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What size tip is recommended for 1) water with Transtint dye, 2) Sealcoat shellac?
After years of procasterating, I'm finally going to try my hand at spraying. My EarlyX 3000 has been a box for 8 years but time has come to use it to "finish" a Hope Chest. The gun comes with a 2.0mm and 1.5mm needle.
Dave
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Smallest size you have for both.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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Thanks Rob. A 1.0mm is available/ can be ordered. Would that be better for the water/dye mix? I', thinking that the shellac is a tad thicker so the 1.5mm should be ok. Comments.
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I only have the 1.0 and 1.4 MM tip sets for my Fuji guns, and I've sprayed both dyes (water) and 1# shellac with both needle sets; no problem.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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07-22-2016, 10:30 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-22-2016, 01:13 PM by Rob Young.
Edit Reason: said something backwards...
)
(07-22-2016, 09:05 AM)Sawdustd Wrote: Thanks Rob. A 1.0mm is available/ can be ordered. Would that be better for the water/dye mix? I', thinking that the shellac is a tad thicker so the 1.5mm should be ok. Comments.
You can contact Earlex tech support and ask them. http://www.earlex.com/contact/
I don't own an Earlex machine, I did my research and ended up with a four-stage A401 from SprayFine ($550). But I did a LOT of reading and emailing of various company's tech support, talking to people I knew that had various systems and even borrowing a couple to play with.
Here's my take.
The 5000/5500 are 2 stage, something like 40 CFM (maybe 60, I can't remember, did a lot of comparison shopping so numbers began to get a little blurred in my head!) and something between 2 and 4 PSI. The 3000, I can't remember how many stages, but it is 20CFM and 1.5psi so probably single stage.
The smaller 1.5mm is probably fine for the "water thin" stuff in either of these systems. And it would save you the hassle of changing things. You can alter the amount of material delivered by changing how far the needle moves inside the gun.
Call around to various stores in your area and beg some large cardboard boxes, cut them up and use them as test targets for your dye and shellac sprayed with the 1.5mm kit. If that works, you have just saved yourself the cost of buying another needle kit. And as an added bonus, you got to practice your technique before heading off to the real project!
(07-22-2016, 09:37 AM)fredhargis Wrote: I only have the 1.0 and 1.4 MM tip sets for my Fuji guns, and I've sprayed both dyes (water) and 1# shellac with both needle sets; no problem.
That's what I'm finding out for my A401. The "default" size is 1.3mm and so far it has done just about everything I've shot at a test board or project. But I will say that I got a little better flowout in hot weather and single coat coverage with GF Milk Paint (an acrylic) and some indoor trim enamel latex using a 1.8mm aircap/needle/nozzle set.
But the 1.3mm has worked great for various cuts of shellac up to 1# spit coats to 3# straight from the can and a couple different brands of waterborne poly. I need to get new vapor cartridges for my mask before I can mess about with lacquer. Spraying shellac, paint & w.b. poly outdoors using my old cartridges, I'm more concerned with the mask filtering the particulate from bounceback than solvent volatiles.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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I use a 1.0 mm N/N with my Qualspray pressure assisted HVLP gun for spraying dye, shellac, and things like BIN and EnduroVar, so that means products up to about 50 seconds through a Ford #4 cup. The Earlex is pressure feed, too, right? If so, I would buy the 1.0 mm N/N for it. 1.8 mm will be way too large. And if you don't have a Ford #4 cup, buy one of those, too. Best $6 you will ever spend related to spraying.
John
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(07-22-2016, 02:47 PM)jteneyck Wrote: I use a 1.0 mm N/N with my Qualspray pressure assisted HVLP gun for spraying dye, shellac, and things like BIN and EnduroVar, so that means products up to about 50 seconds through a Ford #4 cup. The Earlex is pressure feed, too, right? If so, I would buy the 1.0 mm N/N for it. 1.8 mm will be way too large. And if you don't have a Ford #4 cup, buy one of those, too. Best $6 you will ever spend related to spraying.
John
The Qualspray is a conversion gun, right? Looking at Homestead's page, there are both LVLP and HVLP models, and lots of them! Which one are you using?
The Earlex 3000 in question is a (now discontinued) turbine system, and as near as I can find out, a single stage model 20CFM and 1.5psi. OP says he has a 1.5mm and 2.0mm set.
My mention of a 1.8mm was for a different turbine system (and happens to be the one listed recommended by GF for their "milk paint").
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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GF's Milk Paint is pretty high viscosity, I would guess 100 seconds or even higher, so I can see why you would use a 1.8 mm N/N with it.
Yes the Qualspray gun I have is a conversion gun. I have a 60 gal compressor that can output 10+ CFM, so I bought the AM-6008/PPS HVLP Smartpak gun. I pretty much knew what I wanted, but still discussed directly with Jeff to confirm my logic made sense to him before I ordered it. I placed the order at 10 AM and received it the next morning. I can't say enough good things about it, especially the 3M PPS system I chose to go with it. I've had it about 6 months now and have sprayed dye, gallons of Sealcoat shellac, gallons of EnduroVar, etc., BIN pigmented shellac, and Enduro White Poly (100+ seconds) with beautiful results. I'll be spraying BM Advance with it for the first time tomorrow. The pressurized 3M PPS cup allows you to spray at any angle, including upside down. That allows me to reach into things like cabinets and deep drawers at any angle needed to reach the target. I can spray a project much easier and more efficiently than with my gravity feed guns. The PPS system also makes cliean up a snap. The gun seems to be pretty well made and alll wetted parts are SS. It is easy to adjust - just follow the well written directions - and sprays a beautiful pattern.
I think it was well worth the money.
John
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All - Thanks for all the input. I'll try/ test with the 1.5mm needle and go from there.
John - What is a #4 Ford cup?
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A Ford #4 is a cup of a specified size, with a very precisely machined hole in the bottom. If you dunk the cup in a can of fluid, then raise it out so the fluid starts to drain, you can time how long it takes for the fluid to drain. If the fluid is water, it will drain very quickly. If the fluid is honey, it will take much longer. There are a variety of different viscosity cups, a Ford #4 is one, but there are others with different sizes, and there are tables so you can convert the results from one cup to another. The viscosity cups are most useful where you have a finish that you have flexibility in thinning. So if you are using a small needle, and know you want a fluid that drains out of a ford #4 in 30 seconds , and you test your shellac and it takes 50 seconds, then you add more alcohol and test again until the fluid drains out in the time you want. Here is a table that should give you more info http://www.spraygunworld.com/Information...osity.html
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