# Staining a house with HVLP



## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

I need to stain a house and had the idea of using a HVLP turbine. I seldom paint or stain on that scale and will use the HVLP for finishing my wood projects. I justified buying the HVLP because I convinced my wife that I could stain the house and paint interior rooms with it as well as refinish the cabinets.The reduction of overspray was an attractive benefit as well. The overspray from an airless system would be unacceptable. I bought the Fuji Mini Mite 3 because it fit my price range and has gotten great reviews. I'm looking for advice on using solid color stain for the exterior and latex for the interior. Thinning, spraying, anything else I might be not thinking of.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

I have the Earlex 5500 so no idea if this applies to the Mini Mite…but I've sprayed both water based solid and latex paint with mine. In addition to diluting about 10% with water, I've also been Floetrol so the heavier material has time to flatten out. The Earlex came with a fan looking mixer that inserts into a hand drill which I always use. And, don't forget to use paint strainers for filtering the paint. For a large project where I'll need to refill cup often, I thinned/mixed a cup full from a gallon can and then thinned/mixed the remainder in the gallon can. For refill, I poured already thinned paint through strainer into cup and quickly ran the mixer in it.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Hotbyte, thank you for the reply. I feel optimistic about spraying paint with this system. I'm happy to hear that you only had to thin 10%. I was worried that I would have to thin it too much to get it to spray. I've also heard to mix it well with that type of mixer to break up the stringy latex. I like your idea of thinning the paint a gallon at a time. Stopping to thin and mix a quart at a time would be painfully slow.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

Here's a short video from Earlex (a poster here) where I picked up my methods


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

I would use an airless sprayer. The hoppers are larger, and different tips are available for the viscosity of your stain. 
But, my Grandfather once stained a 3400 s.f. house with a 4" paintbrush, so I guess there are other methods. 
You know what he did when he finished staining? He started again because it took him 18 months to complete!

Good luck with your project.


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## pjones46 (Mar 1, 2011)

+1 with pintodeluxe

Most pro painters use an airless and cover everything nearby. Talk to a pro….


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Yep


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Thank you for the replies. The question was about advice on how to do it with HVLP. Airless is NOT an option. Hotbyte supplied the information I needed. I realize that airless is probably the best option. I don't have airless and have to use the HVLP system. Also from what I've read, HVLP is more economical because it applies more paint to the surface without all the blowback and overspray. The overspray is what I'm trying to avoid. I'm only getting one system and I'm not going to spray my woodworking projects with an airless. Saying that professionals use airless is akin to me asking how to flatten a board with a hand plane only to get advice from people who say: "I'd run it through the planer or professional wood shops use a planer."


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

I just sprayed some wicker furniture today with a latex solid stain. The thinning about 10% is correct and necessary. I had to stop about every five or 6 minutes and refill my cup. Also the stain hardened in the nozzle if I stopped for five minutes. If I was doing an entire house it would be maddening. I prefer to housepaint with a brush and push the paint into the wood and cracks. I was watching some Wagner sprayer videos on youtube and they show masking a room prior to spraying. I could paint a room 4 times faster with an angled sash to cut in to trim and a roller.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Sorry. I went dumb for a second.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

dhazelton, What type of sprayer did you use? The HVLP system I have has a 1 quart cup. I would hope a quart would last more than 5-6 minutes. Also is your gun a bleeder or non bleeder? A bleeder style might cause the stain to dry faster with the constant air blowing while not in use. Not sure just a thought.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

I have a Wagner from late 90s. Yes, it blows air constantly. I'm sure the hundred buck Harbor Freight is better than what I have now but I don't spray that often. I still think you'll be refilling constantly.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

I recently sprayed latex on one side of my shop. It is about 7-1/2' tall and 23' long. Wife cut in about 8-12" of the front corner because the front is already finished and corner trim painted. I did not time it but I'd guess an hour to spray the whole side including mixing/thinning, setup sprayer, get ladder, etc. I refilled my 1qt cup once but only needed about 1/3 quart to finish up.

The Earlex is a bleeder type gun. If I pause to move ladder, re-position turbine, etc, I will use a rag to wipe the tip. No big issue…just takes a second.

One other thought for you. On the Earlex, the turbine intake is on the bottom of turbine. So, placing it on ground is not good. I use either a square scrap of plywood a little larger that base or an upside milk crate. I like the milk crate because I don't have as far to bend over when turning it on/off


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Thanks again for the replies. Hotbyte, the HVLP system I have is a 3 stage Fuji mini mite 3. It is a non bleeder style and the intakes are on the ends. I spoke with a rep from Sherwin-Williams today and he said the solid color stain I'm going to use will spray great with the HVLP albeit slower than an airless. He also said I would have greater control and less overspray resulting in more product being applied to the siding rather than in the air or all over the neighbors car. I have to stain roughly 2100 square ft. There will be 4 people working. One spraying and the other 3 masking and cutting in. If the weather holds I'm sure we can get it done over a weekend.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

I know it's been a while since I posted this question but I wanted to let everyone know how it turned out in case anyone else had a similar question. The Fuji Mini Mite 3 sprayed the solid color stain flawlessly. It was also able to do it without thinning. I stained the outside of a 2 story cabin that is sided with T-111. No masking was done. Cutting in around the windows with a brush and the excellent control of the sprayer got the job done with zero overspray. The whole job took about 12 hours including the unattached garage. It's been almost 2 years since I did this project and it still looks great. The job took about 8 gallons of stain. I know if I'd have used an airless sprayer it would have used more.


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## Carloz (Oct 12, 2016)

Thanks for the follow up. I got a newer Fuji 4 Platinum ( the one with reduced noise ) and it saves me a lot of time. I just finished a pretty complicated shelf 3 coats of polyurethane, in about 3 hours giving it an hour drying time between the coats. It would take me 3 days with wipe on finish. I never could get acceptable results with a brush so I do not use it.


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## WhoMe (Jul 9, 2009)

Glad to hear things worked out and thanks for the update.
I thought this was a new thread without looking at the posting dates. So,I won't waste people's time with my thoughts/recommendations other than you picked a good system for the job. 
How did you get around the cup size limitation? Or did you just fill it often?


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

WhoMe, I just filled it often. It took 7-8 gallons and 12 hours. So about 24- 28 times I filled the 1 liter cup. Roughly twice an hour. That part was the only real aggravation of the whole project. That and doing the whole thing off of a 24' extension ladder.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

Carloz, that's a nice HVLP system. HVLP systems really do a nice job of laying down product. A little time in the beginning making sure you have the gun set up right and it works flawlessly. It's certainly elevated my project finishing capabilities and results and in less time with fewer problems.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

How long is the hose that you could work off an extension ladder? Mine is only about 10 feet.


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## Bobmedic (Sep 24, 2010)

dhazelton, The hose that came with my HVLP system is 25.' plus I have a 6' whip on the end. You can get heater hose and make your own extensions, at least with my system. The Fuji sprayers use a rubber hose.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Glad it worked out.


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