# Airless good for wb top coats?



## G1G1 (2 mo ago)

I use a fuji hvlp to spray table tops with waterborne lacquers. My question is has anyone used airless to spray waterborne clears and does if work well? I’ve used air assisted airless but never airless. I’m looking at the graco GX19FF unit. Would be great so I can spray a gallon or so before having to stop.


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

I don't do it often but I've sprayed water-based clears, including Old Masters Ascend exterior and had good results with an airless.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

G1G1 said:


> I use a fuji hvlp to spray table tops with waterborne lacquers. My question is has anyone used airless to spray waterborne clears and does if work well? I’ve used air assisted airless but never airless. I’m looking at the graco GX19FF unit. Would be great so I can spray a gallon or so before having to stop.


Spraying clear on a table top is the kind of job that is ideally suited for HVLP

A good 5 stage HVLP creates finer atomization with less overspray, less waste, and cleanup is simpler/faster. Can be used with a remote cup, to increase quantity.

edit: As others have mentioned in the past, the ED655 may be a better airless choice, if you are set on an airless sprayer.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Holland said:


> Spraying clear on a table top is the kind of job that is ideally suited for HVLP
> 
> A good 5 stage HVLP creates finer atomization with less overspray, less waste, and cleanup is simpler/faster. Can be used with a remote cup, to increase quantity.
> 
> edit: As others have mentioned in the past, the ED655 may be a better airless choice, if you are set on an airless sprayer.


ED655 can spray WB lacquers infact its sort of ideal for spraying small amounts of WB lacquer and I wouldn't try to push anything more viscous through it. Just make sure all your material goes through a filter before the hopper. If the valve gets stuck in the middle of spraying you'll be in trouble, ask me how I know!


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## G1G1 (2 mo ago)

Holland said:


> Spraying clear on a table top is the kind of job that is ideally suited for HVLP
> 
> A good 5 stage HVLP creates finer atomization with less overspray, less waste, and cleanup is simpler/faster. Can be used with a remote cup, to increase quantity.
> 
> edit: As others have mentioned in the past, the ED655 may be a better airless choice, if you are set on an airless sprayer.


So I agree hvlp is better…but I spray 10-20 in a day so one where I can set up and spray 1-2 gallons at a time without stopping would be ideal…aka airless. I’ll check out the one recommended.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

G1G1 said:


> So I agree hvlp is better…but I spray 10-20 in a day so one where I can set up and spray 1-2 gallons at a time without stopping would be ideal…aka airless. I’ll check out the one recommended.


you can setup hvlp with a 2-5 gallon pressure pot very nice to work with IMO


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I spray Saman water based Polyurethane with a graco 490. 308 fflp tip. Fantastic results. Fast and flawless. Especially if you're doing production. If your doing detailed stuff, an hvlp may be handy, but an airless for the tops or flat surfaces is ideal.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

finishesbykevyn said:


> I spray Saman water based Polyurethane with a graco 490. 308 fflp tip. Fantastic results. Fast and flawless. Especially if you're doing production. If your doing detailed stuff, an hvlp may be handy, but an airless for the tops or flat surfaces is ideal.


What does your spray room look like?
Are you spraying in a closed room?
what are you doing for ventilation? The overspray must be terrible. How are you cleaning your sprayer (where do you dump the dirty water?)?

Have you consider switching to HVLP? Far less overspray in the room, snd don’t end up with 10 gallons of paint water.


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## Warner Painting (Sep 3, 2019)

I shoot water-based clears over stain with my airless. Clears level out great and no orange peel to deal with. For smaller jobs, I use a Graco FF 308 tip and dial down the pressure to about 1000-1200.


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I have better luck with an Airless and a 308 FFLP tip on wateborne clears on large surfaces than HVLP, typically. I keep a dedicated pump for WB clears to avoid risk of cross contaminating from lines.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Holland said:


> What does your spray room look like?
> Are you spraying in a closed room?
> what are you doing for ventilation? The overspray must be terrible. How are you cleaning your sprayer (where do you dump the dirty water?)?
> 
> Have you consider switching to HVLP? Far less overspray in the room, snd don’t end up with 10 gallons of paint water.


