HVLP gun

I know this topic has probably been covered, but I thought I would still ask advice on this. I have recently turned my old mini barn into a paint booth. Lights, exhaust fan, etc.

I also have heard the HVLP gun uses less paint, less overspray, etc.

I am basically looking for any advice on this. My gun is a new one I got from Lowe's - nothing special.

Any tricks or advice before I attempt using it is appreciated.

You should read the instructions that came with your gun. You need to see if your compressor has enough capacity to supply air when painting. The HVLP spray guns consume a lot of air. Hal

Hal,

thanks for response. I have a 2-stage 80-gallon compressor. I run a blast cabinet with it, so I think I will be fine.

Thanks

Set the pressure that is marked on the gun, that will give you the 10 psi required at the tip. If you use the widest pattern you do not need to make any further adjustments. Set the pressure with the regulator on the wall reading the pressure at the gauge on the gun. I have an air regulator on the gun and set it wide open to avoid hitting it while painting. Better is just a gauge as the regulator is not needed. If you think the pattern is too wide for what you are painting, use a touchup gun adjusted the same way. This way it works every time, you do not need to adjust the guns for different size parts.

I'll add that if your gun has an internal strainer in the recess where the cup attaches, take it out and leave it out. Those internal strainers tend to restrict flow to the gun nozzle and are more of a PITA than a help. They're not necessary if you strain your paint when filling the cup using the cone strainers you get free from your paint jobber, as you should be doing anyway.

I have always wondered if the internal strainers restrict flow. I filter my paint in the cone strainer before I put it in the gun. Does everyone remove those internal strainers also?

My personal experience is yes, they do restrict flow, even when they are perfectly clean. I don't know if current high-end guns have such strainers...my older DeVilbiss guns do not. I purchased an inexpensive gravity feed hvlp gun from Home Depot to spray some POR15 as I was nervous about putting that stuff through my DeVilbiss. On first use I noticed a paint flow significantly less than what I expected. It seemed like the gun was being starved of paint. Upon investigation, I found the gun had an internal strainer in the cavity where the cup screws on. I was surprised to find it as my other gravity guns did not have such a part. I removed it and the gun then sprayed much better. Here's what it looks like after removal:



Notice the "snout" to the right of the screen area. That snout protrudes through a circular opening in the gun recess that is not much bigger in diameter than the spherical bulb at the end of the snout. That fact alone, creates an annular area for paint to flow through that is significantly less than the full circular area of that opening. While that snout may be a way of metering maximum flow to the tip to keep it within the capacity of the air cap to atomize properly, I had no problems with atomization without that strainer in place and using the recommended maximum air pressure of 40 psig stamped on the gun handle. In my opinion, the gun works a LOT better without that strainer, plus it's one less thing to bother with during gun cleaning. Use of the cone filters when filling the cup in the first place eliminates any need for an in-gun strainer. I don't know what others do but I leave that internal strainer out.

I have Sharpe and Sata full size guns with the strainers, same brands touch up guns without (they would have to be much smaller). I replace them occasionally, have not noticed them plugged or restricting flow. Something to think about though.