using a spray gun to get a nice smooth finish a paint or lacquer or a clear finish like polyurethane has long been a great way to get a finish on woodworking projects however lots of us think of spray systems of something and that's really complicated and something that only a professional would use but since HVLP has come on the scene it's become a lot easier a lot less complicated and it's actually a lot of fun high volume low pressure spray systems HVLP consists basically of a turbine and air hose and a spray gun and the cool thing is they deliver more material almost 50% more with less overspray how do they do that do I look like some kind of spray gun scientist to you in truth it's low pressure of this system that drives less overspray which means more material on your project which saves you money in the long run especially over those high pressure systems today I'm going to be demonstrating spray painting cabinet doors with this fuji spray system now to accommodate different viscosities or thicknesses of material HVLP systems can be outfitted with different spray tips today I'm going to be using a 1.8 millimeter tip which is about in the middle of the range when using a spray gun you often need to thin the material a little bit in this case I'm using water with this latex paint but you need an appropriate thinner for whatever material you're using then put it through the strainer just a couple of tips about preparing where you're gonna be spraying even with the low overspray of an HVLP system it's still you still gonna need to keep your shop and getting all messed up and this spray tint works really great for that the other thing you need to think about in advance is how you're going to hold your piece as you're spraying it a lazy susan spinning table is something that people like today I'm going to be using this hook system that fits right into the 35 millimeter cup of a door hinge to hold the drawers as I'm spraying them next turbine needs to be 20 feet away from where you're spraying and you need a fresh air source and regardless of what you're spraying you should always have a good mask you can adjust again to spray either vertically or horizontally or somewhere in between and the key to using a spray gun is what I call the Goldilocks system you don't want to move too fast or too slow you want to be have a nice moderate pace you don't be too close or too far away about ten to twelve inches is a sweet spot and of course this is the most important piece start your spray off of your project and then bring it in and you'll have the best results you'll get the hang of it quickly as you give it a try cleaning your gun completely after each use is key to keeping your equipment in working order and having your spray system be useful I recommend following the instructions in the manual is the way to go about that but basically it just breaks down to spray enough solvent for whatever material you're using in this case we're using water and then cleaning the individual parts it's not that hard just need to remember to do it that's about it well I've clearly just given you an overview of using an HVLP spray gun I think I may have demonstrated enough to show you the advantages of spray finishing and I hope that I've intrigued you enough that you might consider it in the future I'm Rob Johnstone from woodworkers journal magazine keep on making sawdust