Better gun

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
About SW Kem Aqua...

I asked previously on NCWW (a few weeks back?) about SW Kem Aqua - and got great detail from Chris; he stated that he sprays this products weekly. Do search if you are interested. THis is available in SOME retail stores - I believe there are at least 3 in Raleigh area that carry it, and I got gallon sizes (not 5 gallons).
I just sprayed a vanity + 2 med cabinets with a total of 4 doors, 5 drawer fronts, and 3 face frames... and quite liked it. Used smallish compressor (for spraying) and Spray-It LVLP gun. Worked well.
I spray the product as rec'd, without any modifications. Product sheet is available - I can send you a copy if you PM me with your e-mail.

Viscosity in the can is much signifcantly lower than the average latex paint - meant to be sprayed methinks. I did brush a bit of touch up and it clearly does not handle like most latex paints (with a brush; due to lower viscosity). If you do bruch FF with this product be careful of drips!
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Unfortunately, it is gloss white only. We want a slight off white and a tope. Actually SW colors 205-c1 and 205-c3
PDS says zan #3, 20 seconds. First SW paint I have seen with a spec.

Cup conversion. At least 37 different cups. The great thing about standards is there are so many to choose from.

What I am not finding is charts for centipoise to tip size for a given gun/system. For instance, a mini-mite 5. I am slowly thinking the sprayable range is from about 75 on the too thin side to about 500 on the too thick size.
 

golfdad

Co-director of Outreach
Dirk
Corporate Member
SW Pro Classic is the best for cabinets and furniture. It is 100% acrylic. Spray-it guns are very good for the price. 1.4 needle will spray Poly without thinning. Also the tinted prducts that Phil has been using are very good. I also have the Earlex 6003….. it is excellent
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Unfortunately, it is gloss white only. We want a slight off white and a tope. Actually SW colors 205-c1 and 205-c3
PDS says zan #3, 20 seconds. First SW paint I have seen with a spec.
....

"Unfortunately, it is gloss white only. "
Are you referring to SW Kem Aqua? If so, that is not correct, and I have a gallon of both Med Luster and Low Luster in my possession (well gallon cans, the Med Lus is half gone).
Also it is tint-able, but as I understand (from the rep) darker colors are not necessarily achievable. Tinting specifics are TBD; b/c I wanted white, this part of the discussion was more hypothetical. I would think that a slightly off-white would work fine; Taupe: who knows? If you're interested, call the Tryon store in Raleigh - they should know (I have no experience with this store, but I know they carry the Kem Aqua).
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
The SW dealer said the Emerald was the next toughest step.
Just looked up the MDS. Again, nothing on centipoise.
Good to hear the Earlex is a good machine. Sounds like Fuji, Apollo, Earlex are all pretty good. One comment is a gravity feed can run one size smaller tip. I wonder if that kind of reverses saying you can run a bit thicker paint for a given size cap.

I will give The Tyron store a buzz, or maybe stop in on Friday as I will be South for lunch anyway!
Documentation is not that good for any of the paints.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
I have used Osmo on the last few projects but when I spray I use a 3 stage Fuji mini-mite. I used to use a Wagner gun to spray with my admittedly small compressor. It worked but I never had enough air to steadily spray. The Wagner needs less air than most compressor guns but it needed more than I had. For any gun driven off a compressor, having enough clean, dry, air is a big deal. I just gave up and got the mini-mite.

I spray only water based finishes, mostly Resisthane which can be purchased in white or black. There is also an article on the Highland Woodworking (or is it Hardware - the place in Atlanta) website about mixing resisthane with latex to create other colors. I've never tried it. Spraying Resisthane makes it very easy to put on 3 or 4 coats in a day. It dried really fast. I do not clean the gun between coats, just spray some water through the gun and put a cap on the cup of finish. I'm very confident there are other good water based finishes but I know Resisthane works well so I've never experimented with others. It has passed the tests to be rated as a kitchen cabinet finish. You can touch up with a brush but it dries too fast for me to put it on with a brush or roller. If I wanted to do a cabinet in place I would do a lot of taping. Or take it down and rehang it when done.

I've used Flotrol so I must have used another finish in my gun but I don't remember what. I don't have a big enough needle to spray latex but I'm sure my setup would do it if I needed to do it badly enough to buy the needle. Flotrol is easy to use and definitely works better than water to thin out thicker finishes.

I have to be careful with my gun adjustments with the Fuji. If I set it up for a big pattern I can spray a quart of finish in a minute or two. My projects do not need that so I am just wasting finish if I do it. It is capable of better work than I can do with it. It lays down a nice smooth finish with any reasonable setting and application technique.
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
I used to be concerned about what tip size and viscosity. Now I just check for enough flow to spray. Without air pressure I pull the trigger and watch the stream of paint. A dribble will not work and a stream like you just had six beers is too much. A two or three inch stream is fine. I typically have a 1.7 tip in and just dial it back some for lacquer (pre-cat). Heavy body primer will need a 2.0 or bigger to flow. I have a couple of Ford cups but have never used them
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I like to give props when I get good service. Fuji responded quickly with a chart showing their guns, caps and Ford #4 times. So, it looks like their systems can handle from about centipoise of 5 to about 300. So now I have an upper target for material. When my #4 cup gets here, I can then measure my paints.


300 is not that thick. 30 weight oil being about 500 Of course, actual settings is based on test. I am just trying to get a boundary scope of what is possible.

Resisthane. New to me. Reading the color-glossy, I should get some to try. If course, it is a clear coat, so not the product for my kitchen, but maybe better than poly for furniture projects.

So many great tips come out on this forum!
 

Rwe2156

DrBob
Senior User
You might consider a clear top coat over paint. It was suggested to me by Steve Weiss at Target and really made a huge difference in the result.

I don't use a Ford cup anymore. I can tell by how it goes through the strainer whether its thin enough or not. I use a dilution container and start with 10%. FWIW, I shoot for 30 seconds with a 1.3 tip.

The problem with latex and other paints (maybe the Emerald) is getting them thin enough to spray through a 1.3 tip. Bigger tips like you use for primer don't (aren't supposed) to work.

Other thing to consider is if you're spraying outside. You live in FL, like me, so heat and humidity are factors. One thing I like about Target is you can add a retarder.

Yeah, I'm gonna keep selling you on Target Coatings ;-)
 

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Another vote for Target Coatings. Great products and customer support
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
You don't want white but Resisthane is sold in white or black in different sheens. I buy it from Hood Finishing. They could probably tell you if it can be tinted. Even if you use something else, they also sell a good stain blocking primer that works great as a first coat. It also sprays easily and dries very fast. Tinted resisthane is still much more clear than paint so using a good primer under it is important.
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
SW Pro Classic is the best for cabinets and furniture. It is 100% acrylic. Spray-it guns are very good for the price. 1.4 needle will spray Poly without thinning. Also the tinted prducts that Phil has been using are very good. I also have the Earlex 6003….. it is excellent
If you have a spray room, or you can spray outside and a couple of days extra time, then I will agree with you. Works better with a pressure pot if you use air, you have to thin with distilled water and it loses quite a bit of sheen. I had no option, as I could only get this in the color I needed for a rush job. I won't use it again as solvent based is so much faster, less work and the overspray is not an issue when sprayed in the shop.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Yea, the concept of plain old enamel has it's attributes. Not sure I can get the finish I want for the face frames that I have to do inside. I have used hardeners in enamel, but never flow modifiers.

Anyway, started the destruction of the old pantry. Never quite know what you are up against until it is all ripped out.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
This may sound odd, but what color are you painting the cabinets? . If you dont need a mixed color, look at General finishes milkpaints. I just recently finished a large painted cabinet job and used GF latex milkpaint. you can spray, roll it, brush it, whatever . without primer. It lays down streak free from a brush and rinses clean. In ONE coat. And it dries in no time at all. Sand it with 320 lightly and topcoat it with GF performance topcoat and youll have a very hard, smooth, durable beautiful finish.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Sherwin Williams "Antler Velvet" 205-c4 and the lighter tone of the same color, "Natural Linen" 205-c1. Very carefully selected to mate with the glass mosaic back-splash and floor tiles. It is currently white, which we absolutely hate. I need tough. Real tough. Repairable is a plus.

I will look into milkpaints. Never thought of doing a clearcoat over them. Maybe for another project.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
If I thin ( about 5% flood, 5% water) the Sherwin Williams Emerald gloss I get about 2 minutes through a Ford #4. 20 PSI at the gun, 1.8 tip I get a reasonable finish for the doors. Not there yet on brush/roller for the frames. Their high bond primer is super thick. No way could I spray it. Even with an airless. Going to test Binz primer.
 

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