HVLP spray painting

[cflake]

Can anyone tell me the difference (if any) between an automotive HVLP spray gun and a home HVLP spraying system? Why is one a few hundred and the other $2.5k+? Are you paying extra in the 'home' system so you can pour 10L of paint into the system and you don't need a seperate compressor?

I have an automotive HVLP spray gun that I want to use to paint gloss on the arcs & skirts. Is it worthwhile giving it a go? or do you need to pony up the cash so as not to get overspray on everything?

[DJ’s Timber]

I don't know here, but aren't the home systems "airless"

[peter_sm]

They are totally different guns for totally different paint.

You can paint your trimmings with automotive paint if you wish, but it would be very expensive.

[Junkey]

Automotive HVLP guns require large volume of clean air.You need at least a 5hp.compressor and 100L.receiving tank for continuous spraying.
Home HVLP systems,the air is generated by a turbine direct to the gun via a large diam(15mm)hose.The number of stages(blades) determine the output of the turbine and the price.The more sophisticated the gun the dearer the price.
Wagner make a turbine HVLP system suitable for home use.prices range from $150-$350.
Apollo make a HVLP turbine system which is the "gold standard " and is suitable for professional and home use,but is expensive.They also make a "conversion "HVLP spray gun which can be run off a 3hp.compressor.
Earlex a UK firm make a turbine HVLP spray outfit,which is efficient and cheap,but NOT available in Australia.
Summing up you get what you pay for.Apollo the best and expensive;Wagner cheaper but not as good.
Junkey

[durwood]

As you only want to paint some trim pieces the gun you have will work just as well as any other you may purchase.

As Junkey has said HVLP requires a larger amount of air to operate compared to a normal spray gun but you are not going to get a proper automotive quality HVLP gun unless you pay several hundred dollars ($400 -$700) and even then some are overpriced and don't spray as well as some of the cheaper ones. Sort of the same arguement as "do I buy a cheap drill/saw/router etc or a real expensive one." If your gun cost about $100-$150 it may be not much more than a normal spray gun with HVLP stamped on it. The instructions with the gun will give you a clue (does it tell you to set the pressure of the air at the gun itself) if not it probably is not a fair dinkim HVLP gun.

If you have bought a reasonable priced HVLP gun to use at home it will work OK with a normal compressor. It may drain the air after a while if you do some continuous spraying but so will a normal gun that is too big (has a high CFM rating). What is more likely to be problem is the gun you have is not set up to paint the type of paint you intend to spray.

To answer your question about the diference between to two systems auto and home - The automotive spray gun is a well made top quality tool the home HVLP one is a cheap gadget made to lure buyers who may want to spray something but want to spend less by saving money on compressor/ hose and regulator etc you would need to produce air for spraying. You have always been able to buy such products, they used to vary from the real cheap vacuum cleaner variety to the portable unit such as the Tuffy which was a electric fan blowing through a basic spray gun. they worked but you have little control; over what you sprayed out of the gun and a proper spray gun set up always produced superior finishes. Good for the wooden fence but not too good for something that really mattered.

Though I'm sure someone will say they did a job and it was perfect.

A question though: what are the $2.5k spray systems you mentioned? Sounds like airless systems which as mentioned by djstimber are a completely different proposition.

Top class spray guns to paint the best finishes on automobiles or any thing else do not cost anywhere near that amount. Any system that expensive has to be for an industrial situation far in excess of the needs of the normal person painting at home.

[Pusser]

If you have an automotive HVLP gun you should be able to control the fan enough to spray the skirting boards. If your gun is a good one you should have a regulator to ensure the pressure at the gun is just under 10 psi (or else it is not HVLP). You need to ensure your nozzle matches the material you want to spray and use an inline filter near the gun.

Pusser