Spray-Gun Choice for Latex
Tips on equipment suited for spraying latex paint. March 26, 2009
Question
I do a lot of rustic or distressed latex finishes and need a little advice on which system or gun is best to spray on the latex paint. I've tried using a conventional spray gun and I can't get the volume out of it without thinning it down a lot, and then it takes too long to dry and too many coats. I'm now using a Fugi turbine HVLP and it's a lot better, but I still have to thin the paint. There must be something out there that will serve my purpose.
Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor D:
The only systems that will spray latex without much thinning will be either airless or air-assisted airless. Atomization in these types of systems is accomplished by hydraulic pressure and not by air. I use several kinds of HVLP turbine systems with success spraying latex, but with all systems I need to add something to the paint to make it atomize properly.
From contributor L:
I'm with contributor D - a small airless dedicated to your waterborne coatings is probably the fix you need.
From Paul Snyder, forum technical advisor:
The Binks Mach 1 HVLP sprays house paint pretty well. You do have to thin the paint, but not so much it takes multiple coats to get good coverage. Just make sure your compressor supplies enough air, in CFM, to operate the spray gun. It takes as much as 22 CFM to spray the thicker coatings depending on the air cap and needle size you use.
From contributor Q:
I usually use a 2, 2-1/2 gallon pressure pot with a Walcom geo fx97 HVLP with a 1.7 fluid needle/tip. I can even spray the Benjamin Moore aura paste with enough fluid pressure. I do thin with Floetroll type stuff (actually the Xim latex paint extender/conditioner), and if you are doing what I am thinking, you will love it. It allows detailed application of thickness in different areas, like if you are going to break your edges and show the undercolor, you can back off the trigger and half cock it to make it easier to sand through. Really worth it, but you do need a compressor.
From contributor J:
The pressure pot is the way to go. You could get one for $300-$400 and it's worth every penny.
