Fuji HVLP Turbine Remote Pressure Pot Review

[KellyCraig]

I LOVE MY FOUR STAGE, HIGH VOLUME, LOW PRESSURE [HVLP] SPRAYER: Five stage units became commoin after I bought mine, or I'd have one of those, instead.

I've even used it for a couple "hold my IPA" moments. I'll elaborate, below and after I talk about the Fuji two (2) quart remote pressure pot for HVLP turbines.

My turbine HVLP allows me to avoid dragging around my much heavier, portable air compressor, and trying to use its low CFM output to power a conversion gun. The latter isn't very practical for many jobs.

Quality turbine HVLP's use high quality [and rather spendy] guns that give you a lot of control, and they do it with minimal over-spray. That’s because they use around 8 PSI air pressure versus 45 PSI for a conventional gun, or around 2,400 PSI for an airless.

Using this HVLP, I can cut the time it takes to paint stair and deck railing by at least 60% of the time it would take to brush and roll. Too, I've chosen it over my airless for cabinet finishing.

THE DOWN SIDE OF STANDARD TURBINE HVLP's AND ANY OTHER SPRAY GUN IS, THE QUART CAN DIRECTLY ATTACHED TO THE SPRAY GUN: The quart can of latex, lacquer, or whatever you are using for a finish hanging off your spray gun gets to feeling pretty heavy, an hour or so into using it.

Too, you have to be careful not to tip the HVLP guns too much, or you’ll get paint in the hose and check valve feeding air into the quart pot and needed to pressurize it, to push fluid into the gun.

REMOTE POTS SOLVE SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH STOCK GUNS:

(1) The weight of the finish moved from the gun to a remote pot, which can be sat or hung out of the way;

(2) The cumbersomeness of standard quart guns is minimized, making it easier to get into tight and awkward places; and,

(3) Remote pots hold more material, requiring fewer refills.

(4) You can tip the gun any way you want without worrying about getting material in the check valve and its hoses.

THE FIRST REMOTE POT DOWNSIDE IS, PRICE: As of this writing, turbine HVLP remote pots run about $400.00, which may or may not include tax and shipping.

I paid $430.95 for my remote pot (April, 2024). I had an eye on one for decades and should have bought it in the early days, when it was under a couple hundred.

I bought my pot from Phelps Refinishing ( https://www.phelpsrefinishing.com/ ) and, highly, recommend him. He answered my call and questions, shipped quickly (about a week from Texas to Washington), the shipment was packed well, and everything ordered was in the shipment.

SIDE NOTE: If only used the remote pot on my current project, painting my deck styles, rails, stairs and gates, I could justify it, because of the money I saved doing the scraping, sanding, priming and painting myself. If I hired someone, the job would run me at least $1,500.00 and more likely around $2,500.00, or even $3,000.00. So $400.00 for an accessory for my HVLP isn't a bad investment.

THE SECOND DOWNSIDE IS, YOU STILL HAVE TO GET AIR AND MATERIAL TO THE GUN: You have two hoses you have to deal with, one for air and one for material, which may or may not be a big deal, such as when dealing with finishing cabinets. I found it to be not a problem and, certainly, not as bad as dealing with my airless hoses, which are much stiffer and less likely to respond to your attempts to manipulate them.

A THIRD DOWNSIDE IS, there is more paint in the system, so cleanups are more time consuming. You have to empty the 5' fluid line and draw tube of paint, and clean it and the gun.

Now that I've cleaned the pot once, it's not too bad to clean. I let the pick up tube drain back into a container, hold the hose up, pull the trigger to allow air in from the top and let it drain out (around 1/3 cup?).

COMPATIBILITY WITH DIFFERENT HVLP GUNS IS GOOD: All the local and distant places I was able to find listing remote pressure pots for my Capsprayer/Titan did not have any in stock. I gambled, since a turbine HVLP was, generally, a turbine HVLP, and hoped most or all guns were similar. I bought this Fuji and am happy to say the Fuji works well on my Capsprayer.

NOTE: Manufacturers of the remote pots for turbines recommend a five stage. One claimed the pot would work a four stage too hard. I’m not convinced. It seems, if that were true, running heavier materials through a four stage would pose the same problem. Based on my first hand experience, a four stage HVLP runs the pot just fine.

SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE QUART POT AND TWO QUART POT IS EASY AND FAIRLY QUICK: For example, to switch back to the quart pot, disconnect the quick connect air hose from the gun, disconnect the fluid hose from the gun (requires a wrench), then mount the quart pot and you are ready to go.

