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I'm going to be using a couple of coats of shellac between grain fill and WB finish. I have a Fuji sprayer and two guns, but they are strictly for WB stain and finish. Does the Preval do a good enough job for a couple of coats? Thanks!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I found a Preval sprayer to be a tool I could do without. I'm sure that there are situations where the tool is a real help, but I haven't found such a situation yet. And I found the Preval sprayer I had threw out a really coarse splatter as 'spray'. I suspect a whole bunch of experimentation would be needed for me to find a good material/thinner proportion that sprayed anything like as nicely as a rattle can.

Life is short and cleaning spray guns is a real PITA when small quantities need applying. Far more time setting up and breaking down than applying the finish.

My opinion is to use rattle-cans whenever possible. No waste, no setup time, no cleanup time or mess, no drying-out of partial cans. I found them cheap at the price and a big timesaver.

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Peter Havriluk

Totally agree with Peter -- as been said before "not how you put it on, its what you end up leaving on" that really count. Rattle cans for me as well.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I have to ask, why not just wipe on the shellac?

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sweat the small stuff.

I don't want to use rattle can shellac as the quality and colour are not what I want to use. I know that I can wipe, pad or brush the shellac. My intention is not to finish my guitar with a Preval sprayer, I'll be using my hvlp to do that, just to spray a couple of shellac coats.
Just wondering if the Preval can do the job. If it won't, I'll just apply the shellac by other means.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

good enough is relative...I've found that with experimentation I can get almost as good of a finish as with my Binks Mach1-SL...

that being said, I've only used one a few times for in the field touch up work or for spraying 1' square panels as samples and did so just because setting up, breaking down and cleaning for such a small thing was unwarranted...

overthinning is required from memory, and I think you should have at least 2 charges to do a couple of coats on a guitar...

all things considered you might be far better off buying a cheapo gun from Harbor Freight...

I use to use a $30 touch up gun for spraying shellac. It worked very well. I'd go that route vs a preval.


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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

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HF sells a jamb gun for $13 and a cheap regulator for another $4. They actually work pretty well. They also sell a detail gun for about the same price. It doesn't put out as much material but might be good for what you want plus touch up work.

I found a preval type sprayer - where you could fill the cup with whatever and aerosol spray - at a paint store one time that worked like a dream. It had a handle with an adjustable nozzle. It sprayed very well. I don't remember the brand but was about 8 bucks with 1 aerosol charge. The preval is a piece of junk IMO.

Seems like the consensus is the Preval isn't worth the $9. I'll just wipe or brush the shellac, or maybe use my old Wagner conversion gun for non-waterbase finishes. Thanks for the help!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have the same equipment as you but this natural maple guitar needs color sprayed on and a sunburst to the top. I am using the preval unit to custom mix and spray this small amount of color. After sun-bursting the top (and before I remove the tape covering he binding) I will switch to my Fuji to lacquer over and seal the color. Then remove the tape, scrap the binding as necessary and add enough clear lacquer to be able to level (again using my Fuji). This is why I chose the preval unit. Test it first to see if it will for your application.

Getting spray inside the scroll worked best with this unit. Heavy cleanup after but worked.





Tomorrow I do the top.

Michael