I like making stuff, but I’ve learned through the years that I don’t enjoy finishing stuff at all. Painting, sealing, staining, etc… it’s all laborious work that requires a kind of fastidious patience that I often don’t have when I’m just excited to be done with a project.
Right now I’m working on a set of built-in cabinets for my wife. It’s the project that got me interested in learning woodworking really… and I’m just now getting to it. The build part of the project as gone by fast and easy and I’ve REALLY enjoyed it. However, the finishing aspect has been a nightmare for me. We were planning on brushing/rolling the satin black color that my wife picked out, so we chose a Sherwin Williams oil-based paint and got to work. No matter what roller cover or technique I tried, I ended up with a finish that I just wasn’t happy with.
After priming, painting, sanding, etc… to no end, I finally gave up and bought an HVLP spray system. I chose the Fuji Mini Mite 3 and thus far I’ve been incredibly happy with it. It works really well obviously, but even better – it’s not a pain in the ass to clean and maintain. And for some reason, that was the one thing that has always kept me from pursuing a spray system of some kind.
In any case, I’m working on a video for this project and once done (and after I get some more experience), I’ll do a full review on the Fuji as well. I just wanted to drop a quick note of relief of sorts. This cabinet project is finally back on track!
If you are interested, I bought my Fuji system here. They seemed to have the best price and their service was great.








