I'm looking for a sprayer that will be used primarily for water-based
urethanes, and perhaps also some lacquer work. Does anybody have any
experience using the Critter spray guns for either? Reviews on Amazon
are generally good, but there's a few that make me wonder. In
particular, one mentions it spits the occasional large droplet of
finish, making it impossible to get a good finish coat. Has anyone else
had this problem? Is it possible that this could be explained by
viscosity problems or a misadjusted spray head, or is it most likely a
design flaw of the gun?
I'm attracted to the Critter gun because of: 1, the low price; 2, easy
cleanup; and 3, the fact that it uses regular mason jars for the cup (I
have dozens of these lying around waiting to be used for something, so I
could in theory have several quarts of finish ready to go at any given
time!) However, I'm open to suggestion on any other sprayers I should
look into. Thanks folks!
-AD
On Sun, 5 Dec 2004 20:32:09 -0700, Adam Diehl wrote
(in article <[email protected]>):
> I'm looking for a sprayer that will be used primarily for water-based
> urethanes, and perhaps also some lacquer work. Does anybody have any
> experience using the Critter spray guns for either? Reviews on Amazon
> are generally good, but there's a few that make me wonder. In
> particular, one mentions it spits the occasional large droplet of
> finish, making it impossible to get a good finish coat. Has anyone else
> had this problem? Is it possible that this could be explained by
> viscosity problems or a misadjusted spray head, or is it most likely a
> design flaw of the gun?
Spitting often can be traced to contaminants in the finish. Water based poly
can easily get "boogers" after being opened. Use a paint strainer (looks like
a paper funnel). also you need to watch for drying finish developing on the
siphon hole in the sprayer. Small clumps often develop and blow loose on
occasion.
-Bruce
>
> I'm attracted to the Critter gun because of: 1, the low price; 2, easy
> cleanup; and 3, the fact that it uses regular mason jars for the cup (I
> have dozens of these lying around waiting to be used for something, so I
> could in theory have several quarts of finish ready to go at any given
> time!) However, I'm open to suggestion on any other sprayers I should
> look into. Thanks folks!
>
> -AD
[email protected] wrote:
> On bookcases and other things with backs Jeff Jewitt suggests spraying
> without the back installed to reduce spray bounceback, a great
> suggestion!
>
Oooh, hadn't thought of that.. that would also make it much easier to
get a good coat into the corners. Thanks for the tip!
-AD
> The pattern is round and not adjustable, so it won't work on
> details and into corners as well as an adjustable gun might.
Do you think it would be feasible to use it for bookcases and cabinet
interiors, or would I just be asking for frustration? I'm planning on
building a few smallish tables, some bookcases, a TV stand and
eventually a desk. (probably in about that general order) At what point
do you think I should think about moving to an adjustable sprayer?
Thanks for all the info so far!
-AD
Adam Diehl <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> I'm looking for a sprayer that will be used primarily for water-based
> urethanes, and perhaps also some lacquer work. Does anybody have any
> experience using the Critter spray guns for either?
It's not an Apollo, by any means, but I think I got my $50 out of it with
the first use. I HATE brushing poly, particularly waterbased poly, extra
particularly on drawers and kitchen cabinet insides, and extra special
particularly on deadline. I used Minwax Polycrylic for the first batch,
and Varathane Diamond something waterbased Gloss for the second. I
preferred the look and application of the Varathane, for my purposes.
My neighbor has the Apollo 900(?), and we'll likely use that this spring,
if I finally tackle my wife's kitchen remodel...
I don't do spray lacquer, except from rattle cans, and then, only
sparingly.
Patriarch
On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 22:32:09 -0500, Adam Diehl
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm looking for a sprayer that will be used primarily for water-based
>urethanes, and perhaps also some lacquer work. Does anybody have any
>experience using the Critter spray guns for either?
I use mine for lacquer and shellac on a regular basis. I haven't
tried waterborne finishes with it.
>Reviews on Amazon
>are generally good, but there's a few that make me wonder. In
>particular, one mentions it spits the occasional large droplet of
>finish, making it impossible to get a good finish coat. Has anyone else
>had this problem?
Once.
>Is it possible that this could be explained by
>viscosity problems or a misadjusted spray head, or is it most likely a
>design flaw of the gun?
User error.
The Critter is limited to smaller items, I'd say an end table is about
max. The pattern is round and not adjustable, so it won't work on
details and into corners as well as an adjustable gun might.
I like my Critter and feel it's a good value and useful in the shop.
Barry
On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 19:31:43 -0500, Adam Diehl
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The pattern is round and not adjustable, so it won't work on
>> details and into corners as well as an adjustable gun might.