ONE EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE REMOTE POT SHINES IS, FINISHING DECK AND STAIR RAILING: I have a deck wrapping three sides of my house. The deck is all one level, but railing for two sides is for second story decking (daylight basement). The deck has three stairs, with gates. All told, that’s about 158' of styles and railings. That's a lot of horizontal and vertical surfaces to brush and roll.

Even in my younger days, it would have taken me the better part of a week to brush and roll all that railing. If I used my airless, I’d cut time by about half, but would use, at least, twice the material. And there would be over spray everywhere (imagine an oil primer, which can carry far in the wind, before it dries). Using the HVLP, I could paint the entire railing system and stairs in one day.

Because of all that has to be done, including re-painting the house, I’m doing everything in sections. Once the railing was primed, I was able blow through one side, about 50' of the deck railing, in about 1/2 hour (single coat). It was painless - far easier than the first run with the quart pot hanging off the gun.

Again, I could do what I wanted with the gun without any fear of tipping it too much and plugging the check valve.


PROBLEMS: At first, I had no luck getting fluid from the pot to the gun, but it turned out it was a simple, unique problem unrelated to the remote pot. The crimped piece on the back of the needle came loose (years in) so, when the trigger was pulled back, the needle wasn't moving. A quick re-crimp and it was throwing paint like a wild 8 PSI airless (give or take a couple thousand pounds PSI).

NOTE: The remote pot instructions state you need to have the air line and the fluid line going in the same direction. No reason why was given. Perhaps it’s a venturi effect issue, but, to be safe, it seemed like a good idea not to try to re-invent the wheel.

IN THE END: If you do a lot of projects that eat a lot of materials, if you have to tip the gun a lot, or if you are just doing a big project, this remote pot for your turbine HVLP may be well worth the investment. Once you get past the pain of the initial purchase, you'll appreciate it.

ON THAT "HOLD MY IPA" THING I MENTIONED ABOVE: I used my HVLP to do what experts told me couldn't be done - I shot, successfully, texture/mud.

I bought one of those plastic texture hoppers that have a screw on lid from a big box store. They hold a quart or so of texture. I removed the stock air feed quick connect and replaced it with the larger HVLP quick connect I got from a hydraulic place, then tested it. It worked, even though the HVLP only puts out around 8 PSI.

After testing, the first job I used it on was, a customer's ceiling. A sheetrock patch, where roofers stepped through the ceiling. It worked beautifully. Once dry, primed and painted, we couldn't find the patch in the previously textured ceiling.

I didn't have to pack my heavy Makita compressor to the job. Just a big four stage vacuum and a little, almost throw-away hopper I bought from Home Depot.

[Stick486]

Thanks Kelly...
Great article...

[Cherryville Chuck]

I've never heard anything but good about Fuji HVLPs. I have several air powered guns and an airless. I like using the air powered because they are light weight. But my compressor is semi portable at close to 100lbs. And you can still have to wait for it to air up during heavy spraying.

My experience with the airless is the same as yours. The over spray is tremendous and you go through twice as much paint. You need goggles and lung protection. The weight can get to you fairly quickly. But with the flex nozzle attached you can spray straight down or up without tilting the gun. And they'll run continuously until you're out of paint. But so will the Fuji.

[KellyCraig]

A FEW MILES IN:

Today, I painted a long, second story run. It was the third run I'd done with this new investment. I was using Sherwin Williams Emerald. A tough cookie for my four stage. It shows up on several of cites dedicated to addition of the cup, as a problem child.

Up to this point, the system labored to move the paint through the 7' hose and didn't lay down as much as I could like.

ON A WHIM:

(1) I took the whip air hose off and went straight to the gun, as with the stock set up, bypassing the air to and through the remote pot completely, as if I was running the stock cup under it.

(2) Too, I grabbed my pancake compressor and a flex hose.

(3) I pulled the connector into which the check valve attached, to pressurize the gun.

(4) The connector fit into the fitting hole perfectly.

(5) I fired up the pancake and set it for about 20 pounds, to push the paint through the 7' hose much harder than the 10 pounds of the gun would push (I can go up to 50 pounds).

(6) I fired up the HVLP with the air pressurizing the pot and started spraying. NO LONGER is thinning necessary and I get good coverage.

I am very happy with the results. Especially since I didn't have to thin at all.

[Stick486]

Well done solution Kelly...