HVLP vs LVHP spraygun, which should I buy? [Picture] - created 09-10-2010

wood, kif - 09/10/2010.05:29:44

My early instruments were always 'french polished', but being rather lazy, I started using Nitro precat with an LVHP spraygun. The gun now needs new needles and jet, and it is probably cheaper to buy a new gun.

I am wondering if I should try an HVLP gun instead. I have no experience with this type, and any advice would be appreciated.

I do not go for hi-gloss on any acoustic. The usual finish is fine wirewool satin. I only use precat 'Basecoat' which seems to maintain a 'mechanical' finish similar to Shellac...it does not have the 'plastic' surface that occurs when a precat 'topcoat' is applied, and I apply no further finish.

Hi Kif,

But there are exceptions. My HVLP conversion gun uses very little air (a little over 2 cfm) and atomizes MUCH better than my old conventional gun. It is an Italian made Walcom, door jamb size. Me likey.

Same here; my gun(DeVilbiss SRi) is California certified(or some such thing). It's a conversion gun, but is also very efficient. It was readily apparent simply by how little overspray was in the booth the first time I shot with it!

I'd never, ever go back to a conventional gun.

I use a Walcom EGO, probably the same gun Barry uses. I wouldn't consider using a convential gun.

FWIW, at least here in North Carolina, there's some new laws starting soon requiring automotive body shops to use HVLP guns that meet certain specs. Probably the "California" specs Mario mentioned.

I use standard guns, no HVLP, no gravity feed, nothing new-fangled, and my finishes turn out fine.

For the record, I've sprayed for over 30 years, cars to instruments to cabinets, I've used HVLP and other methods and I see no advantage for my situation.

I use standard guns, no HVLP, no gravity feed, nothing new-fangled, and my finishes turn out fine.

Finish quality, as long as you know your gun and adjust it correctly(and the guns are of similar quality), will be the same; but the conversion guns waste so much less finish. It's not only a money saver, but a health issue for me. And with the gravity gun, I can mix and shoot as little as 1/4oz of finish if all I want to do is a headstock; a siphon gun wouldn't even pick up 1/4oz. And it'll never spit. Cleanup also uses much less solvent.

If buying a new gun, there's simply no disadvantage to the gravity feed conversion gun. If you like your old gun, it's fine to stick with it.

I switched to a conversion gun a few years ago and love it for the same reason Mario does.

I'll add one asterisk though: If you're planning to burst, you might need an airbrush or HP gun to get the fine atomization necessary. Or possibly, you might have to spend more on your gun than you intended/

It may be that I didn't know what I was doing but with my gun, (an Asturo http://www.spraygunworld.com/products/Asturo/WB%20Kit/IndexWBII.html ) I was unable to get the finish to atomize well enough to do an acceptable burst. I could swear I've heard that there are others that use some of the higher dollar HVLP guns to burs and it works just fine. I ended up buying an airbrush for bursting.

Hopefully some others will chime in with shading experience with an HVLP

I have a no-name $15 conversion gun. It atomizes well enough to do bursts.

I own two HVLP-conversion guns, one from Porter Cable and another no-name from the local Sherwin Williams automotive paints store. I have to say I've been very happy with both, though the no-name does produce a finer atomization. Overall, I spray mainly lacquer and have had no problems (except my compressor ohas been down for quite some time.)

I do own a Binks 2001 and Model 7, and they're both excellent guns, but I think my days of shooting lacquer at 60PSI are long gone. I also own a Turbineair system that I used mainly for water-borne finishes, but I have not used it for musical instruments.

I have to agree with Mario about the greatly reduced blow-back, and the conveniece of gravity-feed....

As for HVLP saving on material and reducing overspray, that can be true with a good operator, but considering the amount of finish I spray in a year, it would take me the rest of the century to pay for the gun and conversion system with material savings, so the only real advantage I could gain from changing over would be less overspray, and overspray is not really a problem for me.

My preferred spray gun is a standard gun with pressure feed from a remote pressure pot. The gun is very light to handle with no attached paint cup and I can spray much faster because there is no sloshing of the material to cause bubbles, spits or other problems. That is what I will get back to eventually.

For someone starting from scratch setting up a system, HVLP may be a good choice, but unless you're spraying as much finish as Taylor, dollar savings on material will not add up to much, so reduced overspray and the potential for smoother sprays (more dependent on the operator, really) are the advantages to consider.

I do sunbursts by either rubbing the dyes directly on the wood or by spraying with an airbrush, or a combination of those. I see no reason why I couldn't spray a good 'burst with the spray gun I'm using though, if the situation came up.

I used to use my airbrush for bursts, but now use the same SRi gun as I do for the finish. It will shoot very fine.

Here's the latest burst I've shot with it(compressing the photo for the forum makes it look grainier than it is).

but considering the amount of finish I spray in a year, it would take me the rest of the century to pay for the gun and conversion system with material savings

Right; like I said, if you like your present gun, there's no need to change. But that isn't the original poster's question.

Looks good to me, Mario!

John I also used a pressure pot with the Binks guns, the problem for me is unless I'm doing a lot of spraying, it's a pain for me to bleed and clean the lines; though admittedly, it's a heluva lot easier to spray without a cup attached to a gun. My Turbineair system has a pressure pot, but it's small and meant to be carried with a strap or on a stand, and the lines are short enough where cleaning them out is no big deal. Also, you can get a decent HVLP conversion for under $200, and it could come in real handy, especially if you don't have teh cash to outlay on several guns if you do multi-color stuff...

FYI, I just boght a Walcom EGO gun. The cheapest I found it was on E-Bay from seller WalMec_2008 (which is a store). They have them for $204 and $215 delivered (my cost). The list price is over $400 and other places sell them for over $300.

though admittedly, it's a heluva lot easier to spray without a cup attached to a gun.

With an older, full sized gun, yes, but a gravity feed gun can use smaller, lighter cups. I use 4oz plastic cups that weight nothing. 1-1/2oz of finish shoots a coat on a body and neck. There's very little weight there, and it's balanced beautifully.

The savings in material are real; my gun likely paid for itself in three years(I just did the math real quick).

Thanks everyone...useful info. I have just ordered a normal HP gun identical to 'old faithful' so I can at least continue as before. However the positives about the LP systems has got me to order a couple of LP gravity fed guns as well; 1x100ml and 1x600ml. They come as a set and are relatively cheap.

So...time to learn some new tecniques! The crazy thing is that I was given a serious HVLP system a while back, semi-industrial worth about $1000, but it sucks up about a litre of lacquer before it hits the gun, and cleaning time vs actual spray time was rediculous.

I use a couple Anest Iwata LP100 series guns for spraying colors over clear nitro (aniline in alcohol)as well as spraying the clear base and topcoats. No problem with atomization but I normally mix a tiny amount of nitro in when spraying the dye to make it stick without "blowing out after it hits the surface)

I find, to my disappointment, that the Iwata guns don't seem to reduce overspray in spite of being gravity fed HVLP. I run about 25 PSI at the regulator after which there is about 5' of hose. Should be even less PSI at the gun. I'm using the 1.5MM nozzles which are plenty large for dye but great for the nitro.

Do I need to try a smaller nozzle to reduce overspray?

That's a way big needle/nozzle. I run a 1.0mm with polyester.

Re: nozzle/tip size. It's my observation that most people (including myself) use nozzles that are too big. I use a 1.2 and I never have it open all the way. In a perfect world we'd have the right amount of fluid with the needle opened all the way. The correct size would result in a little better control, as well as less wear on the needle and nozzle.