>
>Do you think it would be feasible to use it for bookcases and cabinet
>interiors, or would I just be asking for frustration?
If there are simple details, and the finish is something very
rubbable, like lacquer, it would work. You probably end up with some
orange peel and over spray that needs to be rubbed out. The Critter
dosen't spray as heavy of a coating as bigger units, so be careful
rubbing if you're over stain. When in doubt, add another coat of
clear before rubbing.
> I'm planning on
>building a few smallish tables, some bookcases, a TV stand and
>eventually a desk. (probably in about that general order) At what point
>do you think I should think about moving to an adjustable sprayer?
I own spray gear and often find myself using brush, pad, or wipe-on
finishes, like Waterlox Original, a lot. Why? It's not the gear,
it's the place to spray. Setting up a temporary booth, cleaning the
floor, getting everything ready to spray, thinning the products,
wearing a respirator and gloves, cleaning everything up... It's a
pain in the ass!
If I'm doing a bunch of stuff in lacquer, it's worth it. If not, I'd
just as well use a varnish and rub out dust nibs. On some pieces, I
actually prefer the end look of a shellac or varnish finish anyway.
If I'm doing built-ins and staining to color match, I'll spray from
the washcoats up, 'cause rubbing out over stain leaves a lot to go
wrong.
The spray area ties up a lot of space, so I can't do a whole lot of
other stuff when set up. If it's raining, it's too humid to spray
lacquer. With other finishes, I can add a coat just about anywhere,
like the garage or another room, and go back to making dust in the
shop.
Barry
I visit www.homesteadfinishing.com daily for the forums that are very
helpful. I read many descriptions of French Polishing and had
responses to posts asking about it also. One viewing of a Jeff video
made all of it make sense.
On Wed, 08 Dec 2004 12:01:59 GMT, Ba r r y
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:11:12 -0500, Adam Diehl
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>[email protected] wrote:
>>
>>> On bookcases and other things with backs Jeff Jewitt suggests spraying
>>> without the back installed to reduce spray bounceback, a great
>>> suggestion!
>>>
>>
>>Oooh, hadn't thought of that.. that would also make it much easier to
>>get a good coat into the corners. Thanks for the tip!
>
>Check out Jeff's books, they're worth the purchase price!
>
>Barry
On bookcases and other things with backs Jeff Jewitt suggests spraying
without the back installed to reduce spray bounceback, a great
suggestion!
On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 19:31:43 -0500, Adam Diehl
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The pattern is round and not adjustable, so it won't work on
>> details and into corners as well as an adjustable gun might.
>
>Do you think it would be feasible to use it for bookcases and cabinet
>interiors, or would I just be asking for frustration? I'm planning on
>building a few smallish tables, some bookcases, a TV stand and
>eventually a desk. (probably in about that general order) At what point
>do you think I should think about moving to an adjustable sprayer?
>Thanks for all the info so far!
>
>-AD
On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 21:11:12 -0500, Adam Diehl
<[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>
>> On bookcases and other things with backs Jeff Jewitt suggests spraying
>> without the back installed to reduce spray bounceback, a great
>> suggestion!
>>
>
>Oooh, hadn't thought of that.. that would also make it much easier to
>get a good coat into the corners. Thanks for the tip!
Check out Jeff's books, they're worth the purchase price!
Barry
On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 22:32:09 -0500, Adam Diehl wrote:
> I'm looking for a sprayer that will be used primarily for water-based
> urethanes, and perhaps also some lacquer work. Does anybody have any
> experience using the Critter spray guns for either? Reviews on Amazon
> are generally good, but there's a few that make me wonder. In
> particular, one mentions it spits the occasional large droplet of
> finish, making it impossible to get a good finish coat. Has anyone else
> had this problem? Is it possible that this could be explained by
> viscosity problems or a misadjusted spray head, or is it most likely a
> design flaw of the gun?
>
I used my Critter to shoot water based Rustoleum paints a couple of
times. Clean up was a snap and using standard Mason jars was convenient.
The round spray pattern takes a little getting used to, but left a nice
finish. Until I figured out how to properly adjust the gun, I
occasionally spit some blobs of paint, but this is attributable to OHI
(Operator Headspace Issues). I toss a handful of stainless steel nuts
into the bottom of the mason jar to allow more of the paint to be shot.
Maybe my pick up tube was just the runt of the litter. :)
The Critter does bounce a bunch of finish, so you will have to deal with
over spray. Having said that, I am happy with my Critter and will
continue to use it for small projects.
Tim
--
No BoomBoom for me [email protected]