Spray Guns

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by etott, Jan 6, 2007.

  1. etott
    Joined: Jan 2007
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    Location: IOWA

    etott Junior Member

    Hello, I am a beginner, I have a HVLP siphon spray gun. I was wondering if it would work for gel coat?

    4.8 cfm @40 psi
    1.8 mm nozzle

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. jimslade
    Joined: Aug 2005
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    Location: north Markham

    jimslade Senior Member

    One word, NO. You need a gelcoat gun. You will ruin your hvlp. To spray gel you need a much larger tip.
     
    Last edited: Jan 10, 2007
  3. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    hvlp with a 2.0 tip will work even a 1.8 will work but u will need to thin the gel down with some styrinne or acetone for it to shoot, what are u spraying into a mould or resurfacing, for production get yourself a gelcoat dump gun the one that takes papercups cost around 250 the problem with a regular gun is the gel will go hard and all your left with is a expensive hammer, I had a guy F$%##k UP A 600 dollar sata on me once, if your going to be doing a repair the gun you have will work fine i often use a mini jet gun with a 0.7 tip and have seen a 0.5 tip used but for this the gelcoat has to be thined down and if you dont know what your doing you may end up in a mess
     
  4. etott
    Joined: Jan 2007
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    Location: IOWA

    etott Junior Member

    Thanks guys, I think I will go buy a paper cup gun, any recommendations?

    I want to spray into a boat mold.

    Thanks
     
  5. Eagle Boats
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: NEW YORK

    Eagle Boats Senior Member

    You can get a cup gun at fgci.com. They have one for about $130. This is a basic model. They also have one which adds the catalyst while you are spraying. This is more money. Stick with the cheaper one as you will know that the catalyst has been properly added and mixed.

    How big is your mold? It is going to be a real pain in the butt if you are using a cup gun to spray a large mold. What you may want to consider is using a Model 95 or 14 Binks gun with a pressure pot. Those guns are designed for this application. The only thing to consider is that you can not waste any time while shooting because the gel coat has already been catalyzed. This is referred to as "shooting hot".

    If you are only doing one boat, use the cup gun. If you are going into production, you need at least a pressure pot system. If you really plan to go into production, you should get a gel coat system that shoots the gel coat and the correct amount of catalyst. These systems run at least $5,000, but worth every penny.
     
  6. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    www.esmfg.com
    they have paper cup guns they have a few types one that will mix the mekp externally that will speed things up and help keep the ratio right, u can also buy a gun that will hold 8 litres the gel runs down a hose to the gun
     
  7. grp.boat
    Joined: Nov 2005
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    Location: uk

    grp.boat Junior Member

    i use a g100 cup gun from es. works quite well when i got the pressures right.. to low and it spatters out, and too high and it runs like hell.
     
  8. buckknekkid
    Joined: Oct 2005
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    Location: north of pompano

    buckknekkid Senior Member

    Jack

    Are you going to the show Saturday>>>>>>>>>>>>>> :?:
     
  9. fiberglass jack
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: toronto

    fiberglass jack Senior Member

    going to try and get there ray , call u later in the week,
     
  10. jimslade
    Joined: Aug 2005
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    Location: north Markham

    jimslade Senior Member

    I might see you. I'll be hanging around the offshore stuff. I'm 6'5" 260lbs, My wife is 5'4" and blonde. look for me.
    Jim
     

  11. StealthAssassin
    Joined: Jun 2007
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    Location: Jackson, MS

    StealthAssassin Junior Member

    I know this thread Is old.;)

    This Is simply not ture... It's common sense, Clean the gun before It hardens! Don't get me wrong the hvlp has more parts to clean and you have to stay on top of getting to the acetone after spraying but, It will work.

    The man (a while ago) was asking about the tip size If using a hvlp and I still think that Is a good question and It was never answered correctly IMHO...

    A dump gun sure lays alot of material down. That I am not to crazy about on small detailed molds so, a hvlp makes more sense sometimes. Also seems to me that If gel Is sprayed In a hvlp It needs to be broke up a little bit.(regarding tip size)

    Well, what tips do you guys recommend? I would like to hear what you have to say.
     
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