Affordable Sprayguns for Water-Based Paint

For occasional use, there are low-end rigs that will get the job done. December 29, 2008

Question
I will be finishing maple cabinets with two coats of Bin and one or two coats of Muralo Ultra. Any advice on gun brand and tip size would be helpful. I have never used a gravity type gun, but thinking maybe this is the way to go.

Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor I:
Any reason you wouldn't use an airless? If you are using a gravity gun, we use a 2.0 tip for the primer and the paints with high viscosity and a 1.8 if they are a bit thinner. You will find that less coats will be needed with an airless compared to a cup gun and you can cover faster with a smoother finish.


From the original questioner:
Could you give me model number of your airless and brand?

From contributor R:
How much do you want to spend on the airless?

From contributor I:
There are several airless systems you could use depending on the amount of paint you will spray in a year. The tips are basically interchangeable from the lower to the higher priced units, so the pattern will be comparable. But the more expensive units will last longer and pump more GPM.

If you only occasionally spray paint, I would get something like a 300 dollar Graco setup which will be fine for sporadic use. For gravity guns we used to use the expensive Asturo guns, but we now use the inexpensive Grizzly and Harbor Freight guns. They can be purchased for under 25 dollars and they spray fine for a while. They don't last as long as the more expensive guns, but when they get to the point where they need a good cleaning, we recycle them and get a new one. It is cheaper to buy a new one than the labor to break down, clean and reassemble a dirty one.


From the original questioner:
Are you talking regular type or HVLP? Can I get different size needle and air cap for cheaper guns for spraying water base paint?

From contributor I:
The guns we use I believe are rated as HVLP. We have them with tip sizes of 1.4 for clears, 1.8 for pigmented waterbased finishes, and 2.0 for thicker wb primers.
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