Have any of you used a T.I.P. HVLP paint system with the turbine air supply? I have several vehicles to paint and it is a pain filtering the moisture and oil out of my air (a 6 1/2 H.P. Craftsman unit) I have a HVLP gun that works on a compressor but wondered if the glowing advertisements for the Turbine unit come close to reality.
I have used mostly Laquer to paint Chevys with in the past, but the last few years have gone to Acrylic Enamel and some Emron. I am considering doing the next job in Base coat, clear coat over a 2 part epoxy primer after sandblasting to bare metal. I hope it won't be a disaster.

Hi MrMack-
I have been using a TIP turbine for about 10 years now with great success with lacquer, Acrylic Enamel, and Base/Clear. I have found that everything that TIP claims has been true, although I always order too much paint because I just can't believe it cuts the paint consumption in half, but it pretty much does! There is very little overspray compared to a conventional gun, and you can adjust the pattern down to a dime size circle for detailed work.
I ordered a larger needle and tip for heavy primers.


SPEEDLINE

Speedline, Thanks, I have been on the verge of ordering one for three or four years, and never talked to anyone that I suspected had one, Thanks, The only thing else I would ask of you is,,, No I just can't impose on you, I won't ask you to do the painting for me,(only kidding) Thanks really, for your endorsement. And you do reccomend getting the extra nozzle kit for primer, Then?
MrMack...

I do like to put a thicker than normal final layer of high build primer on old sandblasted iron, then block sand most of it off, it saves a coat or two usually, I do a lot of my primeing and painting on parts before they are assembled, to get the "New parts look" and excuse my bad manners, Thanks again!

Yes, I have a Pro-Air unit that I got from Eastwood when I was foolish enough to use Methal Chloride paint remover and Phosphoric Acid rust remover. after cleaning the rust off of all my eposed iron items in the shop I started takeing my stuff to a sand blaster. i helped paint some trucks with Emron and realize the potential dangers of modern finishes.

What a great discussion.... I don't mean to butt in but I have a similar question. Can you realistically use a high pressure air compressor to drive a HVLP gun?

I think that the answer is "no", but it seems to me that I read an article 6 months ago that said that in some instances this works okay...

But in reading your comments, I think that I'm now too nervous about getting moisture in the air flow. The more air that flows through, the higher the likelyhood of getting those nasty droplets mixed in.

Bill a lot of the guys I know like to do that, but they already have compressors and the filtering and dryers etc. I have a setup for a compressor but it is a pain to me. The moisture and oil is my problem also.

I do lots of lacquer painting and I have never had any kind of problems with oil or moisture. I have an oil and moisture trap that is on the wall downstream from my compressor and my air hose is connected to the filter. Also, I use another inline moisture trap that I carry on my belt when spraying and my spray gun connects directly into that filter with about 5 feet of air hose running from the filter on my belt to the gun. It works great!! These portable moisture traps are available at Sears and local automotive paint stores as well.

Well Fellas, we happen to live in one of the highest humidity areas in the US. Moisture is a real problem if you don't take precautions. Some of us feel that it is a major contributor to the little bubbles that form in the painted surface 2-5 years after the paint is applied.

The key to moisture control is to have a dryer with enough capacity after any pressure reduction. Pressure reduction results in cooling the gas which converts the water vapor into droplets. It is these droplets (so small you can't see them) that are the problem. The dryers (filters) remove these small particles of water. If you have a regulator on the paint gun it is another source of pressure drop and droplet formation (bad news). You will also have a small pressure drop in the gun but it generally does not cause problems if you make sure that you feed as low a pressure to the paint gun as possible.

The best possible system is refrigeration. A knock-out pot (tank), long metal lines or other means to get the heat generated by compressing the air out of the air stream before reducing the pressure will produce the driest air and best results. Hot air will contain more water vapor which will condense when the air cools. It is the same process that puts the dew on the grass. It can put the drops into the new paint layer also.

I don't know anyone that uses the TIP system. Most of us use the HVLP guns that operate on regular high pressure. The cheap guns work well for primers and can be used to produce an OK job with lacquer, enamel, two-stage, base coat/clear coat, polyurethane, etc. There are now HVLP guns available from the 'quality' manufacturers that will do a better job with less 'orange peel'.

Exactly SPEEDLINEThat is what I want to get away from, all the rig-a-ma-role associated with dealing with a compressor and filtering, drying stuff, etc. Plus I need a portable unit that I can move from one place to the other since my two shops are 250 miles apart, TIP sounds like a bargin compared to all the other apparatus needed.