Clay Tile Mom Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 I am wondering if anyone has tried using the paint spray guns from harbor freight that run around $16.99. Or is it a you get what you pay for situation and worth the $50 to buy the PH300 glaze sprayer from the ceramic suppliers? Do paint sprayers even work for glaze, or will the just get all clogged up? I make 1" ceramic pendants and hand brush the fronts and backs. two coats on the back and three on the top. I currently have hundreds to do, and I think the time saved by using a spray gun will be the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glazenerd Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 I have a professional HVLP sprayer, and a $29,95 HVLP sprayer. Oddly enough the cheapie works the best for spraying small pieces. I brush when I am testing, and spray when producing. BUT... pics are always useful. Think Joseph just bought one from Harbor Freight? Nerd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxden Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 I have the Harbor Freight gun. It works fine. It adjusts the spray fan direction (horizontal to vertical) the spread of the fan and the amount of glaze that comes out. I have been quite happy with it. I have other sprayers purchased from ceramic supply companies but find this one to be better. You can buy a stand for it as well as spare containers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graybeard Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 I've been using the "cheep" HARBOR FREIGHT GRAVITY FEED HVLP gun for a couple years now, liked it so much I went back and bought a second one to use when the tip and needle wore out on the first one. Hasn't happened yet! anyway, well worth the $17.00 just clean it well after you use it. graybeard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What? Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 They work good. Run your glaze through a 60 mesh screen first. 20-40 psi incoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta12 Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 Another vote for the Harbor Freight HVLP gun. I am still using the one I bought 4 or more years ago. I bought a second one when they were on sale simply because I don't live close to a Harbor Freight and I have not used it yet. ditto on the sieve..... I use 40-45 psi Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay Tile Mom Posted August 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 Excellent! You all Rock! So glad I thought to post. I knew I could count on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwinRocks Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 Is the regulator a nessasary part, I see they sell them with and without? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxden Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 It would depend on your source of compressed air. Most compressors are adjustable and have their own regulator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fireborn Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 I have 4 harbor freight guns that I use on a regular basis. After about 100 pots sprayed with them I had to clean them out or I had issues spraying properly. However I don't screen my glazes with a really small mesh before I use them. A lot of them I just spray on straight after mixing with a stick blender. So that could be why I had to clean them. However the cleaning process for the 4 HF guns only took like 1 hour total. I just took a water hose and blasted it down in the sections and knocked out what I could. They went back to working well after that. I have an expensive gun, a used SATA Mini Jet that my brother in law gave me(he doesn't use it anymore). This gun is like $299, I would say it sprays a good bit more even than the HF guns, but the thing about it is, glaze melts and changes so no matter how well you spray it doesn't really make a huge difference as long as the spray gun is working properly. I have actually tested the results on a tile, from the SATA and the HF guns and there was no visible difference after firing. I mainly just use the SATA gun now for super sensitive applications where I want a fine mist sprays as a highlight glaze. Basically when I am using a modifier on top of a glaze I will use my SATA gun for that, but most of my heavy duty spraying gets done with the HF guns. IMO you can't go wrong, and if they stop working you can always just replace them for $15, I mean if your selling product, $15 isn't much to pay for a couple hundred pots to be sprayed. I know many other people reported they liked their HF guns, but I just wanted to share my experience between a really expensive auto detail gun and a cheap one from HF. As far as the compressor, just get one with a regulator on it, spraying glaze isn't so sensitive that it really matters to make sure pressure is perfect coming into the gun. I bought the 8# tank from HF when I bought my guns, it works just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Johnson Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Those HF cheap gravity feed guns work really well for glazes. At the price I like to have three or four locked and loaded... I use the HF $119 2HP compressor, which is adequate as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxden Posted August 21, 2016 Report Share Posted August 21, 2016 FYI, that sprayer is currently on sale for $8.99, expires today 8-21-16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancylee Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Hi, Do you have to buy the plastic bottle separately? Or does it come with the gun? I can't find the listing for it. Thanks!! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hulk Posted June 17, 2020 Report Share Posted June 17, 2020 Hi NancyLee! The HFT 20 oz HVLP comes with the paint reservoir (aka "paint cup"). https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html I'm seeing that alternate reservoirs are available as well; there's a set of disposable ones, and a large aluminum one as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David from Yonekrs Posted October 3, 2021 Report Share Posted October 3, 2021 Hi, what is the best kind of air compressors for these HVLP spray guns, for glazing pottery? HP? PSI? 6 gallon? 10 gallon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted October 3, 2021 Report Share Posted October 3, 2021 3 hours ago, David from Yonekrs said: Hi, what is the best kind of air compressors for these HVLP spray guns, for glazing pottery? HP? PSI? 6 gallon? 10 gallon? The more the merrier, or the bigger the better. Turns out when looking at the requirements of a spray gun they are rated in the range of approximately 9-12 cfm say at an approximate pressure of 40 psi. When looking at compressor performance one might believe they can cover this requirement easily ……. But ……. Compressors are rated differently and mostly over rated by leaps and bounds compared to real world requirements. So even a 1 hp 10 gallon likely won’t keep up with constant spraying of two guns. Fortunately spraying glazes allows one to take a break so the compressor can keep up. So as big as you can afford would be my suggestion, else you may wait for the compressor to catch up. The only other thing I can think of is oil or oil less. Oil less would be best as far as contamination and maintenance. Lots of folks using 6 gallon hot dog compressors every day for single use glaze spraying. Pressure is not usually an issue as most compressors will easily produce more than 100 psi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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