I have a dedicated area of about 5x8 ft space with a 250cfm vented fan. I need a bigger fan, but it definitely works. I'm set up with both a compressor driven hvlp and 2 airless setups. I'll try to find some pics..
I agree water-based clears spray fine from an hvlp and a lot less clean up. Although if doing production and spraying the same product over multiple days, I like an airless because I can just drop the gun in water until the next day and is much faster with a better mil thickness. I also find the fine atomization of the hvlp lingers in the air for much longer than the airless. Hvlp is definitely good for cross contamination purposes when spraying multiple products.
I have running water in my shop which is helpful. The dirty water does suck. I have a multiple bucket system, where I let the dirty water settle over several days then pour off into another bucket etc. minimizing waste water.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

finishesbykevyn said:


> I have a dedicated area of about 5x8 ft space with a 250cfm vented fan. I need a bigger fan, but it definitely works. I'm set up with both a compressor driven hvlp and 2 airless setups. I'll try to find some pics..
> I agree water-based clears spray fine from an hvlp and a lot less clean up. Although if doing production and spraying the same product over multiple days, I like an airless because I can just drop the gun in water until the next day and is much faster with a better mil thickness. I also find the fine atomization of the hvlp lingers in the air for much longer than the airless. Hvlp is definitely good for cross contamination purposes when spraying multiple products.
> I have running water in my shop which is helpful. The dirty water does suck. I have a multiple bucket system, where I let the dirty water settle over several days then pour off into another bucket etc. minimizing waste water.


Thanks @finishesbykevyn for the detailed response. It is interesting to learn how others work, and I have a gleaned a lot over the years.

I built a new shop a couple years ago. It was a solid investment, that has already started paying dividends. However, I had to make one sacrifice: water (specifically a drain) that was prohibitively expensive because it would have been an uphill run 100 feet. The only time I miss it is when I spray with airless, because it’s almost impossible to clean up without a lot of water and a place to dump it. I can fully clean an HVLP in under 10 minutes, using 1/2 gallon of water or less.

*Good tip about letting the water sit in buckets to let the sediment settle. I have never left a sprayer overnight- didn’t think that was okay, but it appeals to my lifestyle.

I have never been a production guy, so switching to HVLP for most things sprayed has been great! I’m amazed how much more I enjoy spraying with it. I am still figuring it out, but I have not found much I can’t spray at about the same quality (or better) as with an airless. My competition can have all the work that necessitates more, as far as I’m concerned. I fully embrace any aspect of spraying that limits my exposure to paint fumes and overspray on a regular basis.

Seriously though, an air filtration system like Jet1000 or Weng (as @Rbriggs82 I think mentioned) will clean almost all of the overspray from the room in about 5-10 minutes ( uses standard filters, which is good, as they fill quickly). I like to filter the air before flushing it outside- either way it improves the air quality inside.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Forgive me if I’m hijacking this thread.

Wanted to stress how much I like having an air scrubber in the shop. I’m just a small outfit, but use this frequently.

Yesterday I sprayed a quart of solid stain (patio furniture). The air quality seemed fine the entire time. I didn’t even wear a mask as it was just a quick job (I don’t advocate this, and won’t likely do it again).

when I left the shop I turned on the air filtration unit (lowest setting, 2 hour timer) as I always go when spraying. Brand new filters, and this is what it looked like this morning…

*pictures show pre filter and an extra filter I put in front of the filter.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Holland said:


> Forgive me if I’m hijacking this thread.
> 
> Wanted to stress how much I like having an air scrubber in the shop. I’m just a small outfit, but use this frequently.
> 
> ...


The filters on our scrubbers from the red ceiling looked like someone had dumped a quart of paint on them crazy how much they suck out of the air. We also found out the hard way that if you don't have them externally vented the positive pressure can push over spray through any holes in plastic so take care when positioning them


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Holland said:


> Forgive me if I’m hijacking this thread.
> 
> Wanted to stress how much I like having an air scrubber in the shop. I’m just a small outfit, but use this frequently.
> 
> ...


 Agreed and thanks for sharing this. I recently bought one for the shop and will likely buy a couple more. I recently brought it to one of my job sites for spraying the boxes in a kitchen. I just sat it on the counter while I was spraying and the filters were black after.


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

Holland said:


> What does your spray room look like?
> Are you spraying in a closed room?
> what are you doing for ventilation? The overspray must be terrible. How are you cleaning your sprayer (where do you dump the dirty water?)?
> 
> Have you consider switching to HVLP? Far less overspray in the room, snd don’t end up with 10 gallons of paint water.


Pic of my space. Wish I had a separate drying room, but it works..


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Pic of my space. Wish I had a separate drying room, but it works..


That’s a nice setup there. I like the platform for the lowboy pumps, my knees would appreciate that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

slinger58 said:


> That’s a nice setup there. I like the platform for the lowboy pumps, my knees would appreciate that.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks. Haha. Indeed. Less time on my knees is a good day!


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Thanks. Haha. Indeed. Less time on my knees is a good day!


I like your organized shop! If I showed you my buddies work space you'd would lose a few marbles


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

cocomonkeynuts said:


> I like your organized shop! If I showed you my buddies work space you'd would lose a few marbles


Thanks. Ya, I can't stand a messy work space.! Pretty sure I spend more time cleaning than actual painting..


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