CharTruff

Liron, I recently was trying to decide between Fuji system and all the other types of spray gun. I ended up buying an Iwata's spray gun similar to the one that Melissa has. Ultimately the reason why I bought the Iwata comes down to 2 things: 1) my shared kitchen has a huge air compressor; so it's one less thing to buy, and 2) I wanted to have a system that would allow me to connect a regular air gun. (I live in an area where we notoriously have hard water. So I would need to dry my molds right after it's washed. ) The Iwata's spray gun is about $300. But regardless what you buy, there's going to be a big learning curve in adjusting between airbrush and spray gun. And you'll have to figure out, the right amount of pressure that you need to be efficient in your process while limiting the overspray. As everyone have mentioned, the spray gun will have more overspray. I have seen Melissa do a splatter spray with her Iwata. And I have yet to figure out the pressure and how small the opening needs to be for the air nozzle. Lastly you would need to invest in some kind of spray booth, if you don't have one already. Good luck!

Ohh I'm afraid that you were going to reference the CakeSafe spray booth. Which version of the spray booth do you have? Is it the single level or the double decker version? And how often do you need to replace the filters? Back to your DIY spray booth, you mentioned that it clogs the filter quite fast. How fast is fast? Since I am moving to a shared kitchen with no exhaust fans, I need to resolve the spray booth. Thanks for the heads up on the colors and the frequency of changing filters. On a side note, I learned that my shared kitchen has a large compressor that can supply a 8000 sq ft production area. So I think I will stick with the Iwata or SATA.

@Kerry Beal I agree with you. I have suffered long enough and finally breaking down to buy an HVLP. @Jim D. Thank you! That's a really good idea. I know that HVLP gun is going to use a lot more cocoa butter; but I'd like to limit it. I know this has been assessed several times in the past. But it's such a big investment. I've also been thinking about the gun that I tried in Melissa's class. I've been shopping around and I was able to find the SATA 3000 for about $500. She had limited overspray and it was able to do splatter very well. (As for the overspray, it may be a bit deceiving because of her big and powerful spray booth). I like the idea of using air compressor because I can use the compress air to dry my molds after washing. I have the Iwata coming in a week. I'll let you know how it goes. I think what impacts my decision is the amount of effort I need to put into my DIY spray booth. I figured that the more overspray, the more powerful the motor for the spray booth needs to be. I'm leaning to making the collapsible version that @Pastrypastmidnight had at her home kitchen. Let the spray gun quest continue!

Hello! I've read this entire thread and am still confused on what my next brush/ gun should be. I currently have the Paasche TG-3F airbrush with 0.66 mm needle tip. It has been working well but painting molds is just taking too long. Just to give an idea, my smallest run is 25 molds. As I'm prepping for the holiday, I will do about 80 molds/run. I think HPLV gun is the next investment for me. But I'm not sure which HPLV is best. I've read all the feedback on the Fuji system and not sure if I want to spend that much money when the system goes through quite a bit of cocoa butter and questions on consistent splattering technique. So I started looking at IWATA LPH 80- 104G (check it out here) and I'm thinking of pairing it with this compressor. To be fair, I don't know if this gun will perform any better on overspray and splattering. But, it's almost 1/3 of the price of the Fuji system. But I read that @Kerry Bealdidn't have good luck with Iwata. Kerry, did you try the Iwata's HPLV gun? Lastly, my mind started to wonder on the SATA 3000 gun that Melissa Coppel uses. From a quick cursory note, it looks like the system (gun and compressor) will be about $1000-$1500. Ultimately, I want to buy a system that will support production 3-5 years from now. I also have space constraints (working in a shared kitchen). With that said, would you still suggest the Fuji system? Or do you think the IWATA will work? I appreciate your suggestions or feedback. Thank you!

Hello! I am doing some spring cleaning and am selling some of my used polycarbonate molds. I've attached pictures and dimensions below. The mold prices do not include shipping fee. I will ship these via USPS priority mail. For estimation purposes only, 4 - 5 molds can fit in a medium box and it costs $15.05 to ship. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you. Charlotte W.