Fuji Mini-Mite 3 Platinum

[Ryan]

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...


To read the rest of this blog entry from The Garage Journal, click here.

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[Falcon67]

I've had the same issue with SW paint on a new front door. I'm in the process of stripping that **** off the door. Kept the shop at 65F and the paint still dried so fast it would not lay down. Fine roller looked like blown wall texture.

That said, no way I could part with $700 for a HVLP. I'm going to re-do every door trim in the house and even that can't justify dropping $400 for a Dewalt 20v cordless trim nailer.

 

[Git]

Been there, done that, and sold it.

In my experience, a 3 stage HVLP system just can't handle the finishes that are popular today. Natural wood finishes are on the way out and most people want color on their cabinets, built-ins, etc. I have sprayed a lot of Sherwin Williams paint - primarily their Pro Classic line and never got satisfactory results with my 3 stage hvlp. Very frustrating and I could never really get used to having a garden hose attached to the spray gun (even bought the whip, but it was not much better)

I made the decision to sell the Fuji and was looking to go one of two ways. Either with a stage 4 hvlp, like one of the Apollo Models, or since I already had a compressor, a system with a pressure pot that literally could force just about anything to the spray tip. Went with the pressure pot setup with my compressor, and have been very pleased with a pressure pot, not much harder to clean and you can position the gun any way you want.

You might want to try Benjamin Moore Advance. It sprays easier, the only drawback is it has a long recoat time (16 hours or so) and it takes a while to fully harden
https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us.../product-catalog/awiap/advance-interior-paint

Thats the Fuji I sold and the gun I use now:

 

[Ryan]

Been there, done that, and sold it.

In my experience, a 3 stage HVLP system just can't handle the finishes that are popular today. Natural wood finishes are on the way out and most people want color on their cabinets, built-ins, etc. I have sprayed a lot of Sherwin Williams paint - primarily their Pro Classic line and never got satisfactory results with my 3 stage hvlp. Very frustrating and I could never really get used to having a garden hose attached to the spray gun (even bought the whip, but it was not much better)

I made the decision to sell the Fuji and was looking to go one of two ways. Either with a stage 4 hvlp, like one of the Apollo Models, or since I already had a compressor, a system with a pressure pot that literally could force just about anything to the spray tip. Went with the pressure pot setup with my compressor, and have been very pleased with a pressure pot, not much harder to clean and you can position the gun any way you want.

You might want to try Benjamin Moore Advance. It sprays easier, the only drawback is it has a long recoat time (16 hours or so) and it takes a while to fully harden
https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us.../product-catalog/awiap/advance-interior-paint

Thats the Fuji I sold and the gun I use now:

I'm detecting a theme here.

 

[Git]

I'm detecting a theme here.

lol - ya, if you buy something and it doesn't work, don't be afraid to move on.


ps - I think you have found out, the actual 'wood working' is only half of the project

 

[Denwood]

Ryan, I totally get the brush vs spray thing. Been there. I've been using a plastic Wagner Flexio 590 setup that should be a piece of ****, but produces amazing results when compared to my Devilbiss HVLP setup. It's basically a hair dryer with a siphon gun attached.

My brother sprays and really likes Benjamin Moore Advance..but as the previous poster said..it takes forever to dry.

My new favourite for spraying is PPG Breakthrough which is dry in 20 minutes and flows out beautifully.

 

[PaintLife]

Ryan, I replied to your FOG thread too. Fellow Austinite here. Air pressure is a great mask for beginners as it can hide inefficiencies in proper thinning and spray techniques. However, if you are patient and pay attention to what's going on that spray system you have is fantastic. If you are already successfully spraying that All Surface oil paint, you are well on your way.

I would have rather you bought the 4-turbine unit just for flexibility, but what you have is more than adequate to learn and have great success with. Don't read the internet. Instead, spray spray and spray some more. You will learn quickly.

