(most other things can be brushed >on successfully),
The lacquer that I spray now is actually spray only. It was not designed or intended to be brushed or padded. This stuff was a real step up for me, and at $42 a gallon it was hard to part with the dough to practice with this stuff.
It is designed for HVLP as atomizing the finish (like the good old high pressure days) will cause dusting of dried particles in the finish.
Just like with all tools, it is almost always the user more than the equipment when you see a failure. I have a Taiwanese touch up gun that I bought from HF about 7-8 years ago that I love. It is a knockoff of a Binks touch up gun, and it works just as well. It is a high pressure gun, but can be powered by a 3hp roll around compressor pretty easily. I put an in line dryer on it and take it to the site to spray industrial urethane on metal doors, burglar bars, custom metal work, etc. It uses a lot more material, but it eats that urethane up.
My other favorite gun (besides my HVLP stuff) is a knockoff of a SATA auto painting gun. It is an HVLP conversion gun (not turbine powered), but puts a great deal of the material on target. This gun has shot everything I shoot, from metal primers to finishing lacquers. If I go to a job that just has one or two things to shoot, I put this gun in the truck with the inline drier, and use a jobsite compressor.
finishing is sort of a chore for me. I >make a point to always do my level best at it, and >research it before doing something new, but it's
I don't like a steady diet of it either. I did a lot of finishing and refinishing for a while, but that has slowed down. I really like to finish here and there, using some of the specialized coatings to make more money.
I have a kick ass super hard enamel (again - no brushing or padding and the colors have to be mixed at the batching plant) that dries in
15 minutes. Recoat in 20. Third coat in 30. Dried for use in one hour. Cured hard in two. Great for handrails at a commercial building , coating metal table frames, chairs, etc. I can start in a morning and have them up by opening for lunch.you're shooting laquer >everyday, you're bound to have preferences
enough. That's the beauty of no >longer doing this stuff for a living- the one or two >things I'm coating are never really that
though I will next week (I'm milling some >custom ash trim for a
I am glad to hear I helped. I spent so damn much time learning some of this stuff I just don't see why someone else should.
Actually I think one of the big differences in the "pro v. hobby" guy is the need for speed. I have seen some non professionals that turn out a pretty damn good product. It takes them longer, but they get there.
For me, the term is "off the gun". My last coat, my finish coat, has to be the money coat. No fisheyes, fruit rind, craters, spots, blemishes, blush, crazing, witness lines, holidays... nada.
But some days, not matter what you do, the finishing sucks. Those days are few and far between for me, but when something goes wrong sometime it just keeps acting up all day. The next day, you follow the same procedures, and it works perfect. Drives ya nuts.
bucket, then setting the open can >of finish in there as well before snapping on the cap
I put the thinner in the bottom of the bucket. and put the gun in there with it still attached to the canister. I just disconnect it from the air and put it in. I have a 2 1/2 gallon bucket that I keep the gun in most of the time, and I actually use that, too. If the gun has an aluminum canister, don't leave it in too long as >some< of them will pit from the thinner. A couple of mine sure did.
Just put the thinner in the pail, put the gun in, snap on the and that's it.
As for the finish, I never leave it open. I am not so much worried about the drying of the top as the attraction of bugs, and any blowing debris.
No matter what I am spraying, I measure out anything that is going into the coating on the side into paper cups I buy at the dollar store. At the last minute, I pour out the finish into the canister after a quick stir. Then I close the can, and put in the additives into the coatings and mix it in the canister.
I usually mix a quart at at time, but usually no more than 1/2 gallon at once. This give me a chance to fine tune the application if I need to. But the key here is to have those adds on the side ready to go and keep that material open for a little time possible and the can sealed tight when not in use.
When I get to the lower third of a can and know I won't be back to it for a couple of weeks or so, I will put a very thin layer of compatible thinner on the top and leave it without mixing. I don't know that it actually does, but it seems to help.
Robert