My new hvlp sprayer

[Juanvaldez]

I have a steel boat and will be painting it. Did some searches and read some posts on here and other forums

I see people painting cars with 2 stage hvlp systems and using 2 pack automotive paints. One would assume that marine 2 part would also work but everything I read says I need a higher end one.

I'm buying an hvlp spray system, the cheapest one that will spray my paint...looking for real world experience not opinions. Also not interested in rolling and tipping and yes I have an air supplied respirator.

What has someone used that works?

Will preval sprayers work on touch up's?

Also thinking I should have just bought automotive paint. I have epifanes 2 part at 90$ a pint

I have big compressors at work and home...not using a compressor. I want a self contained system that can come with me.

Real experience appreciated.

Cheers

[Fatboypaul]

Check out the Titan Capspray system, I've used them with decent results for 20+ years, sprayed a couple of boats using Sterling and Alexseal 2 part paints.

[Juanvaldez]

Thanks will look at these

[Chotu]

I used 2 pack automotive/industrial paint. Imron.

Check the auto body supply shops in your area. This is their entire line of business and they have much better pricing.

I used a traditional spray gun, but a good DeVilbiss brand gun. I also used a pressure pot, which is this thing like the size of a large pressure cooker that you put the mixed paint into.

What you use for equipment isn’t quite for as important as your compressor and the air you feed the gun as well as the surface prep you do.

You need a high volume of airflow and you need oil free, DRY air getting to the gun. You must use a lot of filter/dryers between the compressor and the gun. Even more so if you’re in a humid climate. I had to build a big contraption to drain out the water from my air and also use several filter/dryers.

Make sure you thoroughly clean the hull with soap and water then wipe down with solvent before you spray. NO GREASE, NO WATER, NO HUMAN FINGERPRINTS. Nothing.

The setup I used was actually borrowed from the automotive paint rep. It was his personal equipment. He just liked the project and I had a lot to spray. He was of the opinion that the DeVilbiss gun was the important part (return your cheap one) and that the pressure pit would make such a large job easier. He was right, of course.

Once you get it set up and the surface ready, it’s an incredibly fast job. Comes out perfectly.

Make sure you get the spray reducer for the paint system that works with your gun.

The paint sales people will be a wealth of knowledge. They know more than we do. As them all the questions in the world when you’re buying the paint and buy from local automotive supply shops so you have good support. Don’t just order paint online and hope for the best.

Good luck! It’s the most rewarding part of doing all the work of building a boat. I suspect it will be very rewarding for you also.

[Chotu]

Edit: whoops. Sorry. Didn’t see the compressor part.

[Halien]

I used a four stage Fuji HVLP sprayer to shoot some PPG commercial truck paint--pigment, activator, accelerator. That stuff was nasty. The Fuji is pretty nice. I got it used and bought a few new tips and some liners for the paint cup. I've sprayed the truck paint, oil based paint on kitchen cabinets, and latex. Works well with almost anything if you choose the right size tip and thin the paint as recommended.

[Scubaseas]

I've used both cheapy 2 stage and good three and five stage units. The spray pattern is much better on the higher pressure/more expensive units. The size of the fan will be noticably smaller on a two stage unit. Like 1/3 the size of a 3 to 5 stage 10psi unit. It's also important you get one the has a big enough needle to shoot the paint you are using.

The thinner the paint the easier to shoot but it also makes it dull quicker and I would follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully. Some of the Imrons and 2 part urethanes can be pretty thick and need a bigger needle than is avaiable on some cheapy units.

Autobody supply stores are a great source for paint. Imrons, 2 part urethanes and even single stage alkyd enamels all work fine on boats. AB supply stores are also good sources for opinions on equipment and most sell spray guns and units.

After retiring from owning a body shop for over 35 years it may be habit but I prefer an old school HVLP air compressor driven gun. The hose on self contained HVLP units gets to be a pain. YMMV.