 

[Ryan]

Ryan, I replied to your FOG thread too. Fellow Austinite here. Air pressure is a great mask for beginners as it can hide inefficiencies in proper thinning and spray techniques. However, if you are patient and pay attention to what's going on that spray system you have is fantastic. If you are already successfully spraying that All Surface oil paint, you are well on your way.

I would have rather you bought the 4-turbine unit just for flexibility, but what you have is more than adequate to learn and have great success with. Don't read the internet. Instead, spray spray and spray some more. You will learn quickly.

Small world... I used your youtube videos for my initial setup... Thanks for that!

And yeah, at least with this AS oil product I've been able to get a really nice finish really quickly and with minimal clean up afterwards. Takes all of 5 minutes to clean the system up for storage or the next coat of different material.

And yeah, I kind of wish I would have sprung for the 4-stage... I was already fretting the $700 I spent for the 3-stage - slippery slope I guess!

 

[Git]

Ryan, I replied to your FOG thread too. Fellow Austinite here. Air pressure is a great mask for beginners as it can hide inefficiencies in proper thinning and spray techniques. However, if you are patient and pay attention to what's going on that spray system you have is fantastic. If you are already successfully spraying that All Surface oil paint, you are well on your way.

I would have rather you bought the 4-turbine unit just for flexibility, but what you have is more than adequate to learn and have great success with. Don't read the internet. Instead, spray spray and spray some more. You will learn quickly.

Small world... I used your youtube videos for my initial setup... Thanks for that!

And yeah, at least with this AS oil product I've been able to get a really nice finish really quickly and with minimal clean up afterwards. Takes all of 5 minutes to clean the system up for storage or the next coat of different material.

And yeah, I kind of wish I would have sprung for the 4-stage... I was already fretting the $700 I spent for the 3-stage - slippery slope I guess!

So.... what is the main difference between a 3 stage and a 4 stage turbine.... could it be..... it has more air pressure?

 

[gahrajmahal]

A year ago I was charged with changing stained and lacquered kitchen cabinets to white for friends of mine. Google searching led me to Sherwin Williams brand for best results. (Would use something else now). I also could not achieve factory results with brushes either. (The cabinet boxes would stay installed). I could achieve factory results at home using my big air compressor, a cheap Harbor Freight purple gun and thinning with 30% water. Removing all the doors and drawers I did just that. The problem came with the cabinets, which there were a lot of them. I tried a Wagner sprayer, too much volume. I tried spraying with a portable pancake compressor, not enough air flow. So, I went to the tool rental center and they had a TP HVLP turbine sprayer, which was just the trick. It also added heated air to help dry the latex as it was winter. The job was interrupted so I needed to rent the sprayer again when I saw an ad for the Harbor Freight version for the same thing.

https://www.harborfreight.com/high-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-kit-44677.html

I purchased this and it worked fantastic. The spray gun was the same and even comes with three different tip sizes. I finished up the kitchen transformation with great results.

Later last summer while paint the exterior of my house I got the idea to try spraying the underside of our deck using the HF spray setup. I was able to complete the job in record time and the mess was minimal.

The Fuji looks like a premium version of this style of spray equipment. We look forward to photos of your finished project!

 

[Git]

Here is a pretty good video you should watch:

https://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/videos/choosing-right-turbine-hvlp-system/

 

[PaintLife]

So.... what is the main difference between a 3 stage and a 4 stage turbine.... could it be..... it has more air pressure?

I paint for a living and train other pros when I'm not doing that. Ninety percent of what I do every day could be done with a three stage with VERY similar results to what I get with my five stage. It would just take more coats due to more thinning.

I see a lot of garage guys buy into HVLP with a two or three stage and then throw their hands up when they can't achieve the finish they want. And most if not all of these guys just were not patient enough or didn't thin appropriately.

That's really why I recommend a 4-stage for beginners. It masks a lot of inefficiencies with air pressure.

