Spray Equipment - Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag
In this episode, luthier and instructor Robbie O’Brien talks about spray equipment and recommends the best source for spray equipment and the knowledge that goes with it.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: Luthier Tips du Jour Mailbag]
Mailbag question: What spray system do you recommend?
Robert O'Brien: Today's Tips du Jour Mailbag question comes to us from South Carolina. "Robert, I want to start using spray finishes on my instruments. What spray system do you recommend? Jeff in South Carolina."
Jeff, a wise person once told me that just having a pen doesn't make you a journalist. It's the same thing in lutherie. Just having a chisel or tools doesn't make you a luthier. It's what you do with those tools and the know-how that you have, the experience you have, that are going to guarantee your results. Same thing with spray finishes.
In fact, some of the best finishes I have ever done were done with a $20 touch-up gun from my local lutherie supply big box store. So you don't also need the latest, greatest in equipment to get good results. Now, there are several types of systems available ranging from your traditional spray guns powered by compressors, all the way up to your several stage HVLP systems powered by turbines. So there's a lot to take in, a lot of information you need to do, a lot of homework you need to do to decide what's going to be the best system for you.
Spray Finishing with Jeff Jewitt
Before you purchase anything, I recommend that you talk to Jeff Jewitt of Homestead Finishing Products. Now, Jeff Jewitt literally wrote the book on spray finishing. He is the go-to guy that a lot of people actually go to, to pick his brains about spray finishes and other finishes in general. Jeff can help you decide on which system is best to suit your needs. I think he also has several systems that are specific to lutherie. So give him a call. Pick his brains. He'll help you decide on a system that best suits your needs.
Now, once you choose the system, there's a learning curve involved of learning how to use that and the product that you're using to get the desired results that you want. And once again, Jeff can help you in that department. Jeff, like I said, literally wrote the book on spray finishing. And now, he also has an online spray finishing course available via my website. In this video course, he shows how to do a traditional lacquer sprayed finish on an acoustic guitar. So once you have the equipment, he'll also help you with the learning curve. So I hope this information's been helpful, and happy finishing.
[on-screen text reads: More Luthier Tips and online courses available at www.obrienguitars.com. Private and small group guitar building and finishing instruction available.]
