# 395 aaa air cap post



## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

In the first pic, there are 2 styles of caps out there, the original has 4 air holes and the newer version has 8.

The second picture is of a cap after spraying about 16 cabinet doors. It was cleaned and 8 drawer boxes were then sprayed before the third pic.


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

I've got the one with the original 4 holes. 

The one thing I don't like about these guns is the buildup of material that gets on the guard - when spraying lacquer it usually needs to be cleaned after every 10 or so minutes of spraying to clear out the air holes. 

I've been looking into some kremlin air-assist guns lately to replace the g-40 for super-fine finish work.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Rcon said:


> I've got the one with the original 4 holes.
> 
> The one thing I don't like about these guns is the buildup of material that gets on the guard - when spraying lacquer it usually needs to be cleaned after every 10 or so minutes of spraying to clear out the air holes.
> 
> I've been looking into some kremlin air-assist guns lately to replace the g-40 for super-fine finish work.


The Kremlin gun is a work of freaking art. I just want to hang mine on the wall and look at it.


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## JoseyWales (Jan 8, 2011)

Rcon said:


> I've got the one with the original 4 holes.
> 
> The one thing I don't like about these guns is the buildup of material that gets on the guard - when spraying lacquer it usually needs to be cleaned after every 10 or so minutes of spraying to clear out the air holes.
> 
> I've been looking into some kremlin air-assist guns lately to replace the g-40 for super-fine finish work.


I borrowed this from woodworking.......Apparently the waterborne lacquer he's spraying is low VOC and LOW ODOUR!

*The Kremlin Air Assisted Airless Spray gun video demonstration*

This is a phenomenal spray gun that I have previously not paid enough attention to. The great benefit of this tool is the increased transfer efficiency or percentage of materials which are making it to the target. With conventional airless you have about a 60% efficiency meaning that you have lost as much as 40% of your paint to the atmosphere and or your spray booth filters. With the Air-assisted airless the transfer efficiency is about 85 % so you are wasting 25% less of your paint. This would mean that for every 100 dollar pail of lacquer you are buying you are saving about 20 to 25 dollars. That is a savings that can quickly add up and pay for the rig.
In-essence it is pumping the paint out with an airless pump but it uses two opposing streams of air to atomize the paint much like a cup or gravity feed spray gun. With the combination of the air, less pressure is needed to get the paint out and so more of your paint goes on the thing you are painting and less of your paint bounces off the surface and into the air.
The other benefit is that is applies the materials with less force and so give you a smoother finish, in the following video Jody Toole has been using an airless sprayer but was having some troubles with bubbling on the first coat, this was being caused by too much pressure resulting in the materials foaming when they impacted with the surface of the panel. he solved this by backing down the pressure and holding his gun further away, while that solved the bubbling it gave and even lower transfer efficiency and the material did not flow out as well. With the Kremlin all these issues were resolved.
The cost of the whole rig is about 2700 bucks and that is a little pricy but depending on how muc you spray you’ll have paid for it in savings on materials, which by the way are getting more expensive by the day with rising gas prices.
For note: Jody is spraying the CIC low VOC acrylic lacquer which is, in essence a cab acrylic on steroids for those of you that may have used such a thing in the past, it is 160 gr/lt. VOC, it is low odor and it won’t yellow. This is the same product featured elsewhere on the blog that the Church of Scientology’s new Los Angeles and Pasadena church furniture are coated in.
I sell the Kremlin so if you are in my neighborhood call me and we can get together for a demo if not you can look them up on-line and find the nearest dealer. There are other companies that have air assisted air less equipment as well.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I may swap out a ca tech aaa gun to my graco unit and see if that solves my problems with both units.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

What Kremlin gun was that in the video?


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## Rcon (Nov 19, 2009)

straight_lines said:


> What Kremlin gun was that in the video?


Kremlin MVX - nice looking gun :yes:


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

Rcon said:


> Kremlin MVX - nice looking gun :yes:


I think I'm gonna head out to the shop, smoke a cigar and just look at it...


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

Rofl.


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## NEPS.US (Feb 6, 2008)

Should of bought the Titan.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

I only take it out of the vault on special occasions. This is one.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Any build up on the titan air caps? Somerimes, i have had no problems with build up, other times i do. Seems product driven, but i have not put enough gallons through it to be certain. I thought it was pressure related for a while, but i am questioning that now.

Scott, you have the Xcite gun, not mvx right?


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

DeanV said:


> Any build up on the titan air caps? Somerimes, i have had no problems with build up, other times i do. Seems product driven, but i have not put enough gallons through it to be certain. I thought it was pressure related for a while, but i am questioming that now.
> 
> Scott, you have the Xcite gun, not mvx right?


Yes.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

DeanV said:


> Any build up on the titan air caps? Somerimes, i have had no problems with build up, other times i do. Seems product driven, but i have not put enough gallons through it to be certain. I thought it was pressure related for a while, but i am questioming that now.
> 
> Scott, you have the Xcite gun, not mvx right?