[Halien]

Interestingly, the PPG paint was about $800 a gallon with the catalyst and accelerator. The client specified the product. I thought I'd save some money repainting my boat with car paint, but it turns out it's just as expensive as boat paint. I was hauled out last fall for a week. A local guy was rolling and tipping Alexseal on a nearby boat. You can't spray in this yard unless you tent your boat. Alexseal's leveling additive really works, and the paint can be cut and polished. I could not tell it wasn't sprayed. It looked fantastic. So good that im going that route on my big boat in the fall. I'm good with the FUJI now, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. There was a learning curve. Rolling and tipping just works.

[Scubaseas]

Yes a Preval will work for touchups. Make sure you put your paint and hardener left over in the smallest air space container. Un catalyzed it can still turn to Jello pretty quickly as will the activator.

[Juanvaldez]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

I've used both cheapy 2 stage and good three and five stage units. The spray pattern is much better on the higher pressure/more expensive units. The size of the fan will be noticably smaller on a two stage unit. Like 1/3 the size of a 3 to 5 stage 10psi unit. It's also important you get one the has a big enough needle to shoot the paint you are using.

The thinner the paint the easier to shoot but it also makes it dull quicker and I would follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully. Some of the Imrons and 2 part urethanes can be pretty thick and need a bigger needle than is avaiable on some cheapy units.

Autobody supply stores are a great source for paint. Imrons, 2 part urethanes and even single stage alkyd enamels all work fine on boats. AB supply stores are also good sources for opinions on equipment and most sell spray guns and units.

After retiring from owning a body shop for over 35 years it may be habit but I prefer an old school HVLP air compressor driven gun. The hose on self contained HVLP units gets to be a pain. YMMV.

Originally Posted by Halien

Interestingly, the PPG paint was about $800 a gallon with the catalyst and accelerator. The client specified the product. I thought I'd save some money repainting my boat with car paint, but it turns out it's just as expensive as boat paint. I was hauled out last fall for a week. A local guy was rolling and tipping Alexseal on a nearby boat. You can't spray in this yard unless you tent your boat. Alexseal's leveling additive really works, and the paint can be cut and polished. I could not tell it wasn't sprayed. It looked fantastic. So good that im going that route on my big boat in the fall. I'm good with the FUJI now, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. There was a learning curve. Rolling and tipping just works.

Thanks Guys!!..this is exactly the info I was looking for. I had narrowed it down to a fuji 4 stage. Found a used one that looks new but may go new still. The used one is q4 gold...all the new ones are platinum. The only spec I could find says 8.5 psi on the gold vs 9.0 on the platinum. Not sure if that is accurate or even of concern.

The used q4 is 1100$ vs a new mini mite 4 at 1155$ plus tax. Basically I'd save 200$ and have a quieter but used non current model with a few extra accessories.

Any advice on needle size for marine 2 pack paints?

Where did you get paint cup liners?

Main reason I want it is for topside painting. No desire to roll or brush all the nooks and cranies.

[Russ]

I find this interesting only because I have rolled and tipped my steel boat for 22 years. It’s steel, not faired, not a FG hanger queen it gets used and thus abused. Me thinks if you want pretty you should be in a plastic boat. Just my 2 cents. Besides spraying is not environmentally friendly unless you’ve got a vented building to do the job. Just the other side of the coin. No offense intended.

[Scubaseas]

Tip and cup sizes are often on the paint can. There are also cup and tip charts via Google search. What combo will depend on your unit and your paint. 1.8 tip as a guess. Likely a different tip for primer versus top coat. Depends on primer but 1.4 to 1.8 might be OK. Some primers will literally wear the tip out after extended use.

The most important thing for you will be how well you prep your metal for paint. I would use the entire coatings from one manufacturer. As in acid etch(not all require this). primer and top coat all the same system. Follow directions exactly. If you're not familiar with painting you definitely want to do some sample panels before doing the whole boat. Clean it before you sand it and get lots of lint free cloths. Change cloth often. Do small areas at a time to try and limit fly rust. Get used to sanding. You'll be doing a lot of it. Look at YouTube but take any advice with a grain of salt. The better the prep the better the job will be. Did I mention you'll be doing a lot of sanding?

