Lvlp experience...

J

JayL

Has anyone had much experience spraying with LVLP?

I am using a LVLP gun because I have to. My compressor does 6cfm at 40psi and my gun is using less than 4cfm.

Now I understand with HVLP that I should be spraying base/color coats with 2or 3 coats max.

First coat is a light/medium wet coat
Second coat wet coat
Third coat wet coat

I have found that with this LVLP gun I can not do this as it is not atomizing the material the same way.

I am having to do many light coats and eventually it is getting complete coverage and color.

I am finding that about 8 or 9 coats that are basically misted on give me complete coverage.

Is this just what I have to do with an LVLP gun vs a HVLP gun?

Thanks in advance.
Jay
Tampa, FL
 
Way to low cfm for an RP, LP or Hvlp. best you will do is a small fender and then wait for compressor to build.
8 to 9 mist coats will not work, you will have a stronger paint job with an aerosol can, not being rude but you need to hear the truth now instead of after 200 hours of work and $1000 of material and then be told you need to start over.
 
Barry;38392 said:
Way to low cfm for an RP, LP or Hvlp. best you will do is a small fender and then wait for compressor to build.
8 to 9 mist coats will not work, you will have a stronger paint job with an aerosol can, not being rude but you need to hear the truth now instead of after 200 hours of work and $1000 of material and then be told you need to start over.
Click to expand...

Barry,

I appreciate the input.

Here is what I am using to paint guitars:

Gun
http://www.amazon.com/SPRAYIT-SP-33...1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407781563&sr=8-1&keywords=lvlp

Compressor
http://www.harborfreight.com/26-gal-18-hp-150-psi-oilless-air-compressor-68067.html

Following the manufacturers suggestions about set up this compressor should run this gun with no issues.

I specifically bought both of these based on setting up a spary system that I could use from my garage and not break the bank in the process.

Am I just out of luck?

LMK

Thanks.
Jay
 
even 6 cfm is not going to run a gun . i doubt the compressor will do that. it's good for airing up tires and not much else. a 3 hp is the smallest you can use. as for the gun i would not put much stock in any claims by them.
 
Your compressor is pumping against a tank that is
150 PSI, therefore it is pumping a makeup of 4CFM.
That 6 is only at 40 PSI. Your tank should never be that low.
That 40 PSI rating is a useless number.
You don't have enough for HVLP or LVLP.
You can get by with a conventional gun.
There are Binks copies out there that will spray with that.
I used one for years, turned down the PSI and it
still sprayed well at 35 PSI, and only used about 4 CFM that way.
Astro sells one for under $100.00.
They actually spray pretty good, I still have one.

http://www.spraygunworld.com/products/Astro/Astro Pneumatic - APAS7SP.htm
 
even those guns call for a min of 3hp and around 10 cfm. paint does weird shit when not atomized well . we got away with it in the lacquer days but then lacquer could be brushed on. do yourself a favor and shoot for a better compressor .
 
Thanks JC.

I took a look at that gun and it states that its average air consumption is 7-12 CFM.

Do you think my compressor will be able to handle that?

I don't mind buying another gun if its going to work.

Jay
 
if your hell bent on keeping that compressor you will have to buy a top shelf gun such as the iwata lph50 . these are the only guns that will work on min cfm. great for a guitar but would be useless on a car .
 
Your compressor will not come close.

to get consists results you need air flow that will keep up.
 
A belt drive 2 horsepower compressor is a better choice for this situation.
 
OK I took JC's suggestion and got a siphon gun.

The over spray sucks compared to what I was using but its working nice

I set the PSI to about 50 and under trigger it was at about 35/40.

It did a much better job with coverage but I really need to work on my technique. Lots of orange peel.

I can't begin to tell you what a difference it made with material coverage. I did three coats with the siphon gun and could not see the primer at all. (Where as I did about 8 or 9 mist coats and could still see it in certain areas with the other gun.)

One thing I have noticed is that I have a bunch of "grit" from the pigment, even after straining it with a 125 micron strainer. (See pic below)
Headstock - Grit.jpg

Further back it is looking nice. (Will look better once I wet sand back the crap and then color coat it.)
Black Base - Back.jpg

Lots of orange peel
Black Base - Back 02.jpg

A crappy mirror. ;)
Black Base - Mirror.jpg

Does any know if I can strain this paint through a coffee filter to get rid of the fine pigment particles? Is there a better solution?

Thanks again for all your advice. It is very much appreciated.

Jay
Tampa, FL
 
crashtech;38543 said:
I assume you are using conventional strainers from the paint store?
Click to expand...

I am using 125 Micron strainers from TCP. 125 Micron seem to be the smallest ones I could find.

I have since contacted the people I got the pigment from and they suggest using a paint muller to grind the pigment to an even smaller grain.
 
So in keeping people in the loop, I decided to try using the LVLP gun again. (After Tony sent me a PM and gave me a few pointers.)

Well I am happy to say that the LVLP gun on my little Harbor Freight compressor is doing an excellent job.

The problem I was having was the in-line desiccant filter was killing my air flow. (there were a few other tweaks all suggested by Tony that were done too but the filter was the biggie)

So now that the equipment is working as it should I can focus on my technique. (Stupid Orange peel)

For those of us that do not have the space or the financial where with all to have a compressor that is pumping out HVLP level CFM's this is really a good option.

I know its not the preferred way to go but it is working great for me and my guitars.

Heck I might even paint some Motorcycle Fenders and fairings once I get my technique down.

Thank you again for all your help and advice.

Jay
Tampa, FL

Prescott - Base - Back.jpg

Prescott - Base - Front.jpg
 
So here is the color coat applied.

Looking pretty good I think. But I am a little biased.

After first coat of color
image.jpg

Headstock
image.jpg

Final color coat in the shade
image.jpg

Final color coat in the sun
image.jpg

As always thanks for the input

Jay
Tampa, FL
 
Those are very good results! Great job, Jay! Glad I could help out!

Tony
 
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