 

[Ryan]

This is kind of hard to photograph, but this is the finish I’m getting with SW all surface oil paint using a 1.5 tip thinned to 20 seconds:

 

[5.0vert]

A year ago I was charged with changing stained and lacquered kitchen cabinets to white for friends of mine. Google searching led me to Sherwin Williams brand for best results. (Would use something else now). I also could not achieve factory results with brushes either. (The cabinet boxes would stay installed). I could achieve factory results at home using my big air compressor, a cheap Harbor Freight purple gun and thinning with 30% water. Removing all the doors and drawers I did just that. The problem came with the cabinets, which there were a lot of them. I tried a Wagner sprayer, too much volume. I tried spraying with a portable pancake compressor, not enough air flow. So, I went to the tool rental center and they had a TP HVLP turbine sprayer, which was just the trick. It also added heated air to help dry the latex as it was winter. The job was interrupted so I needed to rent the sprayer again when I saw an ad for the Harbor Freight version for the same thing.

https://www.harborfreight.com/high-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-kit-44677.html

I purchased this and it worked fantastic. The spray gun was the same and even comes with three different tip sizes. I finished up the kitchen transformation with great results.

Later last summer while paint the exterior of my house I got the idea to try spraying the underside of our deck using the HF spray setup. I was able to complete the job in record time and the mess was minimal.

The Fuji looks like a premium version of this style of spray equipment. We look forward to photos of your finished project!

Have you sprayed anything else besides the Sherwin Williams through the HF gun?

 

[PaintLife]

This is kind of hard to photograph, but this is the finish I’m getting with SW all surface oil paint using a 1.5 tip thinned to 20 seconds:

Looks pretty damned good to me. Is that a slight hint of orange peel? Hard to tell from the pics, but if so thin a little more. Or if you're already at 20 seconds make sure you have the gun far enough from the part. Stay consistent at 8" or so.

 

[Ryan]

Looks pretty damned good to me. Is that a slight hint of orange peel? Hard to tell from the pics, but if so thin a little more. Or if you're already at 20 seconds make sure you have the gun far enough from the part. Stay consistent at 8" or so.

There is a slight texture to the surface, but I don't know if I would call it orange peel or not. I'm actually pretty happy with it.

The only problem I've had is with tiger striping - I think that's what you call it anyway. You could see my strokes with the gun after the first coat.

I think this was due to me having undisciplined control with the gun - too close to the cabinet, too far away from the cabinet, and not overlapping consistently. Since the first coat, I've gotten better and the striping has disappeared after the third coat (I think - it's drying right now).

 

[PaintLife]

There is a slight texture to the surface, but I don't know if I would call it orange peel or not. I'm actually pretty happy with it.

The only problem I've had is with tiger striping - I think that's what you call it anyway. You could see my strokes with the gun after the first coat.

I think this was due to me having undisciplined control with the gun - too close to the cabinet, too far away from the cabinet, and not overlapping consistently. Since the first coat, I've gotten better and the striping has disappeared after the third coat (I think - it's drying right now).

The stripes and the slight orange peel (if any) leads me to believe you are too close to the part with the gun. Or you were on your first coat.

I always have guys setup an 8" piece of scrap next to the part being sprayed. It helps you visually stay consistent. But it sounds like you have it licked now.

 

[Git]

I paint for a living and train other pros when I'm not doing that. Ninety percent of what I do every day could be done with a three stage with VERY similar results to what I get with my five stage. It would just take more coats due to more thinning.

I see a lot of garage guys buy into HVLP with a two or three stage and then throw their hands up when they can't achieve the finish they want. And most if not all of these guys just were not patient enough or didn't thin appropriately.

That's really why I recommend a 4-stage for beginners. It masks a lot of inefficiencies with air pressure.

I appreciate your input, but let me ask you this. You said:

"It would just take more coats due to more thinning."

I have to ask, why did that particular paint manufacturer come up with a particular viscosity for a particular product???

I mean, after all - couldn't they just thin it 10% or 20% before they put it in the can and make more money???? It seems to me that they made it a certain thickness for a reason... At some point, when you thin 'paint' or similar product, your altering the chemistry

Here is something I found on the internet - I have no idea if this is accurate or not"

When waterborne paint dries it forms a crystalline lattice that gives it its strength. If you over-thin it, the molecules will be too dispersed and it won't have enough of the binder to form a film when it dries. Putting on more coats won't help, because each coat has to stand on its own merit. If you put more coats on, it will simply create more stress on each layer, increasing the likelihood of failure.

