Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello all i've been looking at buying a fuji mini-mite 3 hvlp setup,it comes with a choice of two guns ,suction or gravity .Which would be best for spraying nitro?Thanks Rob.

I bought the gravity version because of reduced waste and I didn't need the extra capacity of the suction version. In terms of best for nitro I think that's more a function of the tip size & the one that comes with the gun appears to work fine for nitro - I'm a newbie at spraying.

Kevin Looker

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

I got the gravity version as well. More than large enough. I got 3 coats on 1 guitar top with half a potful.
Less waste, easy to clean, pot does not get in the way if close up, and swivels to allow spraying at any angle (down in my case) was my reasoning.
Hands up to being a newbie to spraying as well.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Gravity for sure.

HVLP is so much more efficient that you won't miss the extra capacity.

You can spray in more directions than the siphon.

Easier to clean.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

I find the gravity gun is much easier on my wrist.

Alex

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

Gravity....and no need to go super deluxe either. I've used a cheap Grizzly gun for many years...and THAT had already sprayed hundreds of gallons of polyester gel coat through it prior to the lacquer. I think the orifice size is 1.1mm on that gun out of the box.

The only trick to lacquer is getting your pressure setting and reducer/retarder/lacquer ratio correct in order to lay down an even, bubble free film. It takes a little experimentation but once you are dialed in you have to go out of your way to screw up lacquer out of a little HVLP gun like this.

Use a water filter/trap of some kind just before the gun. Try to avoid more than 10 feet of hose between the gun and the trap.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic