# Just don't know



## b2rtch

americancanuck good morning . 
You should not have posted this here, as this is not a review.
My recommendation is that you return this gun and buy the one from HF as it as excellent review:
http://www.harborfreight.com/high-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-kit-44677.html

Or you could buy the entry level Earlex HVLP gun, that I use and that I 'love":
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2080723/29702/Earlex-Spray-Station-3500-HVLP.aspx

I hope this help.


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## Gene01

Just maybe the gun's O.K. and you need another compressor. One with more storage capacity or more CFM.


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## americancanuck

I would love to able to try the harbor freight gun. Unfortunately they do not ship to Canada.


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## b2rtch

Do you know anyone in the US who could ship one for you?
My sister ships me stuff from France when I need them
Look around in Canada, much of the stuff sold by HF is sold in Canada under a different brand


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## jumbojack

I got this for Christmas (I asked for it). Used it for the first time yesterday and it did a great job. I have a Bostich pancake compressor and it had no problem keeping up with the small lacquer job on a shoe box.

http://www.amazon.com/Critter-Spray-Products-22032-Siphon/dp/B00006FRPJ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325522747&sr=8-1


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## AlbertaJim

I agree with Gene. While it is low pressure (LP) which ever spray gun you use needs high velocity (HV). Your compressor is likely way too small to work well with an HVLP gun.


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## jumbojack

One downside i have to declare. Overspray is horrendous. Maybe playing with the pressure, more control can be had. I had it set to 30psi at the gun. I am going to play with the pressure today, when it gets over 50 degrees. I had to shoot it about 12 to 15 inches away, considerable overspray but a nice fine mist, similar to the rattle can. One huge plus however is clean up. A separate jar of lacquer thinner, a little shake and a 5 second spray, done.


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## pintodeluxe

I really recommend the Woodriver Pro HVLP gravity feed gun from Woodcraft for $30. It is comparable to the more expensive Porter Cable (I can't tell the difference). The Woodriver gun performance is excellent with my mid-size compressor. Pancake compressors are great for nail guns, but you may slow you down for spraying with any gun.
When in doubt, check that the scfm of the compressor is higher than the scfm of the tool.


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## Sawkerf

Did your gun literature tell you the operating pressure/cfm info. If your pancake is set to 90+ psi, dial it back to around 40 and see if that helps. An HVLP gun wants HIGH volume and LOW pressure. Lowering pressure will raise cfm (volume)


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## Mork

I bought a harbor freight gun for $14 on sale and I'm super pleased with it! This gun (gravity feed) runs on a compressor the same as yours and I'd say it's possible they could be the same gun. Here's the one I have: http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-high-volume-low-pressure-gravity-feed-spray-gun-47016.html

Anyway, the gun has 3 controls and it took me a while to learn how to use them and how they interact. The fan adjustment on the side is pretty simply. I always use some fan even on small parts because it reduces how fast the finish builds and give you more control. The control directly behind the trigger is the fluid volume adjustment and the one on the bottom is air volume. The best way I have found to adjust the gun is to open the fluid volume about half way (maybe a bit more) and close off the air volume adjustment. Now pull the trigger all the way and start turning up the air. At first you will see an actual stream of fluid (finish materiel) coming from the nozzle. As you turn up the air the finish will begin to atomize. When it looks like the finish is adequately atomize open the air just a bit more. Now test the gun on a scrap and see if it puts the finish down smooth. Ultimately you have way better control than a high pressure gun and unless you are doing production work or auto finishes your pancake compressor will probably keep up. For certain, this new gun consumes less than half the air when compared to the high pressure gun I had, the amount of control I have is much better AND the over spray and finish consumption is 90% less. I have a fairly large compressor and I was trying to use my HVLP gun like my old high pressure gun. I figured the air had to be fairly high to atomize the finish but I was wrong. Something else that will fool you, it doesn't look like there is much coming out of the gun but when you start applying the finish you find out its simply putting most the finish one the object you are spraying and not in the air or all over everything in your shop!

I was thinking today… I think I'll go buy 2 more guns before everyone else discovers how great they are and Harbor freight jumps the price up.


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## craftsman on the lake

*Your air volume is the issue here*

I just purchased and began using an hvlp spray gun. I'd say the reason for the problems is that you need a larger compressor. H.V.L.P. High Volume Low Pressure. I have a 60 gallon compressor and my gun really works great. I think you need at least 13 cu ft/minute. Some guns need more. Only a larger compressor can supply this volume or an hvlp compressor specially designed to supply the right air volume. that's your problem. Your compressor will never supply the required air no matter which hvlp gun you use.


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## roman

going to agree with some and say that your compressor cant keep up but you can cheat, by adding an additional tank or tanks then use your pancake to fill the additional tanks with compressed air………..this might permit you to use your gun in short intervals (All pends on the size of the tank)

Seems everyone wants and or calls a gun HVLP……….Most "true" HVLP guns and systems require about 21 cfm of air which in turn requires a BIG compressor.


