Cheap, hopper-feed spray gun for Duratex - thoughts?

[Jon Barnhardt]

Spraying a first coat on all four cabs would probably take 40 minutes, give or take a few minutes. Doing the same with a roller? You could comfortably triple that time estimate, easily.

First coat on my pair of t39's took about an hour. That's with the mouths and hand painting the handle compartments. Subsequent coats took considerably less.

[DaveK]

The HF texture sprayer works fine. I had a hard time getting good spray coverage deep inside horns without the coat getting too thick out front so now I roll the first coat and use a brush for the inside corners. I also use black latex primer instead of Duratex for the first coat to save money.

The only thing to watch out for with the HF hopper (or maybe any other) is globs. On a warm, dry California day the Duratex in the hopper starts to get a skin on top. When that tries to go through the orifice it clogs and then comes out in clumps. Ruins your nice, even spray pattern. Now I cover the top of the hopper with plastic wrap to keep the product from drying out. That also keeps it from spilling when I lean way over to spray a difficult spot.

[miked]

Hmm, OK, I underestimated how long a first coat would take. I've got time to mull it all over, though, being that I've not even started making sawdust yet.
There's definitely work involved with spraying; I'll just have to carefully consider both options, especially if I'm going to roll the first coat on anyway, as has been advised. I've always used two coats of Duratex, but always just the roller method. The fact that you've got to choose which version to use (roller vs. spray-grade) before you start makes the decision easier though.

Thanks for the first-hand account of the that HF gun, DaveK. That is helpful and lets me know what I'm dealing with; the plastic wrap tip is genius. For like $16 after the coupon it's a hard deal to pass up.

[Frederic Gelinas]

Spraying Duratex is really fast. I surely do a T39 under 10 minutes.

[LelandCrooks]

Spraying Duratex is really fast. I surely do a T39 under 10 minutes.

Yup.

And you can roll the first coat with spray grade. You just need the cabinet to be black, don't worry about grain showing through.

[jswingchun]

And you can roll the first coat with spray grade. You just need the cabinet to be black, don't worry about grain showing through.

I brush paint on a coat of latex house paint to start with cuz it's cheaper than doing a first coat with duratex. Then I blast it with the duratex in the hopper gun.

I beg to differ. The amount of set up time for the sprayer, putting down plastic, clean up time is way more than popping the lid, dipping the roller and getting it slapped on. No run, no drips, no errors (sorry....world series is going on). I've rolled 9 cabinets multiple coats - I would never spray it unless I was manufacturing cabs and had a separate paint booth where everything could stay setup.

Not to mention all the waste you get with spraying.

I get almost no waste with spraying. There is almost zero overspray if you do it right. Trigger control is the only thing you have to learn in order to avoid spraying too thick.

[Lastcat]

Spraying Duratex is really fast. I surely do a T39 under 10 minutes.

+1

[miked]

Hmm, fuel from the pro-spray crowd. For me, it's all about setup. Particularly, setting up a "spray booth." My garage is pretty full of stuff. Stuff I don't want to get Duratex on. <--I don't want to be running around like this with a can of Naptha or something and a rag, furiously trying to get the stuff off the walls before it dries.

[Frederic Gelinas]

For me, it's all about setup.

Then, wait for the right weather and do it outside. The light is better there anyway.

[Tom Smit]

Hmm, fuel from the pro-spray crowd. For me, it's all about setup. Particularly, setting up a "spray booth." My garage is pretty full of stuff. Stuff I don't want to get Duratex on. <--I don't want to be running around like this with a can of Naptha or something and a rag, furiously trying to get the stuff off the walls before it dries.

You could get a large cardboard box and open it up and stand it, or, get a cheap plastic drop sheet and hang it up as a back drop. When you're done, take the back drop down, roll it up and toss it.

[miked]

For me, it's all about setup.

Then, wait for the right weather and do it outside. The light is better there anyway.

Hmm, hadn't thought of that. Backyard is big enough. Though then there's the problem of grass/pollen/airborne crap being blown onto and sticking to my freshly-painted cabs. I'd do it inside most probably.

When you spray Duratex, does it "mist" in the air like paint does? That mist gets all over everything.

[DaveK]

How fine a mist you get depends on trigger pressure. With a really light touch on a warm day, you can get a sandpaper finish like truck bed liner. Crack the trigger just a hair more and you have orange peel. Crack it a hair more and you have drywall knockdown.

Keeping the same even trigger pressure while moving around to spray all the sides of a cab is challenging at times. I suspend my cabs and walk around to spray all sides, top, and bottom. I'd really like a system where the cab rotates freely in 3 dimensions so I can spray from a fixed spot, but haven't come up with anything yet.

Another thing to watch out for is consistency between coats. If you stand a cab on something to spray 5 sides, wait for them to try, then spray the last side, the odd side never looks exatcly the same.

All of this is just my humble experience using amateur exuipment and technique. A pro with better equipment or even just better technique can probably do better.

[miked]

You're scaring me, Dave! I'd hate for my cabs to look different. Having never used a spray gun before, is there really that great of a variance in texture, depending on trigger pressure? Even if you have the regulator set at the suggested PSI level? Duratex doesn't come off; once it's on, it's on. I definitely would practice on some scrap wood first.

AFA a jig for painting cabs goes, something like this might work. This one's for a guitar, but you get the idea.



You could even somehow motorize the handle and have it spin very slowly. Just an idea.

[LelandCrooks]

With a really light touch on a warm day, you can get a sandpaper finish like truck bed liner.

Not enough humidity, too far from the cab. Been there done that. It becomes brittle. Dan at acrytech explained to me it's drying before it hits the cab. It's not very durable when you get that finish. Put down a sheet of plastic, spray some water on it. Then spray the cab. That will raise the immediate area humidity enough for correct application.

[DaveK]

Not enough humidity, too far from the cab. ... it's drying before it hits the cab. It's not very durable when you get that finish.

Also a higher pressure so the exit speed was probably a little faster. I figured all that out after it dried and I noticed it was different from previous jobs. I put on 2 thin coats that way, over latex primer, and it's holding up fine so far. However, I don't use those cabs very often and they live in road cases so I can't really say for sure.

<picture of painting jig>

The problem I have not solved is how to attach the jig securely to the cab without covering any surface that I want sprayed. For a heavy cab like a Titan, it probably needs to be attached at more than one point to reduce the leverage. Also, a jig sturdy enough to handle a Titan would be pretty big. For production work, that would be a good investment, but it never seemed worthwhile for my limited needs. Instead, I suspend them from an eye bolt in one of the screw holes for the handles or from the Speakon jack inlet hole.

<finicky trigger pressure>

My Duratex jobs are not perfect, but they are good enough. Nobody except me notices the slight variations and they are really hard to see in the dark anyway. Also, those variations are minor compared to the routine dings and scrapes that inevitably happen.

Speaking of dings, another problem I've never solved to my satisfaction is how to touch them up. I've tried dabbing and brushing, but the finish is never exactly the same.