# Spraying latex with an HVLP



## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Been doing lots of trim work around the house lately, and lots of painting of sed trim. To speed things up i'm spraying everything with my HVLP turbine before installing. Everything is coming out ok, but i think it could be better. 

I'm spraying latex which i know presents it's own problems, but I'm stepping on it with a bunch of Flotrol which makes it easier to work with. The problem i'm having is that the finish is not as smooth as I would hope. It goes on nice, and it looks nice when it dries but if you run your finger over it, it's got a bit of a rough texture (hope that makes sense). Is that just how it goes with shooting latex? I know spraying with the turbine heats the air, which makes the paint dry really quick, I wonder if it's drying to fast before it can fully lay down. 

I'm hoping i can get this figured out now while I'm still just doing base / case. Eventually I plan on doing some shaker cabinets for the kitchen and would like to have this down pat for those. 

Any tips would be appreciated!


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

MD56 said:


> Been doing lots of trim work around the house lately, and lots of painting of sed trim. To speed things up i'm spraying everything with my HVLP turbine before installing. Everything is coming out ok, but i think it could be better.
> 
> I'm spraying latex which i know presents it's own problems, but I'm stepping on it with a bunch of Flotrol which makes it easier to work with. The problem i'm having is that the finish is not as smooth as I would hope. It goes on nice, and it looks nice when it dries but if you run your finger over it, it's got a bit of a rough texture (hope that makes sense). Is that just how it goes with shooting latex? I know spraying with the turbine heats the air, which makes the paint dry really quick, I wonder if it's drying to fast before it can fully lay down.
> 
> ...


What size tip are you using? You need to be using at least a 1.8 tip or higher. You can also thin the latex with 5%-10% water. The key with latex is not to spray it too heavy.....lay it down in thin increments. Allow to dry properly in between coats. Scuff sand each coat, except for the last coat as it will change the color whenever you sand and you will see it under the topcoat finish.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I prefer a Wagner product called "Paint Easy" for thinning latex to spray. It seems to get it thinner without affecting the properties of the paint too much. I just shot a bunch of moulding over the weekend. While spraying my moulding, I got a lot of grain raising, making rough patches. I think that's going to be a fact of life with latex, especially thinned. If you want it to look perfect, I think some sanding between coats as Randy described is necessary. I was using a conversion gun, not a turbine gun, for what that's worth.


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

RandyReed said:


> What size tip are you using? You need to be using at least a 1.8 tip or higher. You can also thin the latex with 5%-10% water. The key with latex is not to spray it too heavy.....lay it down in thin increments. Allow to dry properly in between coats. Scuff sand each coat, except for the last coat as it will change the color whenever you sand and you will see it under the topcoat finish.


I appreciate the info, I had not been thinning the latex with water, just Flotrol. Is the water just so that it flows through the gun, or does it have anything to do with how it lays down? Along with trim, i'm also painting my interior doors right now, i've been trying to lay the paint on a thick as thick as I can get away with to cut down on the time / coats. I think i usually keep it to 2-3 coats tops. Sounds like that's another area where I'm off on my technique. 

I'm using a #6 kit with my cup gun, which I believe is a 2.4mm tip.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

MD56 said:


> I appreciate the info, I had not been thinning the latex with water, just Flotrol. Is the water just so that it flows through the gun, or does it have anything to do with how it lays down? Along with trim, i'm also painting my interior doors right now, i've been trying to lay the paint on a thick as thick as I can get away with to cut down on the time / coats. I think i usually keep it to 2-3 coats tops. Sounds like that's another area where I'm off on my technique.
> 
> I'm using a #6 kit with my cup gun, which I believe is a 2.4mm tip.


Water will help thin the latex, but do not reduce more than 10%....15% at the most. Anymore and you will loose the hide power of the latex and also risk runs. If its a 2.4 tip, you should be ok.

Its always better to apply latex in thin coats while spraying. Applying too thick may be the reason you are getting a rough texture. Is it orange peel or does it just feel rough? 

Orange peel......turn the air up 10 psi and retry.
Rough feeling......turn the air down 10 psi and retry.


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Definitely "rough" feeling. 

I'm using a turbine HVLP setup with a siphon gun, dont think there anyway to adjust the psi.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

If the finish is going on rough you may need to thin it a little. With latex you need to thin it as little as possible but with that sprayer may not cover very good. You could help it by priming the wood and when dry sand it smooth before putting on your finished paint. 

If you have very much trim to paint you might consider using a conventional sprayer and a pressure pot. I believe the rig Harbor Freight has is around 150 bucks with the pot, sprayer and hoses.


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

What is the trim primed with?


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Rick Mosher said:


> What is the trim primed with?



The doors and the base/case are all pre primed MDF. Not sure what the manufacture uses.


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## RandyReed (Jul 30, 2014)

MD56 said:


> The doors and the base/case are all pre primed MDF. Not sure what the manufacture uses.


Did you try any of the suggestions? You should be ok on pre primed wood.


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## was2ndlast (Apr 11, 2014)

I have found that spraying tinted wb lacquer is actually cheaper, faster and I'm my opinion looks better. The only time I use latex now is for painting walls. Everything else it's tinted lacquer. Depending in brand spray it right out of yhe can with hvlp.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

The wood may have been pre-primed but did you sand the primer before topcoating? That's an important step.


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## MD56 (Jun 17, 2015)

Steve Neul said:


> The wood may have been pre-primed but did you sand the primer before topcoating? That's an important step.


Not yet, i'll probably spray something this weekend. Yes I do a light sand on the primer before I lay down the first coat. 

The good news is that even if i don't figure it out, i'm still happy enough with the results. It looks good, and I think i'm the only one who notices that the finish could be better. If and when I decide to do my cabinets i'll definitely do a lot more experimentation before hand.


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## NickB (Sep 24, 2013)

With a Fuji Q4, using the 1.8 tip, I can lay down a smooth coat of acrylic latex enamel. I thin about 5% with Flotrol and another 5-10% with water. I don't go for 100% opaque coverage in one coat if I'm looking for a really smooth finish.


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