Furniture painting made easy..harbor freight spray gun...

[2FORCEFULL]

Thought I'd share a little as I have seen some F'd up furniture and cabinets painted by owners... you know, the ones where you have to say,... damn that looks good,.. then in the car tell your wife... what a freek'n mess... so being a painter most of my life... I tend to be picky,... and it only got worse with owning Las Vegas Street Rods, and being a painter...but,... it's not that hard, and with a little guidance, you can get that pro look.... anytime you paint cabinets or wood work..... it needs to be grease free... so clean it good first with a de greaser....if you don't,.. even with water base paint... you'll get fish eyes....

next,.. the spray gun...I use the harbor freight cheep gun.... if you read the reviews... it's horrible... thats because it's not made to spray water base latex paint... and by the time you thin it to spray... it too thin and take 10 coats to get coverage, and forever between flash time....


so here's what I do... the HF gun comes with about a 1.7 tip.... you need about a 2.0 or greater... they sell now 2.5 cheep guns... but they put out too much paint and easy to get runs if you don't know whats up... so I take a 5/64th bit and make the spray tip bigger.. you drill out the part where the needle is,... not the fan head...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Next, some paint tips,... I use behr paint... it's the best there is out there... when spraying,... I take the 1 gallon... and pour with a funnel about 1/2 of it in to a gallon water plastic clear jug, take a water bottle and pour about 1/4 into the jug... put the lid on and shake it to mix,.. you want the paint like milk, but not a milk shake... with the paint in the water jug it makes it super easy to refill the cup,.. and also easy to cap so the paint doesn't skin...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

behr make a paint, cabinet and trim enamel ... it has a flo agent so it really lays down good,.. that and it dry's quick...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

wife wanted gray furniture...

 

[Ct5]

Interesting….I’ve never sprayed but I’ve rolled on a lot of paint. I’ve found the Sherwin-Williams and Valspar from Lowe’s go on a lot easier and cover better than any of the Behr products I’ve used. I’m about to paint about 1500 sq ft of interior walls so I’m all ears to suggestions. I need to some spray some doors as well, I’ll give the harbor freight gun a shot.

 

[HNL2LHC]

Did a few peace’s this summer as well. Your method sounds a little better. I got a couple of questions though. You use a gravity feed HVLP or the old school siphon type? Also do you just spray the outside without doing the inside?

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Interesting….I’ve never sprayed but I’ve rolled on a lot of paint. I’ve found the Sherwin-Williams and Valspar from Lowe’s go on a lot easier and cover better than any of the Behr products I’ve used. I’m about to paint about 1500 sq ft of interior walls so I’m all ears to suggestions. I need to some spray some doors as well, I’ll give the harbor freight gun a shot.

I never like spraying walls,... or brushing trim and doors... I roll the walls and go back, mask and spray the doors and base...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Did a few peace’s this summer as well. Your method sounds a little better. I got a couple of questions though. You use a gravity feed HVLP or the old school siphon type? Also do you just spray the outside without doing the inside?

View attachment 1046061 View attachment 1046062 View attachment 1046063

the way I do it ,with the hvlp, is remove the pulls and spray all the out side... then pull the doors and use a wieene roller on the base cabinet where it didn't get painted... then I flip the doors and put them on red solo cups to keep them up high from the bench. I shut the pattern off and spray the edges and back,.. with the behr you can paint and shut the door s in 2 hours and they wont stick... sherman williams stick 2 days latter..

on the furniture I just painted, I'll take a short nap weenie roller...3'' long, and just edge the doors and drawers

I have a little over an hour in the 2 pieces so far, and maybe 1/2 hour to finish

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Interesting….I’ve never sprayed but I’ve rolled on a lot of paint. I’ve found the Sherwin-Williams and Valspar from Lowe’s go on a lot easier and cover better than any of the Behr products I’ve used. I’m about to paint about 1500 sq ft of interior walls so I’m all ears to suggestions. I need to some spray some doors as well, I’ll give the harbor freight gun a shot.

the big trick to spraying water base is the tip,,.. be sure to dril it out to 5/64th's.. that make it spray a nice mist... with too small of a tip, and too low of pressure it orange peels and makes it look like texture...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

while I was in havasu, my wife hired painters to re paint the exterior doors gates and garage doors... they used sherwin williams... a week later, the doors still stick to the weather strip, and the garage panel stick together... I'll be buying openers for the garage doors soon!!! sounds like the whole door is coming down each time you open them...

 

[checkrdpast]

Any pics of the spray gun?

 

[Ziggy]

while I was in havasu, my wife hired painters to re paint the exterior doors gates and garage doors... they used sherwin williams... a week later, the doors still stick to the weather strip, and the garage panel stick together... I'll be buying openers for the garage doors soon!!! sounds like the whole door is coming down each time you open them...

Wipe the seal around door opening with a rag sprayed with some wd40.

 

[JUSTWANNARACE]

Wipe the seal around door opening with a rag sprayed with some wd40.

