Spray Gun VS Air Brush

[SDI4312]

Hello,

I know there are already many posts about spray guns and airbrushes, but I'd like to get an opinion based on the size of my work.

I am making jewellery pieces and currently individually dipping each piece, so I am looking for a more efficient process. Other than this, I make small dishes and and a few vases that are a maximum of 15cm tall and 8cm in width. I am likely to undertake glazing once, maybe twice per month, so I would probably only be using the spray gun/airbrush a couple of hours each month and will still dip some pieces that are quick and easy enough to dip glaze. 

Would this kind of work warrant a spray gun or would an airbrush suffice? If I can get away with an airbrush, are there ones that hold more fluid than others? When I looked up spray guns I noticed the spray pattern was like 265mm - this is huge compared to the work I am doing! I also noted that there are mini ones available - I am looking at one by Star - Mini Gravity Fed Spray Gun which has a max spray pattern of 80mm which I feel would be more suitable for my sized work. 

If I go for a mini spray gun can I use it with a smaller compressor? I'd really like something compact that I can store away in between use. I am also conscious of sound as I will be using this at home.

 

[Mark C.]

Do you spray one thing at a time or multiple items-the sprayer would work best on many items at once-the airbrush is for small detail work.

If its a clear overglaze on many forms at once get the small spray gun if its small one of a kind colors and clear get the airbrush

[SDI4312]

The little jewellery pendants I would spray multiple at once because they're so small, but vases and dishes I would spray one at a time I think. It is just clear glaze for all of them.

[neilestrick]

With pots, spraying is definitely not more efficient than dipping. Dipping is by far the fastest way to glaze.

[hitchmss]

Agree with @neilestrick; dipping is wayyyy quicker than spraying. Spraying, you need to build up a thick enough coat, otherwise you will have thin/thick spots in the glaze, and will likely notice this in your finished product. Dipping provides a consistently thick, encompassing coat. As you noted, spray guns have big patterns, and unless you are spraying a whole board of pieces (which with the pressures that most spray guns operate at, may blow your items off your boards) its overkill and you will be wasting a lot of glaze in overspray. Airbrushes, unless they are small like the one you mention will also have the same issue, but airbrushes arent great at pumping a large volume of material through them rapidly. Thus, you are going to have to make numerous passes (maybe 3) with the airbrush to build up a good layer.

Maybe you can find ways to make your dipping faster? Maybe hanging all your jewelry pieces (im envisioning pendants) from a wire, and dip the whole wire (maybe 10 pendants) into a long, narrow trough that is filled with glaze?

Unless you are making hundreds, or thousands of these pieces, I think that dipping is far faster. If you are in the former, then I would make a special vertical rack for your spray booth, which has hooks on which all your work can hang, and the whole rack can rotate. Put 50-100 items on it at once, and use an HVLP spray gun (cheap ones from Harbor Freight work fine), and spray them all at once.