Official Luthiers Forum!

I am not thrilled with my siphon Badger 400 sprayer.  I see that Lowes has a small gravity fed gun for about $40.  Anyone have experience with this?  I probably opened a can of worms - with a 1000 different recommendations of what gun to get.  I don't want to spend a fortune, but get a reasonably good gravity gun.

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A higher purpose for wood.
Rich Smith
Issaquah, WA

You can spray finish with just about any spray gun, siphon or gravity (if you know how to spray) Gravity guns (even the cheap ones like the kobalt) are a step up from a siphon gun but as with any new or different tool you will need a little practice time with the gun to get a feel of what it will and won't do. A good place to start is to crank the fluid control all the way in and back out three full turns. Open the fan control all the way out to get the widest fan possible and adjust from there to get an even amount of material across the whole spectrum of the pattern. Spray solvent like lacquer thinner through it onto cardboard to get a feel for the gun. All guns are different but with a little tweaking of the controls you can get it to perform (spray) in a manner that you are comfortable with.

I have given basic spray lessons to several people & I get them to spray water onto a sheet of plywood or cardboard to get the feel of how the controls work.
You can learn a lot going through a few pots of water.
Just make sure you dry the gun well & blow some thinners through it when you're done.
I am getting ready to transition to polyester finish & have been doing some research on HVLP guns. The consensus seems to be that it's more important to choose a "better quality" gun when considering HVLP.
Lots of guys are recommending the Devilbiss SRI-630-10 over the higher priced SATA equivalent. This is a "mini" sized gun & you might want a larger one if you're spraying multiple instruments or using nitro instead of a polyester or polyurethane finish... Price about $250.00 from what I've seen on the internet.
NAPA has a decent looking gun in their latest sale flyer... $250.00 gun for $140.00. I'm gonna try one out with water & see if I like it.
I get really good results with my little Badger gun using nitro. The pot could be bigger, but as long as I keep this little gun clean, it works fine. The fan adjust is quite critical for getting an even, wet coat. I keep the pressure quite high & thin 10% minimum (using Mohawk Classic Instrument Lacquer.)
If anyone else has some experience to pass along regarding which HVLP gun they recommend, I'm all ears! (or eyes, I guess, in this venue)