun down, but I couldn't reach back to set it in the turbine and I needed to act fast. Being able to let the gun stand on its own is great!