# Difference between Harbor Freight and Woodcraft HVLP



## BerBer5985 (Oct 10, 2011)

I just sprayed my first cabinet with the cheap harbor freight HVLP gun with Latex and I was impressed with the results for a gun that cost me around $12. I was curious as to what the difference between the Harbor Freight 47016: http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-high-volume-low-pressure-gravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html and the Wood River HVLP Spray gun was http://www.woodcraft.com/product/2021128/25126/woodriver-pro-hvlp-spray-gun-with-600cc-plastic-cup.aspx . They look like the same gun. The reason I ask is I notice woodcraft sells the 2.0mm tip for their gun and it looks like it would fit the harbor freight gun as well to make spraying thicker finishes easier. I also am considering buying the harbor freight 2 piece kit http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-automotive-hvlp-spray-gun-kit-94572.html which has smaller gun with a 1.0mm tip, and the larger gun with the 1.4mm and the 1.8mm which would also work I believe. I was pretty impressed with the cheaper harbor freight in regards to spray finishing. It was my first go round and I was pleased with the results. A little more practice, and I think it'd look pretty darn perfect. The finish was smooth as a baby's butt and no sags or runs to speak of. I think it would have been a little better with a larger tip, but I can't complain at all.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

A lot of HF tools and such have gotten much better than the past. They still have some "crap", I'll call it, but, they also have some hidden gems as well.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I would not be surprised if it is the same gun.

I was looking for a small belt sander, and found one at Grizzly's website for $65. Then I looked at Harbor Freight, and they were selling the *identical* sander for $40.

I have the Wood River gun, by the way, and it works quite well from what little I have used it.


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## HalDougherty (Jul 15, 2009)

I own several HF tools and I've been pleased wth almost all of them. The few I've purchased that were junk, I took back before 30 days. The last tool I bought from HF was the 4X24 belt sander. It's a heavy duty belt sander. I am very impressed with this sander. Only don't use it on anything you don't want a lot of material removed quickly!


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## americanwoodworker (Nov 26, 2011)

I have been looking for the video I watched, and can't find it. But it was by Bob Flexner who showed the difference between a "cheaper" gun and a more "expensive" one. He had a white board up and put a dark stain in each gun. He then sprayed the wall once, right to left, with each gun. The results showed the Cheaper gun was blotchy. It sprayed but was not uniform and had many light and dark spots. While the more expensive gun was an even, more perfect "mist".

While this video was probably 20+ years old and today's technology makes the "cheaper" items pretty equal to the more expensive competition. I think you may be able to do a similar test on your own to check the spray pattern of your gun.


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