 

[Git]

This is kind of hard to photograph, but this is the finish I’m getting with SW all surface oil paint using a 1.5 tip thinned to 20 seconds:

If you were going with black, I would have suggested General Finishes Black Poly. Comes in satin semi or gloss, very easy to work with and you should be able to spray it out of a 3 stage without thinning

Lastly - have you used a mill gauge to see how thick of a coat your putting down? (hard to tell but it looks like it went on too thin or dried too fast)

https://generalfinishes.com/wood-fi...nd-pigmented-top-coats/enduro-pigmented-black

 

[Ryan]

If you were going with black, I would have suggested General Finishes Black Poly. Comes in satin semi or gloss, very easy to work with and you should be able to spray it out of a 3 stage without thinning

Lastly - have you used a mill gauge to see how thick of a coat your putting down? (hard to tell but it looks like it went on too thin or dried too fast)

https://generalfinishes.com/wood-fi...nd-pigmented-top-coats/enduro-pigmented-black

Right on. I'll keep that stuff in mind next time for sure... To be honest though, I'm happy with the finish I got out of the All Surface once I sprayed it. And it's definitely not drying too fast. I sprayed my last coat this morning and it's still pretty damned wet. This stuff takes FOREVER to dry, but as a result it seems to level really well.

 

[Git]

I bet if you used a mill gauge, you would find out your not putting on a heavy enough coat

General Finishes even tells you how to spray it. Dries in less than 2 hours (at least for me) and is very easy to sand

 

[PaintLife]

I appreciate your input, but let me ask you this. You said:

"It would just take more coats due to more thinning."

I have to ask, why did that particular paint manufacturer come up with a particular viscosity for a particular product???

I mean, after all - couldn't they just thin it 10% or 20% before they put it in the can and make more money???? It seems to me that they made it a certain thickness for a reason... At some point, when you thin 'paint' or similar product, your altering the chemistry

Here is something I found on the internet - I have no idea if this is accurate or not"

When waterborne paint dries it forms a crystalline lattice that gives it its strength. If you over-thin it, the molecules will be too dispersed and it won't have enough of the binder to form a film when it dries. Putting on more coats won't help, because each coat has to stand on its own merit. If you put more coats on, it will simply create more stress on each layer, increasing the likelihood of failure.

You can over thin any material and there are definitely waterborne materials that would be very tough or impossible to shoot with a 3-stage. However, most of your more common products can be shot with patience and a little testing.

Lets look at BM Advance as an example. I believe BM states not to thin more than 6%. I often thin it to 10% without any problems what so ever. You need to be careful with the other variables like ambient and material temp, but it's not rocket science. Use the appropriate tip, get a good fan pattern, and spray away.

The point is this. A four stage is great and a five stage can shoot most anything you throw at it. A three stage turbine is not ideal for a lot of materials, but it is absolutely doable with most of the stuff Ryan mentioned with experience and patience. That's all.

 

[Ryan]

I bet if you used a mill gauge, you would find out your not putting on a heavy enough coat

General Finishes even tells you how to spray it. Dries in less than 2 hours (at least for me) and is very easy to sand

You had me at "Dries in less than 2 hours". I'm totally gonna try that stuff.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Ryan, I don't understand why a decent compressor, water remover and a Harbor Freight HVLP gun (looks similar to yours) is not a viable option. I used mine to spray our Hellfire Coating recently and have had good results spraying many Bobcat Excavators (owned a trenching business years ago). Granted these are not fine finishes but I think I could spray about anything with a little trial and error. Also.... sprayed a pair of body panels from my F150 a few months back as well. base-coat and clear-coat, same deal, passed inspection at the dealership!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNWtIUg4UT/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZIIRilgqs/

 

[Ryan]

Ryan, I don't understand why a decent compressor, water remover and a Harbor Freight HVLP gun (looks similar to yours) is not a viable option. I used mine to spray our Hellfire Coating recently and have had good results spraying many Bobcat Excavators (owned a trenching business years ago). Granted these are not fine finishes but I think I could spray about anything with a little trial and error. Also.... sprayed a pair of body panels from my F150 a few months back as well. base-coat and clear-coat, same deal, passed inspection at the dealership!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpNWtIUg4UT/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtZIIRilgqs/

It probably is very viable. I don't ever really consider HF... and sometimes I probably should.

