Is anybody using or has had any experience of high volume low pressure paint spraying in household decoration. I am told in the states it is the standard way of doing things.The only product i can find at the moment is the earlex spray station in the argos catalogue. I have asked at brewers and travis and was met with a blank stare, I know blank stares are standard at travis but brewers are normally very good !!
I have seen the screwfix cat page 347 but I do not want to pay £199 for which at present would be no more than a trial.
Axminster (www.axminster.co.uk) do a range of HVLP systems by Fuji and Apollo. They aren't cheap; starting at £130 up to £550, but it's the old addage "You get what you pay for". If you just want to have a try prior to purchase why not check out you local tool hire shop to see if they hire them out.
I used an Apollo HVLP system years ago (20?) to spray a car. The main advantage being greatly deduced spray dust / overspray and paint usage. I think I also used it to varnish some internal doors. Seem to remember it works very well. <Must have borrowed it as it was very expensive then.
I bought £70 earlex sprayer from Argos and it's absolutely useless for emulsion. Even after diluting it to a milk like consistency it's still hit and miss and the amount of coats needed cancels out any time saved. We ended up using a roller. The unit is not faulty it just doesn't like latex based products (like 99% of emulsions) We have yet to try spraying paint or fence treatment but have been assured by earlex that the finish for these is comparible to an aerosol.
So, Bonnie, did you give it a try? I have the same question, as I need to prime and emulsion 10 rooms in a house over a lot of textured finshes (paper, Artex,...) and though HVLP might be the answer?
I bought one of the Apollo Spraymaster systems. You have to get the viscosity right and there is a knack to applying it (emulsion that is) as it gives a very fine film that, when wet, is quite translucent and it looks "uncoated". When it dries it appears much denser and more even. The second coat, because of the high water content I guess, brings back the "uncoated" appearance (which is useful for knowing where you have been!) but it dries VERY flat and has a totally different look to brushed/rollered/pad finish. There are two problems I found. First, refilling the pot - there is a LOT of it if you are doing anything more than a modest size room. This leads to bits of paint drying at the nozzle which end up as little splats on the wall. Second is it is almost impossible to do ceilings (unless you go for a version with a swivel pot so you can point the gun upwards without starving the supply pipe of paint). I gave my ceilings one spray coat, but I finished it with a roller coat. You will need to mask/cover/seal EVERYTHING - no matter how careful you are, the entire area will have a small measure of "contamination". Is it worth it? - The finish is nice and it is quicker than a roller even with the prep work of masking etc. If you have a large area to do then it may well pay off time wise but you do need to invest £200 in the first place - yer pays yer money and yer takes yer choice!
Hi KC, Thanks for sharing your experience which was very interesting and informative. I have often wondered if this kit is worth the investment and I would think that it is probably not worth it for the average home decorator. DWD
Our painting contractors have used HVLP and other spraying systems in new build developments, (masking not quite so important), and have achieved an excellant standard of finish. However, the major drawback is that if any making good has to be carried out after spraying, the same texture of finish cannot be achieved without respraying at least the affected wall. Touching in with brushes/pads/rollers etc just sticks out like a sore thumb!!
jus bought that earlex spray station it ok but as the fella sed it not v good on emulsion i have yet to try other kinds so keep u posted ps it in a sale in argos 65 quid now
hi jus lettin u ppl no the earlex thing is v good at fence treatment and most paints i have done quite a few fences an the oddd car wing so yep top dollar product for pennies