This.. although I use 3M silicone spray instead of WD40

 

[ka0tyk]

we sprayed our entire bus build with a graco truecoat 360. its only $200. skip the harbor freight and just get this thing. for most "weekend warrioring" its pretty bulletproof.

TrueCoat 360 DSP Airless Paint Sprayer

ive sprayed cabinets and such before and needed to use some floetrol to get the paint to lay smooth and have a glossy finish but i didnt need to do that with the graco.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

we sprayed our entire bus build with a graco truecoat 360. its only $200. skip the harbor freight and just get this thing. for most "weekend warrioring" its pretty bulletproof.

TrueCoat 360 DSP Airless Paint Sprayer

ive sprayed cabinets and such before and needed to use some floetrol to get the paint to lay smooth and have a glossy finish but i didnt need to do that with the graco.

thats an excellent choice, but for a few bucks more you can just buy an air less...with the air less you can paint your house.. and all your buddy's houses.... thats why I gave my air less away....

but, the thread is about being to cheep to spend the money to buy top grade tools to do just one job... most people, if they do it,. will only spay their cabinets once in a life time..... so having a 20 buck spay gun sitting in the garage seems better to me than a 200 buck spray gun... also, if you use the behr, you don't need the flo agent as it's already in the paint... my harbor freight spay gun has sprayed the base and doors of 8 homes... and countless small jobs... that and it's easy to use... I have a stand for the gun, I mix the paint and put it in a milk jug, so I just have to take the cap off the gun to refill and keep going.....

again, for a small job... my go to is my hvlp... if the thought is to go into the cabinet and door painting business,... just buy an air less with a 2 orfice gun

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Any pics of the spray gun?

this is the one...$12.99, save your self headaches and don't buy the one with the cheep ass reg... and just buy a good one... I went throgh 5 of them and none worked got tired of returning them..

for $12.99 you could just throw it in the trash when done and not have to clean it...LOL

20 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun (harborfreight.com)

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Wipe the seal around door opening with a rag sprayed with some wd40.

wouldn't it be easier to just use the correct paint for the job??? climbing up a ladder to lube rv garage doors doesn't seem fun to me

 

[Universal Elements]

Steve
What PSI do you use on the regulator?

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Steve
What PSI do you use on the regulator?

I go around 50 psi... makes a real fine mist... I spray a mist base coat then the go back with wet coat...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

well, i'm done... all the pieces painted and put back..I have a system where you don't have to empty the drawers,... but my wife doesn't trust it so she emptied the drawers... I mask the drawers when they are open covering every thing inside...when I spray with the drawers closed no paint gets inside the drawers...

 

[old rigger]

this is the one...$12.99, save your self headaches and don't buy the one with the cheep ass reg... and just buy a good one... I went throgh 5 of them and none worked got tired of returning them..

for $12.99 you could just throw it in the trash when done and not have to clean it...LOL

View attachment 1046134




20 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun (harborfreight.com)

Lots of good tips, thanks!
I used the same gun when I built this mantel and little case, painted in the garage then mounted later. The case actually slides into the wall another 3 inches so it didn't look too bulky. Top 4 inches the mantel are all one piece and lifts off then locks back into place so I can hide shit in there when were not home, you know, guns and drugs.

When I did the carpet and headliner in the Spectra I used the same gun to spray the contact cement then just tossed it. Not worth the acetone to clean it.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Lots of good tips, thanks!
I used the same gun when I built this mantel and little case, painted in the garage then mounted later. The case actually slides into the wall another 3 inches so it didn't look too bulky. Top 4 inches the mantel are all one piece and lifts off then locks back into place so I can hide shit in there when were not home, you know, guns and drugs.

When I did the carpet and headliner in the Spectra I used the same gun to spray the contact cement then just tossed it. Not worth the acetone to clean it.

View attachment 1046305

nice job,... when I bought mine, i bought four, still using the first,.. and went though all for reg. plus some returns...

 

[HNL2LHC]

Hey Steve what do you do if your drawers overlap the cabinet?

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Hey Steve what do you do if your drawers overlap the cabinet?

I do it the same way, , I spray it all with the drawers and doors on and closed.. after that dries I remove the doors and drawers put the doors on red solo cups and spray the back side, the drawers I take a sash and just paint to the box, I put flo in the paint and use behr paint primer.... what I just painted I used behr cabinet paint....I personally didn't like the paint as well, it has a quick flash time and you can close the doors in 2 hours and they don't stick... but i think it takes longer to get hard as the other paint.. I painted a boat trailer out at the lake with a weenie roller and behr exterior paint primer semi gloss with a little flo added... sold the boat, 5 years latter I seen it,.. trailer still looked good

 

[2FORCEFULL]

when you use the weenie roller, keep a damp rag handy, you need tilt the roller inward from the face so you don't get a roller track on the sprayed part, if you do you need to wipe it off immediately...

also, as you can see how easy it is to re fill the spray cup with a water jug... trying to fill a cup out of the can is a bitch to hold the strainer and can at the samet time , then you also have the mess of paint drippings down the can...any way, this is the shit you do when you're 68 and have 3 great grand kids I guess..