For the most part, I just really wanted to try one of these Fuji outfits as I had heard so many good things about them. So far, so good... I'm enjoying the process of playing with it and I usually HATE painting.

***

I woke up this morning and noticed the temp and humidity was perfect. So even though I'm pretty happy with the finish, I decided to see what Git was talking about. I did four things:

1. Sanded very lightly with 220
2. I thinned less to 25 secs
3. I added an ant's piss amount of Penetrol to slow the drying a bit more
4. I increased the amount of material I was shooting through the gun to the point I felt a little uncomfortable about it.

That was 9am and it's still pretty wet. I'll report back with results.

 

[bushmechanic]

I don't have an air compressor, pretty much because I don't want one.

Is this a device that is capable of doing a good job spraying automotive finishes? I wouldn't mind having an all-in-one unit at that price if it'll handle things like primers and such as well as actual color coats.

I'm not looking for a $10,000 paint job; just a decent paint job that doesn't look cheap and lets me play with some flake or pearl for fun.

 

[Ryan]

I don't have an air compressor, pretty much because I don't want one.

Is this a device that is capable of doing a good job spraying automotive finishes? I wouldn't mind having an all-in-one unit at that price if it'll handle things like primers and such as well as actual color coats.

I'm not looking for a $10,000 paint job; just a decent paint job that doesn't look cheap and lets me play with some flake or pearl for fun.

Yes, one of the reasons I bought the Fuji is that a pretty well known custom painter friend of mine uses a 5-stage Fuji. He started using it simply due to the moisture his compressor was putting into the lines was getting to be unmanageable in our humid climate. The turbine eliminates that problem.

BUT, I can't imagine shooting modern automotive clears out of my 3-stage. I would think (I'm not expert) that you would want to at least step up to a 4-stage and probably a 5-stage if you are gonna get serious about it.

There are plenty of guys on the HAMB using 4-stage units to shoot flake and what not though.

 

[bushmechanic]

Yes, one of the reasons I bought the Fuji is that a pretty well known custom painter friend of mine uses a 5-stage Fuji. He started using it simply due to the moisture his compressor was putting into the lines was getting to be unmanageable in our humid climate. The turbine eliminates that problem.

BUT, I can't imagine shooting modern automotive clears out of my 3-stage. I would think (I'm not expert) that you would want to at least step up to a 4-stage and probably a 5-stage if you are gonna get serious about it.

There are plenty of guys on the HAMB using 4-stage units to shoot flake and what not though.

Nice. Thanks, man.

I'm in Eastern NC, and every time I try to spray or blast, end up with a water gun. It can be done, but not with stuff that actually want laying around all the time. Compressors sit silent here for the most part. Had them, but used them so infrequently they were just in the way.

It took a lot of tricks to keep them even remotely dry; tricks an occasional user doesn't need to be bothering with.

I'd like to be able to handle a light amount of painting on my own, minus one big car I'd like to do, since I reasonably only have access to free Rustoleum satin black at the booth next door. I can't be bothering that guy to switch out for odd finishes; he's got a business to run.

I don't mind springing for the higher-dollar unit, because if I can lay automotive finishes with a spray gun instead of a rattle can, I can really improve the end result of a current project.

If I can shoot an engine bay and a body at least once, the device may as well be free. I can add a lot of value I wouldn't be able to touch otherwise. Being able to avoid expensive rattle cans for small projects would be nice, as well.

