New to Sprayed-On Finishes (and Finishing in General) - Where Do I Start?

[DRiess]

So this is a multi-part question.

My current project is new bedroom furniture for my preteen daughter (dresser, study desk, bed, & storage chest). She wants it to be white. The only paint I'm familiar with is the latex wall paint for your house. It seems too soft and not durable enough for furniture, especially a desk top. Specifically, what products do you recommend and why? I've seen a couple of recommendations here for Sherwin Williams Proclassic 100% Acrylic Latex but I not sure what's better or different between that and regular wall paint.

Because of of the large quantity of painting and the fact that I don't want her furniture to look brushed, I am considering investing in a paint sprayer. I've been researching sprayers and different finishes, including reading old posts here and elsewhere online. But there is a huge variety of different price points and features and I'm fairly lost once I get past the basic type of sprayer. I have no experience with these to know what I might need as opposed to someone that paints houses for a living. My daughter's furniture is my excuse for looking at sprayers but I rarely use paint in my projects so I would rather something that is flexible and that I can learn to use for improving my finishes on other projects. So, what do you have and why do you like it or not? What would you be looking at if you were buying something new today? Several hundred dollars is doable, a thousand is not.

i recognize that this is a broad set of questions that could be tough to answer in a post. If you are willing to talk and share your experience (or meet up if you are in the Charlotte area), shoot me a PM and I'll send you my contact info.

Thanks in advance from a newbie finisher.

Dave

 

[Bas]

Definitely do not use wall paint. You want something that is "non blocking", i.e. hardens so it doesn't feel sticky. Sherwin Williams ProClassic fits the bill, but there are others. If you go to a good paint store they can help you find what you need.

I have the Earlex HPLV5500 sprayer, and I've been very happy with it. Shellac, lacquer, polycrylic etc. all come out great. I've not had a lot of success with paint though, even with aggressive thinning. You may want to consider using white tinted lacquer instead of paint. It dries fast and hard, and it's easy to apply with an HVLP sprayer. This time of year is perfect temperature wise to spray outside too.

The Earlex is ~$300, which, although not cheap, would fit within your budget, and can be used for just about any clear finish.

If you still want to use paint, there are a number of affordable sprayers available, but they do paint only.

One trick I've heard of but not done myself is to paint with a brush, lightly sand it with 320 to remove any brush marks, then top coat with a clear coat with a sprayer. But tinted lacquer seems easier than all that.

 

[Canuck]

I too have used Sherwin Williams Proclassic 100% Acrylic Latex on several pieces of furniture. I usually sand to 180 grit, prime and paint with a 6" roller (flat surfaces) and a good quality 2" brush. Never had issues with this paint levelling extremely well...no brush marks. I too have the Earlex sprayer and usually topcoat with a clear satin General Finishes water based polyacrylic. I end up with a nice smooth, hard and durable finish.

Wayne

 

[golfdad]

Dave lots of good advise on this so far. There are many ways to finish this but spraying is by far the best. If your using a water based finish make sure it’s 100% Acrylic as is SW Pro Classic. A few coats of this sanded lightly in between works well. A topcoat of Polly ads even more protection. If your looking for a strong spraying package I would bump up to Earlex 6900 or similar like Fuji or Apollo. You did not mention if you already have a compressor or not......many ways to go if you already have a good one on site

 

[Plunkett]

My wife and I are fairly new to spray finishing as well. We did splurge on a Fuji MiniMite 3 turbine system. My wife sprayed General Finishes milk paint (thinned by 5-10%) with a 1.8 needle setup. It sprayed really, really well. She sprayed all of our new built-ins and two storage beds we just made for our daughters. She then sprays 3 coats of General Finishes High Performance Topcoat. The combo of General Finishes and the turbine system have worked very well for us beginners. The Fuji system is HVLP so would be applicable to any other spray finishes with the correct size needle setup.

 

[Jeff]

I have the Earlex 5500 HVLP sprayer which works fine for most finishes, but I haven't tried it with paint. It comes with a 2.0mm spray tip and there is a 2.5mm tip available for more viscous finishes (like paint).

I've never used the SW 100% acrylic waterborne but it dries fast, and won't yellow. Supposedly it can be sprayed without thinning but I don't know if the Earlex 5500 will work with it so you may want the 6900 model (3 stage vs 2 stage turbine).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7LCQ6WVkVU

https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/music-to-my-earlex/

 

[JimD]

I have a Fuji mini-mite 3 stage. I spray only water borne finishes with it and have nearly always used Resisthane, either clear or tinted. I put plantation shutters in all the windows of my last house and sprayed them all with Hood Finishes primer and white tinted Resisthane. I went through several gallons of finish. I started with a Wagner conversion gun but didn't get great results due in large part to my small compressor. When I switched to the Fuji, my difficulties were over. The only reason it sprays badly is if I do not set it up right. With settings which are in the right ballpark, I get good results.

Resisthane is rated as acceptable for kitchen cabinets so it is quite durable. 3 coats in a day is not difficult. It sticks to everything so some tarps would definitely be advisable. I used it most recently on a floor to ceiling cabinet in my bathroom. As usual the result was good.

The primer is stain blocking which helped on this cabinet because I used softwood plywood and softwood exclusively. No bleed through of knots.

 

[DRiess]

Thanks everyone for the responses so far. I have a few more questions based on what I'm learning.