 

[Mandelon]

This is so timely. My wife wants me to paint our dining table and chairs. She even did all the sanding already!

I bought a decent HPLV sprayer, because I know I will be doing all the cabinetry next.

 

[DLC]

Hi Steve, great thread!

I noticed your not using a drop cloth, your method doesn’t get a lot of over spray?

I have 9 doors, trim and base to do inside a house, you system seems way to easy! How much masking do you typically do? 12inch wide hand masker?

I have a Titan Flex spray and you need to mask off EVERYTHING really well……. I’m thinking you just reinvented the wheel…. LoL

ive used the titan a lot, but I’m thinking your way would be better….

 

[ka0tyk]

this is the one...$12.99, save your self headaches and don't buy the one with the cheep ass reg... and just buy a good one... I went throgh 5 of them and none worked got tired of returning them..

for $12.99 you could just throw it in the trash when done and not have to clean it...LOL

View attachment 1046134




20 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun (harborfreight.com)

If you’re part of that inside track club you can grab these guns for 9.99. I have a pile of em in the garage. If I need to spray something I won’t even bother cleaning it. The cost of acetone is more than the gun itself.

 

[motormonkey]

we sprayed our entire bus build with a graco truecoat 360. its only $200. skip the harbor freight and just get this thing. for most "weekend warrioring" its pretty bulletproof.

TrueCoat 360 DSP Airless Paint Sprayer

When using this, how is the spray finish. I have a bunch of doors and jambs to do. Allot of overspray?

 

[YeahYeah01]

What are you using to pre clean/de-grease?

 

[ka0tyk]

Overspray?

LOTS of overspray. I sprayed the entire inside in one shot and there was like a cloud inside.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Hi Steve, great thread!

I noticed your not using a drop cloth, your method doesn’t get a lot of over spray?

I have 9 doors, trim and base to do inside a house, you system seems way to easy! How much masking do you typically do? 12inch wide hand masker?

I have a Titan Flex spray and you need to mask off EVERYTHING really well……. I’m thinking you just reinvented the wheel…. LoL

ive used the titan a lot, but I’m thinking your way would be better….

View attachment 1046562

if you are spraying inside you need to cover everything,.. I was spraying in my gargage with gray floors... what I do is about an hour after done spraying, I take a damp micro fiber and tack rag every thing,.. gets rid of all the fuzzy's from spraying, you can feel it with your hands, make sure the rag is clean and just barely damp, wipe lightly

 

[2FORCEFULL]

What are you using to pre clean/de-grease?

I use what ever i got ,kitchen/ bath cleaner..... spray it on a wet rag and wipe it down,.. then go back with another clean rag with clear water.. I use micro fiber rags.. keep rinsing the rag to get all the cleaner off..

 

[2FORCEFULL]

This is so timely. My wife wants me to paint our dining table and chairs. She even did all the sanding already!

I bought a decent HPLV sprayer, because I know I will be doing all the cabinetry next.

look at the tip size , it needs to be a 2.0... harbor freights are 1.4,... thats why I drill them out to 5/64... right close to 2.0 and use the same needle... you want it to spray like a vape pin and not a texture gun... my gun at 50 psi looks like smoke when I paint and drys smooth..too small of tip and you will have to thin the paint too much, then you have to put too many coats.. I put a tack coat, then go back with a wet coat,.. soon as that doesn't stick to the back side of my finger,..I put the next coat..

 

[2FORCEFULL]

look at this pic,.. you can see there is a nice cloud on the edges,..I had the pattern shut of,.. with the wrong tip it will look like measles

 

[PYROMAN23]

look at this pic,.. you can see there is a nice cloud on the edges,..I had the pattern shut of,.. with the wrong tip it will look like measles

I do not see a picture attached.
Btw, awesome advice thus far.
i will be taking a visit to harbor freight very soon since my wife would like to redue our kitchen and paint over all the outdated oak cabinets.

What regulator did you end up switching to over the crap HF regs?

We are also going to paint all the oak trim/baseboards/doors etc in this house.

Also for primer on oak trim/baseboards and cabinets that isnt stained, is using something like zinsser 1-2-3 good enough or do i need to use something like bin instead? So many options for primer alone makes a guys head hurt!

Im assuming you pull off all your trim and spray it in the garage instead of trying to spray the trim attached?

I do not mean to derail this awesome thread but for a guy that that originally plans on brushing/rolling trim and baseboards etc?
Why do you avoid using rollers/brushes for trim? Eliminate brush strokes?

Whats the answer for eliminating brush strokes? It can not all be in the paint used and brushes used? Obviously knowing wtf your actually doing from the start would help.
Switching up to spraying the paint on would eliminate brush strokes which I hate!