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## Chipy

Its all about the SCFM'S or Square Cubic Feet per Minute.A pancake compressor will deliver the pressure but never the volume.I know I have made the same mistake,thinking that an HVLP gun is the answer spraying finishes.If your real serious about spraying finishes then take a look at Earlax hv 5500.It is a HVLP system that employs a turbine witch delivers a dry high volume of air.It has good reviews some right here on this site and others on Amazon.I plan to get this same when the budget allows. By the way this post realy belongs in the power tools forum just FYI.


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## craftsman on the lake

Again, it's the compressor. You cannot use an hvlp gun unless you have a special compressor or a very large one, up to 30-60 gallons. Simple as that.


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## Raymond

How far are you from the us border there is a harbor freight in Grand Forks I think. Former Winnipeger here.


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## Earlextech

A dedicated HVLP system is the way to go. Anything over 10psi is not HVLP. Just because the gun is called HVLP doesn't mean you can connect it to a compressor and get true HVLP. HVLP guns have larger air passages than regular guns.
With a dedicated system you would have a turbine motor to produce higher cfm at a lower pressure, thereby eliminating most of the overspray. It also means clean dry air with no contamination which is the real problem with using an air compressor system.


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## craftsman on the lake

Gee Earl, most hvlp spray guns require a lowered 40-50 psi air which seems to work nicely using a large compressor with adjustment valve. I have a valve and guage right on my gun that keeps it at 40 and I have a large air/oil trap on my large compressor and a small air trap right in line on the gun.

A dedicated hvlp system is great but they have a large air passage simply because that by design they don't produce much pressure, so all the work goes into volume, which is needed for hvlp. They give up pressure for volume by design. A larger compressor produces both in abundance.

I agree though, if one can have a good quality dedicated unit then that's ideal. But if you've already got the abundant air compressor then a gun is not expensive and for a few bucks you're in business.


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## americancanuck

If I knew how to get rid of this review I would in a heartbeat. My original hope was that I might get some accurate input into what I was, possibabely doing wrong or if I had just purchased the wrong tool for the job. The responses have been confuseing and often inacurate with a very few exceptions. I have spent the time in the shop to learn to properly use my gun with my existing compressor and have some good results.


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## mikema

I have used the HVLP conversion gun that Woodcraft sells on my pancake compressor. It worked okay. I will also preface that I only used this on a SMALL project. So I would be able to get a face done, let the compressor refill, do another face, and so on.

Normally for a project that small, I probably wouldn't have bothered, but this one had a lot of inclosed areas that would have been difficult to reach.

If you are going to go the air route, for long term, you will need a larger compressor.


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## craftsman on the lake

American, don't regret the review. I will backtrack and say that I have never used an hvlp gun on a small compressor. It's possible that it will work for short spurts. I just imagined that it couldn't as it requires such high volume in comparison to what a small compressor can supply. If you're getting satisfactory results then good for you. My bad.


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## Chipy

*I think the bottom line is…....* you will need a $700 compressor to make a $40 gun work properly! When I tried to do just what you are describing the compressor would not keep up with the pace at witch I wanted to spray.I would spray for 10 seconds then the compressor would run for 20 seconds and that is no way to spray finishes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## mikema

Chipy raises a good point too. I put my conversion gun out of an immediate need for the small project I mentioned above, and not having the budget for the Earlex shown earlier, I bought the $30 gun. All I ever use my air compressor for is my nail guns, some inflating, and as a blower. For my above example, the sprayer did fine, but I really don't believe my setup would be good for large scale work.

Now, take the sprayer out of the above equation for me, I can't justify the cost of a larger compressor, I just don't simply have the need for it. When I make the jump to a better setup, most likely I will go with Earlex's solution.

I will reiterate again, my current setup will not work well for a large scale project.


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## a1Jim

I've been spraying for 30+years. I agree your compressor is way to small to use your with your gun on large pieces but you may be able to let the compressor catch up with frequent pauses while spraying but that kind of approach can make for a very inconsistent finish depending on what your spraying and what the temperature is where your spraying . The alternative to replacing your compressor is to buy a small Earlex(i think some are as little as $130) unit that does very well as long as your not trying to shoot thick material like house paint. Spraying no matter what your equipment takes practice to get right.

http://www.amazon.com/Earlex-HV3500-Spray-Station-Sprayer/dp/B003F095CQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1325784797&sr=8-6


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## roman

what is a "square cubic foot" ?

is it the same as a rectangular cylinder ?

I use a pancake compressor at job sites and pump up 2×100 pound propane tanks (empty)……….then spray. I get both the pressure needed being around 30 psi, and the volume to do a small job.


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## Chipy

Moron…..What is 2×100 pounds is that the conversion from British money to US.? I am sure every one has a couple of propane cylinders lying around,mine are right next to my 10,000 *lbs* press.Tell your pancake compressor I am sorry I hurt its feelings


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## 33706

Don't bother expending any time and effort tracking down a 'Harbor Freight'.... Your issue is indeed one of volume, not pressure, and I would not purchase a HVLP spraygun without a blower whose output (CFM) properly satisfies the needs of your sprayer. I would never consider hooking up a compressor unless specifically okayed by the sprayer manufacturer.


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