Light colors are more forgiving of dents and sanding scratches. Dark colors can be done but takes a lot more expertise to do it well.

I've been away from it for 10 years so can't comment on current pricing but the auto paint we were using was about 1/2 the cost of marine paint but we had a wholesale commercial account and buying a fair amount monthly.

Choose wisely. If you go 2 part any subsequent coats should also be 2 part same type paint. Spot painting usually does not work well with 2 part paints You can not "blend in " 2 part paint on a car, you paint the whole panel or up to a break like a seem. A repair will look OK for a few months but you will see the repair after that. With a single part urethane you can repair easily compared to the 2 parts. They also wear well and flex well and have pretty good gloss retention. I personally would not use any system on a boat that requires a clear coat. I'd probably go with 2 part over high build epoxy primer but be mindful about the repainting issues with the 2 part.

Mind if I ask what are you doing about/for nonskid?

[Scubaseas]

Also if you are buying more than one can mix all your base coat or color together before activating. There can be color variation between individual gallon and even quart containers, especially so if the paint was mixed outside the factory.

[Juanvaldez]

Originally Posted by Russ

I find this interesting only because I have rolled and tipped my steel boat for 22 years. It’s steel, not faired, not a FG hanger queen it gets used and thus abused. Me thinks if you want pretty you should be in a plastic boat. Just my 2 cents. Besides spraying is not environmentally friendly unless you’ve got a vented building to do the job. Just the other side of the coin. No offense intended.

Hi Russ...my boat was actually faired as I am finding while I sand. It is a 20 year old Bruce Robert's design. The original coating has remained rust free and generally looks quite good. This is a maintenance paint job. I'm sanding out the paint ripples and brush/roller marks on the hull above the water line. This section may get rolled and tipped since I have to do it in the yard and not wanting to tent it in. My topside is done really well and looks quite good. I want to keep it that way. The previous owner redid the cockpit with a brush and it really stands out on how poor it looks by comparison.

I also wanted an excuse to buy an hvlp system for wood projects lol

[Juanvaldez]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Tip and cup sizes are often on the paint can. There are also cup and tip charts via Google search. What combo will depend on your unit and your paint. 1.8 tip as a guess. Likely a different tip for primer versus top coat. Depends on primer but 1.4 to 1.8 might be OK. Some primers will literally wear the tip out after extended use.

The most important thing for you will be how well you prep your metal for paint. I would use the entire coatings from one manufacturer. As in acid etch(not all require this). primer and top coat all the same system. Follow directions exactly. If you're not familiar with painting you definitely want to do some sample panels before doing the whole boat. Clean it before you sand it and get lots of lint free cloths. Change cloth often. Do small areas at a time to try and limit fly rust. Get used to sanding. You'll be doing a lot of it. Look at YouTube but take any advice with a grain of salt. The better the prep the better the job will be. Did I mention you'll be doing a lot of sanding?

Light colors are more forgiving of dents and sanding scratches. Dark colors can be done but takes a lot more expertise to do it well.

I've been away from it for 10 years so can't comment on current pricing but the auto paint we were using was about 1/2 the cost of marine paint but we had a wholesale commercial account and buying a fair amount monthly.

Choose wisely. If you go 2 part any subsequent coats should also be 2 part same type paint. Spot painting usually does not work well with 2 part paints You can not "blend in " 2 part paint on a car, you paint the whole panel or up to a break like a seem. A repair will look OK for a few months but you will see the repair after that. With a single part urethane you can repair easily compared to the 2 parts. They also wear well and flex well and have pretty good gloss retention. I personally would not use any system on a boat that requires a clear coat. I'd probably go with 2 part over high build epoxy primer but be mindful about the repainting issues with the 2 part.

Mind if I ask what are you doing about/for nonskid?

I have all epifanes products including non-skid. I have a TON of existing non skid to deal with. If you have advice please feel free to share it. The existing stuff seems to be blasting sand mixed in or sprinkled on top