What am I in for......??

Getting closer to having to make some choices on putting on a finish.

I figured I'd might as well learn how to spray but I think I've hit problem #1...the compressor I planned on using is my 3 Gallon Craftsman that puts out 2.4 to 3.7 SCFM. As I've looked at some sprayers, I think that's too low. Am I screwed with this compressor? If I am, it's OK to be blunt!

Is there a book like "Spray Painting For Dummies?" that anyone can recommend?

Most of the guns I see are sized to paint a car.....but surely an airbrush type is too small. I was just in Woodcraft today to pick up an order and they have a smaller top feed gun (Woodriver brand but it's probably a Pacific Rim import) that looks about right but what do I know?

Realistically, how much colored lacquer do I have to mix to do a single body. Pint? Quart? I'll be going for a Sonic or Lake Placid Blue kinda color.

These will no doubt be the first of many questions as I know nothing about this skill or equipment.

Thanks for any input that is given.

Your screwed. Probably the very minimum is 5cfm. Stewmac has a really good finishing book. The smaller gun will work but the spray pattern is a bit narrow. A half pint will do about 2-3 bodies.

Ouch. Well they say the truth shall set you free....

That's a bummer because I'm getting tight on space and a bigger compressor is, well, bigger.

Ouch. Well they say the truth shall set you free....

That's a bummer because I'm getting tight on space and a bigger compressor is, well, bigger.

I use a DeVilbiss EGA Touch-Up and an old 3 gallon Craftsman compressor. The compressor is rated as 2.4 CFM and the gun works fine for spraying a guitar body.

I used to use this gun for spraying bike tanks and frames as well as some custom work on hot rods back in the late 60's.

If you can find one of these or the Binks equivalent you should be good to go.

http://www.devilbiss.com/if_01_display.asp?prodid=EGA-503&prodname=EGA%20Touch-Up%20Manual%20Spray%20Gun


Regards,

Well, that sure is encouraging. I keep thinking I've got a 3 gallon tank at 125 psi and a rattle can has little in comparison but it seems like a lot of guys get by with cans. Believe it or not, but I lived next to a guy that painted his car using a refrigerator compressor....it took him a while but he got the job done.

I think I see some experimentation ahead.

Shepherd...Thank for the recomendation of the Stew-Mac Finishing book. I see that JK Lutherie has them and they're close.

Great thread...:cool:

The Stewmac book is excellent, as is their basic finishing DVD (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Video,_DVD/Finishing,_repair/Spray_Finishing.html). I found it particularly useful to actually watch someone doing this.

A touch-up, or jamb gun (they use them in auto factories to spray car door jambs) is a great size for spraying both bodies and necks.

Sears (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915002000P?keyword=spray+gun) (and StewMac (http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Equipment:_Spray_equipment/Spray_Guns.html?tab=Details#details)) have a nice one in the $50 range, but Harbour Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=86) has a $14 Chinese copy of the Tawianese Sears product that is a bargain.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/00000-00099/00086.gif

You need a moisture trap on your compressor and a pressure regulator right at the gun but you can pick those up anywhere.

These jamb guns typically need about 2.8CFM at 30PSI. I think you'd just be okay with your compressor, although with the smaller tank you'd probably want to wait until it fills - in other words, avoid spraying when the motor is running - to avoid any possible surges.

I started out painting guitars with a good quality airbrush. As long as the pattern is fanned out it works well. I got a touchup gun like the one above for about $20 at Home Depot. It is a lot handier. I usually only fill the jar about 1/2 to 2/3 for a guitar body.

So my personal library of instrument books increased by one today after a trip to JK Lutherie (nice folks by the way) to pick up the Stew-Mac finishing book.

This looks like what I needed so thanks for the recommendation. The jamb gun looks like a potential purchase as well. Home Depot carries a Husky version and I'll probably stop in Sears and Harbor Freight tomorrow to see what's available. I'll start putting together the necessary filters and regulators this week.

I picked up a Husky spray gun at Big Lots (don't laugh...) for $15 bucks that's supposed to work at 2 CFM. With any luck, I'll be trying to spray some practice stuff in a couple of weeks. I've got lots of odd cans of stuff that I can thin and shoot.

I"ll try my small compressor first and if that doesn't work, I'll be checking Craig's List for a larger compressor. The Stew-Mac book suggests a 3-5 HP/20-30 Gall. unit.

Mine is a Craftsman Professional, 25 gallon, vertical tank, 5.6CFM at 40psi. It was the largest I could find (more than 10 years ago) that ran off 110v, as my garage isn't wired for 220v. It gets the job done painting and is also fine for auto work, blowing out my lawn sprinklers, etc.

I actually looked at one of those exact Professional models that popped up on Craig's List for $175. At that price it sounded like a great deal but it looked a little rough and had some rust so I passed.

One of the things that I might do is use an auxilliary tank. Craftsman has a 6 gallon tank for about $25. With a regulator right at the jamb gun and 9 gallons at 125 psi behind it, I've got a pretty good chance of making it work as long as don't try for a continuous spray.

And by the way, Harbour Freight is apparently discontinuing their jamb gun and is selling their remaining stock at $15. The store here only had two. Now they only have one. The Sears version is currently $55 and is one of those items that never goes on sale (according to the sales person) since it's a very low volume item. Yeah, I picked up one of those too.......

The DeVilbiss is about $250. No doubt a better gun but a bit too pricey for me at this stage.....maybe in the future.

I also picked up HF's "Industrial" filter/regulator. I usually avoid HF's stuff because of the usual import/quality issues but this unit looked fairly beefy.

What sort of filtration or moisture traps are you guys using? I've got a small dessicant trap that I might consider placing just before the regulator at the gun. It might get a bit bulky but I think it will work.

I'll have to pick up some fittings and hose to start putting things together.

I have both a Sears and a HF jamb gun too. The Sears one is nicer, but it's certainly not 3 times as nice, and both work fine. I cut a hole just a little larger than the container's diameter into my workbench top and the gun sits nicely in there!

I have a moisture trap (from Lowe's) right after the regulator on the compressor, and a small regulator (also from Lowe's - I think they were about $10) just before each gun.

One other thing you need is a good safety mask, one made for organic vapors (not just a dust/particulate mask). They start at about $30. Nitro is nasty stuff and you don't want it in your lungs!

Yeah, I'm just starting to look at masks. When I was picking up my sealer at S&W they had a nice AOSafety full face marked down to $50 but it's the small size and won't fit my 7 3/4 melon.

Do you prefer the full face or mouth/nose?

Another issue I just thought of.....we have natural gas appliances. The problem is that when I'm stripping, staining, painting or finishing the fumes get burned in the dryer or stove. This makes my wife more that a little upset when she gets her clothes out of the dryer and they smell bad. My house is fairly tight and I've actually had the CO detector go off. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage house ventilation. I'll be spraying in a basement that's usually about 60 degrees in the winter which might be a problem with the nitro. I can get a fan over to an outside window but that's going to be the best I can do.

My house has a full basement but I don't have a booth set up. I don't think it would be that hard to do but you would need a large, brushless (nitro vapors are very flammable) extractor fan. The StewMac/Erlewine DVD has some very good info on setting one up.

I spray in my garage close to the doors and with both doors wide open, and cars and motorcycles well out of the way! This leaves me dependent on outdoor temperatures, but I get by.

I use a 3M mouth/nose mask. Spraying on a hot day with a full face would be uncomfortable and the mouth/nose version seals well.