HVLP or Standard for farm enamel?

RC Brooks

Member
I'm probably going to use valspar on two of our tractors here shortly. I don't paint much, but have been considering picking up an HVLP. Now, I've never shot enamel (scale models not included), but being a heavy paint I was thinking my old Devilbiss MBC or Binks 19 might do just fine. And, I've got the feeling a cheap HVLP is just going to be... cheap.

Anyone still use the old spray guns? Would a cheap HVLP still be better than a higher quality standard?
 
Your old spray guns would work fine for an alkyd enamel. I like that type sprayer better than the HVLP especially the gravity feed ones. I only use a gravity feed sprayer when I'm using small batches of catalyzed paint like urethanes where I can use every drop.

The enamel paint is thick so you will need to thin it. I use naphtha for thinning it for spraying and use as little as possible to make it spray. If you thin it too much it is more prone to run and screw up the sheen.

One thing about Valspar paint if you are using a color that is red to orange it will fade very bad. You would be better off with an industrial enamel from one of the major paint companies. Just provide them with a small sample and they can computer match the color. I painted a Kubota tractor with Valspar tractor paint and within a year it was noticeably lighter.
 
You have an MBC and never shot enamel? An MBC, being a high production gun, seems a poor choice for painting conventionally-sized models. Enamel is a heavy paint? It's no heavier than anything else if reduced to the proper air-spraying consistency as recommended by the paint manufacturer. Maybe I'm not reading your post correctly though.

I have an old (non HVLP) DeVilbiss JGA that I use in a pressure feed/remote cup configuration. I also have a relatively inexpensive full-sized HVLP gun with gravity cup and an expensive DeVilbiss HVLP spot gun with gravity cup. I used the JGA for years before I decided to try HVLP. In comparison, when using the full-sized HVLP gun I feel like I'm painting in slow motion plus I dislike the weight of a full gravity cup in my gun hand. I suppose that's because I'm used to the pressure feed/remote cup with the JGA. The HVLP spot gun works well and the cup is small enough so as not to add objectionable weight. I use that for anything where the object size will permit a complete coat without stopping to refill the cup - which includes most tractor parts if done separately. Otherwise, my choice goes back to the JGA, which also excels at upside down and way out-of-position spraying. The only advantage I'll give to the full-sized HVLP gun, at least for me, is easier cleaning, which is the case with all gravity feed guns. Also with a gravity feed gun w/o a screw-on cover, you run some risk of dumping much of a cup of paint when painting above the horizontal. That's happened to me and it makes a terrible mess, not to mention a complete halt to painting when in midcoat.

Since I'm an individual "hobby painter", any laws/regulations requiring HVLP do not apply (yet) to me and the only decision I have to make is to use the JGA or the spot gun. If I were in the business or using expensive high-end paint products, it would likely be a different story. If you're used to the MBC, I'd use it without hesitation. I think you'd find that a modern HVLP gun, either cheap or expensive, is a different experience that requires some getting used to. If, however, you've never used it for enamel, it probably doesn't matter and you're in for a new experience anyway. There should be no difference in the reduction (thinning) of any enamel using HVLP or non-HVLP.
 
I bought a Bigtex trailer painted with Yellow Valspar a couple of years ago. At least it had a decal on it showing it was painted with Valspar The paint is soft and fading quickly, paint not the only disappointment in the trailer though.
 
I have very little experience with suction feed guns. Thus I don't notice any difference in HVLP. The first tractor I painted with HVLP worked--I was surprised at how easy the gun was to use. With HVLP you can run the gun dry without sputtering or spattering. You simply add paint and pick up where you left off, although I try not to run out with a topcoat. It amounts to what you are used to. Also, you don't need to continually experiment with pressure or fluid settings. Set the air to what it says on the gun and run the pattern and flow wide open and forget it. For smaller parts and many larger parts use a touch up gun, which I probably use 95% of the time. For someone like myself who had never painted or painted very little, there is no question--use HVLP.
 
Well, seems like I should invest in an HVLP. My experience with Devilbiss has been a positive one. So a gravity feed will be fine? No need for a pressure pot?

Good to find out about the Valspar. These are red tractors so good to know :)

Well, I guess I'll shop around some... and read some more.
 
Those HVLP guns needs a good compressor. Check the cfm's on your gun and your compressor. HV means High Volume. I would also use a good grade of paint. We called that cheap paint whale oil. If you use Dupont or PPG paint use their paint thinner and primer. Hal
 

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