Paint sprayer to handle poly?

Question

I am looking at a couple of projects involving polyurethaning a lot of things, some big and some small. All need multiple coats. Spraying seems to be the way to go; I see Minwax sells poly in spray cans. But at what they cost and how many I'll need, I'll be in for a couple of hundred $$$. For that, I should just invest in a decent spray gun which I can use for other things (like, say, painting the walls). But will any reasonable models handle polyurethane? Or am I dreaming?

donald girod · Accepted Answer

Any spray gun will spray poly, at least the oil-based type. If you don't have an air compressor, then it makes some sense to get a high-volume low-pressure HVLP system, which will include a gun and the blower unit. Cambell Hausfeld makes one, as do many other manufacturers.

As someone who does a lot of finishing and has an HVLP unit, I can tell you that I don't use it very often. Spraying is often harder than brushing (for instance, inside a cabinet), it is messy, and you have the gun to clean. I really only spray

1) large flat surfaces 2) complex objects like a chair

Instead I finish almost everything using throwaway foam brushes from Jen Manufacturing (the only good ones). If you keep them wrapped in saran wrap in a glass jar in the freezer, they last for months and can be used many times.

Some things I used the sprayer for:

17 interior wood doors A complete set of raised panel kitchen cabinet doors

Some things I didn't spray:

a large dining room table a large bookcase with shelves

I have found that you rarely save much time spraying but it is possible to get a superior quality of final coat. This is important on items that won't be given a final rubbing, but not so important on, say, furniture.

David · Answer

Check out the Critter sray unit. About $45.  See it at  and otherwoodworker catalogs.

Paint sprayer to handle poly?

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