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Hi guys, I've taken a long break from guitar building, but I've just rooted out a few of my unfinished projects and am feeling motivated to get them finished!
I have a uke that needs a couple more coats of lacquer, but no longer have access to a spray gun due to changing jobs. I can't afford a fully professional spray setup at the moment so I'm looking around at other options. Has anyone tried something like this before? It's meant for fence spraying, so not expecting much, but it has a 2mm nozzle and says it's suitable for lacquer.

https://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/index ... 9utMb.dpbs

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

You might be better off with a small pancake compressor and a $15 harbor freight jamb gun. It would be close to the same price, would probably work better and the compressor could be used for many other things.
I have a unit similar (HF branded) unit to what you have linked to and it works O.K. for spraying larger items, but there is nothing delicate about the way it sprays.

Thanks, I'll have a look into compressors more thoroughly. The cfm's and psi's and litres and HP's etc have always confused me massively! Don't spray guns usually need fairly large compressors?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

You can use a small compressor if you are willing to pause occasionally and let the compressor catch up. No biggie for a small project.

If OP can get to a HF storefront, I urge him to bring along a HF discount coupon. Any HF retail advertisement I've seen includes a coupon. The coupons are limited to one-item-per-day, but a compressor is lots cheaper than a spray gun.

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Peter Havriluk

I think the spray guns at HF are fairly good but I wouldn't trust an air compressor from them. For not a lot more, you can get a name brand, more reliable compressor from a big box store. I have been real happy with my Porter Cable 6 gal., 2.6 scfm pancake compressor (currently $99). It is assembled in the USA which is about as close to made in the USA as you can get these days.

Agreed on the Porter-Cable compressor. Got one myself.

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Peter Havriluk

+1
Anything with a motor is suspect from Harbor Freight. A friend of mine bought an HF compressor and had it fail after limited use.
I also bought a PC branded pancake- $99 well spent.

The OP is in the UK. Maybe Colin has a suggestion for a good tool source.

Don't know which Colin you meant (ColinS?)
I presume you're talking about nitro spraying?
At the low end of the spectrum the only setup I've seen recommended by a English guitar maker is the earlex 3000 - second comment on this page http://www.earlex.ca/customer-comments.php
I had a variant for years, (but not used it for guitars) and have found it reliable
The man concerned is, I believe, John Alderson. and contact details are here http://www.deltaresonatorguitars.co.uk/contact.htm

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I bought my compressor from Harbor Freight.......but that was back around 2004 or so.......when they sold Campbell Hausfield compressors......cast iron single stage......I can't break it for nuttin'. I did replace the pressure switch...but with oil changes and tank blowdown...it just keeps on chuggin'.

I finally used a Kobalt (Lowe's) small gravity feed paint gun a few weeks ago to shoot some PPG 2-Part Acrylic Enamel and it performed flawlessly. My daily driver for nitro lacquer is an older SATA MiniJet 4....heck, my cats can shoot lacquer with that gun.

I know, I know, it's different today. I seem to live in the past.

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

Peter have you considered rattle cans? Could work well for a small body. ToneTech does them as well as Rothko and Frost which is where I buy my nitro.


Dave