Kind of reminds me of an airbrush setup, but clearly that's just a passing similarity in form factor.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

It probably is very viable. I don't ever really consider HF... and sometimes I probably should.

For the most part, I just really wanted to try one of these Fuji outfits as I had heard so many good things about them. So far, so good... I'm enjoying the process of playing with it and I usually HATE painting.

***
10-4, maybe I am missing the boat. Let us know how your results are.
HF is a limited resource for me too, I learned my lesson more than once but the sprayer seems to work well and I fully expected to toss it after a few jobs, still kicking.

 

[Git]

If you look at the wood whisperer video I posted, he tests the harbor freight unit along with some other Fuji units.

He used unthinned, latex paint (Behr)

Harbor Freight single stage turbine:

Here is what it looks like through a 5 stage turbine

If your spraying really thin material - stains, something along the line, the single stage would get the job done. The 3 stage Fuji I had didn't work out for me, and I moved on. Having a compressor with a 60 gallon tank made it pretty easy for me. I bought a decent HVLP gun with a pressure pot. (Approx $625 and another $140 or so for a decent filter) The Mini-Mite 3 PLATINUM is around $675, a stage 4 is easily $900 to $1,000

The one advantage the turbine system has - it's portable

 

[packet]

I have a Fuji Mini-Mite Platinum 4 and have zero complaints with it. Bought it from Acme during one of their sales for ~$680. Well worth the price.

Haven't used the 3 stage version, but the 4 stage is perfect for my use. I've put latex and enamel through it without any problem (I did thin it a bit).

 

[Ryan]

Results of my last coat:

1. Tiger striping is completely gone.
2. Spraying heavier coat resulted in a little orange peel... but nothing I can't live with given I'm painting the inside of a shelving system.

I think I learned that the paint is (like git said) flashing a bit with my thinner coats. Next time, I'm gonna try a thinner coat with more penetrol.

 

[Git]

I don't even think about applying a 'final' coat until I am sure I have enough material down. So when sanding in between coats, there shouldn't be any shiny spots - depressions, dimples etc and basically looks like this:

 

[Ryan]

I don't even think about applying a 'final' coat until I am sure I have enough material down. So when sanding in between coats, there shouldn't be any shiny spots - depressions, dimples etc and basically looks like this:

Yep. Agreed.

 

[2manytools]

I was planning on doing some exterior paint work today, but winter reared its unwanted *** back. I picked up a Wagoner 590 last year for like $40, with the anticipation of this project. Large enough I'm not brushing, but not large enough to invest in better sprayer.

It's rough cut cedar paneling, primed with Killz on Sunday. Now waiting to put Behr exterior paint on. I'm sure I choose wrong, or some has an opinion. Its not too late, I welcome any suggestions

Ryan, your painting looks great to me. I'd hire you for work off that.

 

[Ryan]

BTW GIT, I owe you a thank you for the tips. I never would have guessed it was drying too quickly. Thanks man.

 

[RKA]

Looking forward to the video Ryan, sounds like it's been a great learning experience! I could use some pointers, so watching your progression with each try would be helpful.

 

[Git]

Glad it's working out for you. By the way, since you never took me up on my Bosch Challenge - how about spending $57 on the Harbor Freight pressure pot rig and let us now hot it works compared to your Fuji 3-stage?

ps - if you wouldn't have spent all your money on those 'designer' tools, you could have a bought a better turbine

This is from the thread - https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6417979&postcount=61

 

[RKA]

Ryan, here is a good thread on the FOG that has a few good suggestions. Thinning with windshield washer fluid (the blue stuff with methanol) and some sanding tips.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/finishing/spraying-latex-and-benjamin-moore-advance-with-fuji-hvlp/

 

[jar944]

Glad it's working out for you. By the way, since you never took me up on my Bosch Challenge - how about spending $57 on the Harbor Freight pressure pot rig and let us now hot it works compared to your Fuji 3-stage?

ps - if you wouldn't have spent all your money on those 'designer' tools, you could have a bought a better turbine

This is from the thread - https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6417979&postcount=61

It works well with the fuji...