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I'm building a bathroom vanity. Yesterday I brushed on a coat of General Finishes polyacrylic. Whenever I brush on a finish like this, regardless of how careful I am, I seem to get some runs.

When this happens invariably I start thinking about spraying on finishes. Can anyone recommend a spraying system they really like or conversely, is anyone using a system they'd recommend I stay clear of?

Thanks for reading.

I have used Gf oil based polys and was not happy with them, running was on of the issues, and qt cans drying up half way through and sealed up tight. I went back to Minwax poly, I have had cans for years and no problems. As far as spray systems, I keep thinking of one too, but decided they are not good for all applications, and if you over spray the product will get runs too. So with the cost, not a cure all, I have gone to Minwax wiping Poly, and to get the same thickness of finish compared to brushing, it takes 1 more coat usually, (4). For a complete grain/pore fill finish, which I dont always do, depending on the wood and look I want.

I recently completed a bedroom suite of furniture and I applied GF High Performance Poly (water based) using an Earlex HVLP sprayer. It came out better than I ever could have achieved with a brush. Had it been a single piece of furniture I would have used a wipe-on top coat as rbursek recommended. But now that I have the sprayer, I will likely use it for any project of any significant size. The Earlex runs around $300 so it's an investment but for me, it was worth every penny as finishing is my second least favorite thing to do.

I have the Fuji mini mite 3, the best sprayer I have ever purchased. We'll worth the money, you can get an extremely even, smooth finish with minimal effort.

Hi berry,

I've been using a Grayco Truecoat handheld sprayer for painted pieces with latex paint only. I really like it because it's fast and easy to clean, does a really nice job. It's my go-to, stress free no brainer solution for beautiful painted pieces.

I still dread and fear any other kind of finishing. I wish it were not so. I hope to hear more from you if you find a spray system you like.

Lately I've become a big fan of Christopher Schwarz. I've been reading his stuff and watching his videos and I really respect his opinion. I think he likes the Earlex sprayers. In this video he's spraying milk paint but I think he likes it for other finishes too. Worth looking into.

Good luck, please keep us posted.

tomsalwasser wrote: I still dread and fear any other kind of finishing. I wish it were not so. I hope to hear more from you if you find a spray system you like.

Ive' had excellent results with this system. Inexpensive too! Have only used it to spray water based paint. http://www.rockler.com/search/go?w=hvlp ... y%20system Used it to paint the wood shutters I made.

I have the Earlex 5000 which I really like. I think it was replaced with the 5500. I also have a couple a inexpensive HVLP guns that I connect to my compressor, they came from Woodcraft and were in the $ 35.00 to $ 50.00 range. They are gravity feed types.

berry wrote: Thu May 01, 2014 8:22 am I'm building a bathroom vanity. Yesterday I brushed on a coat of General Finishes polyacrylic. Whenever I brush on a finish like this, regardless of how careful I am, I seem to get some runs.

When this happens invariably I start thinking about spraying on finishes. Can anyone recommend a spraying system they really like or conversely, is anyone using a system they'd recommend I stay clear of?

Thanks for reading.

I have read alot of review blog regarding spray finishes wood[/https://holapaints.com/can-you-spray-paint-wood/] and furniture,
so as per my knowledge Wagner 0518080 ,
Earlex H5500 and Graco X5 paint sprayers are best for spray finishing projects.
you can check the source as well.

Have you tried the wipe on poly ? you shouldn't get too many runs , My dad uses it a lot with good results ,satin or high gloss , I use to spray on shellack through a gravity gun and light pressure , did the entire kitchen set a few years back , just thin it down , it usually took three or four coats .