It's product related. The pattern seems to be that the products that would mess up a airless tip are the same ones that get sloppy around air caps. It's funny though, sometimes it looks like a mess but when you do the preliminary trigger engagement for air only, the flow is as good as when it's clean.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

Tried a brand new bobcat gun on the graco aaa, still have tails. After a brief trial, the bobcat does not like the higher pressures of the graco. Unless it was not seated peoperly, 1000 psi fluid means fluid everywhere. At the lowest graco pressure, still having tails and at higher levels. Shoot, hvlp is easier to dial in than aaa stuff. This is ridiculous. The graco set up dials in easily, but with the zenith finish, fluid builup is completely unacceptable.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

I thought that bobcat was supposed to be the boss for waterborne Dean.


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

Dean,

Since you have both air caps, (4 and 8 hole) have you found one to perform better than the other? I don't do laquer, just acrylic paints. (once in a while oil primer)


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## crownislandpainting (Nov 29, 2010)

hi
is the kremlin mvx gun compatible with my graco 390 aaa Thinking bout looking for alternatives for clears-not liking how my clear waterbornes lie down. I sprayed a couple of trim jobs with an interior oil and it was easy to set up and layed down beautifully with no drips, spitting or clogging.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I will need to do more testing with both tips to see if there is a difference. I did not notice it until recently. It does not seem that the total quanity of build up is different, but the one with more air holes may clog more quickly due to more air flow, but I am not sure. 

The Bobcat should be a great gun or the cougar but I just am missing something that is eluding me at this point.

As far as the Kremlin guns on the Graco unit, I tried the Bobcat briefly on the Graco and may spend more time with it in the future. I need to find out if there is a CA Tech rep in my area to help with set up because throwing down a bunch of $55/gallon clears with little success is getting expensive and I am running out of good sample boards to test patterns one. After 100 plus mils of clear finish build up, the pattern is not as easy to see any more. 

Time to find more cabinet doors in the scrap pile of a cabinet shop.


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## crownislandpainting (Nov 29, 2010)

*aaa*

:thumbup:Was hoping for an update regarding different guns for the graco aaa you were testing, have you found a gun better than the g40 that works on your unit? I have the 390 and not really happy with the waterborne clears (product)i can find nor how they spray. I haven't had so much of an issue with clogging but can't seem to have the product lay down nicely.
cheers


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## Mike's QP (Jun 12, 2008)

I use the G-40 gun with kemaqua plus waterbourne laquer, I can shoot all of my doors or trim packs without any excess cleaning during the application, maybe clean the cap every hour or two, some of the waterborne poly's seem to clog it fast though


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## crownislandpainting (Nov 29, 2010)

*wateborne clears suck/ aaa*



Mike's QP said:


> I use the G-40 gun with kemaqua plus waterbourne laquer, I can shoot all of my doors or trim packs without any excess cleaning during the application, maybe clean the cap every hour or two, some of the waterborne poly's seem to clog it fast though


 Hi Mike,:thumbup:
is this product high build- have you used it for any length of time? Can you put it over directly over an oil based stain after sitting overnite without a barrier coat? do you initially put on a thin coat followed by a couple of thicker ones. Have any issues or difficulty with applying this product, Seems like most of the waterborne clears are being re-formulated every few months. 
i even tried the diamond floor finish on my doors cause it seems to be the only thing consistently on the shelf, IT sprayed pretty thinly - has anyone sprayed the gloss diamond varathane as a clear of choice? 
Thanks
frank


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## Mike's QP (Jun 12, 2008)

crownislandpainting said:


> Hi Mike,:thumbup:
> is this product high build- have you used it for any length of time? Can you put it over directly over an oil based stain after sitting overnite without a barrier coat? do you initially put on a thin coat followed by a couple of thicker ones. Have any issues or difficulty with applying this product, Seems like most of the waterborne clears are being re-formulated every few months.


 Its not a high build, light coats all the way, yes you can shoot it over oil stain the next day, I have even shot it over oil stain about an hour later and it still turned out fine just took a little longer to dry. I was using a 410 tip for the doors, its sandable in 20 min to a fine powder, just make sure you do not over apply, it doesnt lay down as smooth as standard laquer but it is acceptable. There is a retarder you can add to make it lay down smoother but havent tried that yet


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## JoseyWales (Jan 8, 2011)

Mike's QP said:


> Its not a high build, light coats all the way, yes you can shoot it over oil stain the next day, I have even shot it over oil stain about an hour later and it still turned out fine just took a little longer to dry. I was using a 410 tip for the doors, its sandable in 20 min to a fine powder, just make sure you do not over apply, it doesnt lay down as smooth as standard laquer but it is acceptable. There is a retarder you can add to make it lay down smoother but havent tried that yet


I've had a problem spraying WB lacquer with doors standing vertical..It tends to run....Are you spraying them flat?...The trim pack,including frames is what Iam worried about..What pump are you using and at what PSI?..I was thinking that a Kremlin EOS {AAA} would be better with waterborne lacquers than an airless sprayer....

Also, even laying the doors flat I was getting "cratering" from my airless at 1600 PSI with a 312 FF Graco tip....4-5 craters tends to kill a nice finish in a door.

I love the concept of a fast drying water based lacquer,but so far it hasn't worked for doors..I did a nice job on cabinet doors,but the longer doors were subject to inferior finishes....I guess I shouldn't give up just yet..There must be an answer,otherwise they would not be making this stuff.


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