Spraying Nitrocellulose Lacquer Equipment

[Scott]

I know this is a very 'subjective' question but I've completed a bit of searching and come up with not much at all.

I'd like to start finishing my turnings with nitrocellulose lacquer (NC). I know where to purchase NC from but I'd like to know what sort of setup I need to achieve my goal. I have a air compressor. What I need to know is what sort of spray gun should I get, including nozzles and anything else I need to know.

From there I'll have to practice spraying. All answers appreciated, all points of view considered. Thanks in advance.

[L R P]

Scott
Have a look at Brendan Stemps site.
He uses it all the time and has a video on that topic as well.
I have used it but only from aerosol cans, canbe tricky.
I am now investigating an air brush system as I only make small items.
Good luck

[Scott]

Thanks for response LRP. I have seen Brendan's site. I'd like to know what equipment would be best to spray NC. What is recommended to spray with? What nozzle? Etc, etc. at this stage I'm not interested in technique.

[Sturdee]

Scott,

I saw a demo by Ken Wraight on spraying NC Laquer at a forum GTG at 's a few years ago.

He used a gravity feed gun , but any good gun with a minimum 1.5 mm hole will do but a 2 mm hole nozzle is better.

He used Stylewood Laquer and from memory thinned down to 50 %

Maybe a chat with Ken will set you on the right path.


Peter.

[RETIRED]

Gooday Scott.

The gear you need: A compressor with a good CFM rate. Minimum for even small jobs IMHO is 10 CFM. If you are spraying big jobs, table tops for instance 16 CFM is the minimum.

If you don't have this they run out of air before you are finished. Bad move.

A pressure regulator at the gun or as close as you can get it. Air passing through lines has a lot of friction and long line reading 30 PSI at the compressor could be as low as 10 PSI at the gun when working.

A good water trap. Nothing ruins a lacquer job more than water droplets. DAMHIK.

A reasonable gun with a 1.5 or 2 nozzle. Most guns come with a 1.5 I think. Whether you use a gravity or pressure feed is personal choice. These are available at most auto stores. My preference in the medium priced range is "Star."

The pros of a pressure gun is that it hangs up easily, lacquer can be left in the gun as it is virtually sealed, they are easier to fill in my opinion and they can be used at acute angles for a minute or so because of lacquer stored in the tube.

Most of the foregoing can't be done with a gravity feed gun.

I hope that this helps.

[Scott]

Perfect, thank you

[powderpost]

I use a "Star" spray gun with a 1.5 nozzle also. Don't fit the water trap too close to the compressor, the air comes out warm and contains water vapour which condenses on the job, damhik, . It needs to be at least 1.2m from the compressor.
Jim

[Scott]

Thanks for the advice Powderpost, I'm now heading in the right direction. Once bought, all I need to do is learn how to use the damn thing

[Mobyturns]

Scott,
Ken Wraight got me started at Proserpine a few years ago.

I have a very modest setup with a Star 106T/J touch up gravity mini HVLP (approx $150 & newer models now) with 1.2mm nozzle tip. It has a 130mm cup and does the job on turnings well. My compressor (SCA toy) is to small for larger jobs like the rocking horse I did for my grandaughter - it just could not keep up. I have also been using a very cheap (ie $20) pot type airbrush available in most hobby stores on very small turnings with reasonable success. I use Wattyl Stylwood 30% mostly.

[Scott]

Thanks for your input gents, I really appreciate the trouble you have gone to in replying to my question. I've now been doing a bit of research on spray guns, in particular, the Star model. Am I right in thinking a 'smaller' type gun would be appropriate for spraying smaller stuff, like my turnings? Such as Mobyturn's 106T?