Sprayers:
1. Golfdad - I have an air compressor but it is a small pancake compressor so from what I've learned, I don't think it will work well due to low air volume. I don't have space to get something bigger.
2. On the 2-stage vs. 3-stage HVLP sprayers. Is the benefit of the 3-stage that it will push thicker paint or other finishes thru? Or is it additional volume to make large jobs faster? The 3-stage sprayers are all more expensive - are they always better or are there trade-offs as you go up from 2 to 3 stages?
3. Is there a lot of overspray with these? I have to do all my work in my driveway. I doubt my neighbors would look kindly on me painting their houses.
4. Is it trial and error to know what size needle you use or are there guidelines based on viscosity or something? Most of the sprayers I've looked at so far just come with one needle size. How do you know which one to get or do you just need to get them all?



Paint for my daughter's furniture:
1. Do you use a primer for new furniture? I've typically thought of primer a something to cover stains or a dark surface when you are going to a lighter color.
2. Other than sprayability (which is probably dependent on the sprayer I get), is there a difference in the look or durability of tinted lacquer compared to the acrylic paints? I've never used either before and if I've seen it, I didn't recognize there was a difference. Do you need to put anything over the lacquer or is it a single step finish?
3. I think what most of you have done is to use an acrylic paint with a clear top coat. A couple of General Finishes products were mentioned for the top coat.
4. JimD, is the Resisthane a top coat or a primary color or both? I did a quick Google search on it and the manufacturer website didn't say much. Are there local suppliers for it?

That's probably enough for now. Thanks again for the help.
Dave

 

[Jeff]

Most of your questions are already answered in these responses.

A 2 stage HVLP is fine for finishes having a viscosity about like water with a less than 1.5 mm spray tip. The 2-2.5 mm tips are for more viscous liquids and a 3 stage will do better. There isn't overspray with a 2-4 stage HVLP beyond your driveway edges. I get a refrigerator or freezer box from an appliance store, cut it open, and use is as a backdrop spray box.

 

[Pop Golden]

What's wrong with good old oil based enamel? When I bought my Fuji Q-3 there were no 2 stage HVLP around that I knew of. The 3 stage that I have was recommended for the things I spray (shellac & polyurethane) The 4 stage was for latex. For most HVLP equipment they include a viscosity cup. This is make sure that your finish is thinned right. There is little over spray to HVLP. To be called a HVLP sprayer it must deliver 60% or better finish to the project you're spraying. Most do a little better. I use a Fuji #3 Fine needle for my work. I would use a primer as an undercoat on raw wood. I use Zinsser Bulls-Eye Sealcoat universal sanding sealer. Inspite of the description this product is a 2 pound cut de-waxed shellac. since it's de-waxed just about anything can be applied over it. Since it's only 2 pound cut it requires little thinning. My finishing formula is 3 to 5 coats Sealcoat with a final 2 coats of polyurethane on horizontal surfaces. I got this formula from a wood shop that produces very expensive custom furniture. I figured that if it works for them it was good enough to follow suit. It's been working well for me over the years.

Pop :thumbs_up

 

[Phil S]

Check out the Spray-It S33500K kit. It comes with two LVLP guns that will work with your small compressor. It also comes with a variety of needle sizes. A good value at $80

 

[Sp00ks]

There is a lot more experience here than I can provide but I'll give you my experience with a recent project. My first time spraying a finish. (6 drawer platform bed)

I bought the cheapo Rockler HVLP to get into it. My plan is to pick up an Earlex or Fuji in the future. I wanted enough experience with spray finishes to make an educated purchase.
https://www.rockler.com/rockler-hvlp-finishing-sprayer

I used wax-less shellac as a primer/sealer, General finishes milk paint and one of the General finishes water based poly. While I think the supplies were expensive, I am extremely happy with the results. Much better than I thought I could possibly pull off.

If memory serves, I sprayed the shellac straight out of the can, thinned the milk paint and shot the poly without thinning. It's been awhile, that might not be 100% accurate.

 

[JimD]

I buy Resisthane from Hood Finishing. The last gallon I got came dented but not leaking. Fortunately I had an empty container I could transfer the finish to. It was the top that was dented so it would not seal once I opened it. I haven't had that issue previously. But it isn't cheap by the time you add in shipping. I may try something else. I've used tinted Resisthane without the primer but I do not recommend it. It doesn't hide very well. So you have to spray more coats. It works better with the primer first. The primer is very opaque, the lacquer much less so. The primer also seals knots and other things well - it works about like Kilz. In clear finish, I just spray Resisthane with no shellac or anything under it. But tinted I prime.

Water based stuff should spray OK with a 2 stage. I bought a 3 because that is what Fuji had at the time as their least expensive setup. The needle that came with my Fuji is also what you need for water borne finishes. I have been debating getting a bigger one for latex but haven't pulled the trigger. Even with a bigger nozzle set, the input I get is I will still need to thin the latex. You'd probably have to thin a little more with a 2 stage. There are also 4 stage HVLP systems and I suspect they are indicated if you want to make a habit out of spraying latex.

Resisthane and water borne finishes in general are more durable than latex. They also dry a lot faster. Hood sells a little different water borne product for floors but Resisthane durability is more like a floor finish than it is like latex paint.

 

[craftbeerguy]

Hey Dave, Nothing to add to the good advice. I posted a review of my newly acquired Fuji 4 stage under "Reviews". At the least it will provide some feedback on my experience. If you are going the HVLP direction for future projects, you can compare this with Apollo, Earlex or other stages of Fuji. Good luck!

 

[golfdad]

Where is the Review section located

 

[Jeff]

Where is the Review section located

Scroll down in the Forums section. Craftbeerguy hasn't posted his review of the Fuji sprayer yet.

 

[craftbeerguy]

As mentioned, the Reviews are a main topic under Forums. Here is a link to the review posted a while back.

https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64276