Best Spray gun for commercial use , spraying chocolate mounds

[Jim D.]

10 hours ago, MoonChild said:

Hello!  I just have a quick question.  Usually, I've been using an airbrush to color my molds.  I've had to increase my production recently so, I purchased a Grizzly mini HVLP spray gun with metal cup.  I've read that people usually leave it a warmer so that the cocoa butter doesn't set too quickly while spraying.  Still though, on the first couple of times I've tried to use my spray gun, I've been finding that this little filter gets (picture shown) clogged first.  I just wanted to ask if everyone that uses a spray gun leaves this on or is it okay just to leave it off?  Any advice is greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

 

I do not use the filter in the mini-HVLP gun I have. With cocoa butter, you need as few obstacles to the flow of the material as possible. From time to time, as the cocoa butter crystallizes, you will need to warm up the gun and cocoa butter in the cup (using a heat gun is the easiest way).

[Louise nadine brill]

I will add that if moving to an HVLP gun it is important that your compressor is up to the task. Generally speaking,  compressors needed for HVLP are a bit beefier than the ones that many of us buy/settle for when using airbrushes. Most sites will have the specs - just make sure you check them. If you have a compressor that is under 2HP and has lower cfms you can get a LVLP  gun instead of an HVLP gun. I Bought one from Sprayit for spraying bonbon moulds and it was not a success. Way too much overspray...with the cost of coloured cb it was like watching dollar bills fly out of the nozzle 😫😫. However, i thought at the time that it would be useful to have for larger moulds like Easter eggs and bunnies - as it was much better suited for large surface areas.

[Louise nadine brill]

....of course, I am still coveting the Fuji. 😁

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, Louise nadine brill said:

....of course, I am still coveting the Fuji. 😁

 

The Fuji has many great qualities--speed being the best from my point of view--but if you think your LVLP gun had overspray, I suspect the Fuji puts that to shame. I am using a lot of cocoa butter. I'm not sure if there is something I can do about that. I tried lowering the amount of "paint" coming into the gun with the knob at the back (I think all spray guns have this), but it didn't help. I tried lowering the air pressure (the adjustment at the bottom of the gun), and that produced too much "orange peel" effect. I am going to continue my research on this subject after Christmas, watching all the Fuji videos I can find. Surely in actually painting with a Fuji, there are occasions when the painter wants less paint coming out of the gun. I just don't know how that is accomplished. Fuji could really improve their outreach to chocolatiers; I suppose there just isn't enough business in that field.

[Louise nadine brill]

2 hours ago, Jim D. said:

 

The Fuji has many great qualities--speed being the best from my point of view--but if you think your LVLP gun had overspray, I suspect the Fuji puts that to shame. I am using a lot of cocoa butter. I'm not sure if there is something I can do about that. I tried lowering the amount of "paint" coming into the gun with the knob at the back (I think all spray guns have this), but it didn't help. I tried lowering the air pressure (the adjustment at the bottom of the gun), and that produced too much "orange peel" effect. I am going to continue my research on this subject after Christmas, watching all the Fuji videos I can find. Surely in actually painting with a Fuji, there are occasions when the painter wants less paint coming out of the gun. I just don't know how that is accomplished. Fuji could really improve their outreach to chocolatiers; I suppose there just isn't enough business in that field.

Ah - that’s good to know! Thank you!

[MoonChild]

On 12/10/2019 at 7:03 AM, Jim D. said:

 

I do not use the filter in the mini-HVLP gun I have. With cocoa butter, you need as few obstacles to the flow of the material as possible. From time to time, as the cocoa butter crystallizes, you will need to warm up the gun and cocoa butter in the cup (using a heat gun is the easiest way).

Thank you for the information and the extra tips!

[BottleRocket]

On 4/10/2019 at 2:22 PM, Jim D. said:

I keep it warm in a dehydrator, and it is ready to go. It is quite rare that I ever have to stop and give it a thorough reheating with a heat gun. 

Hmmm....I am currently keeping my gun warm inside a heating pad. Your method sounds much more heat-controllable. Is this while it has CCB in the cup, or just when it is empty so It'll be ready? 

[Jim D.]

18 minutes ago, BottleRocket said:

Hmmm....I am currently keeping my gun warm inside a heating pad. Your method sounds much more heat-controllable. Is this while it has CCB in the cup, or just when it is empty so It'll be ready? 

 

I found a fairly large (and surprisingly inexpensive) dehydrator. I put the bottles of cocoa butter in the night before along with the Fuji gun (empty). Then the next morning I temper the color I am using, then take the Fuji out and blow out any color remaining from the previous use. I then fill it with the new color, and it is ready to go. When I finish with that color, I put the Fuji back in the dehydrator (if you followed orders and bought the flexible hose, it's easy to detach the spray gun). Starting from scratch with a cold Fuji does not make for a happy spraying experience!

[BottleRocket]

I think I actually saw your comment about the dehydrator long ago and saved it in my Amazon cart for future reference. I'll go check on that!

I didn't realize that it would work to melt out cocoa butter though, that's actually makes the thought of buying it pretty enticing! Thanks for mentioning your process!

[Jim D.]

16 minutes ago, BottleRocket said:

I think I actually saw your comment about the dehydrator long ago and saved it in my Amazon cart for future reference. I'll go check on that!

I didn't realize that it would work to melt out cocoa butter though, that's actually makes the thought of buying it pretty enticing! Thanks for mentioning your process!

 

The dehydrator I ended it getting is the Avantco CFD10 Dehydrator, which I got from webstaurantstore.com. It's the only one I found that was large enough for my purposes and has stainless steel shelves. The temperature control also goes lower than many others and is reasonably reliable.

[spennie]

Hi Jim .Im back again .I have been away in Asia for a few months and now back to work and upscaling our chocolate project .Reading back on the comments .I am now concerned about The over spray of the fuji .However when you convert to a HVLP gun from any make is not a common problem .Today im looking at the SATAjet 1000 B HVLP Air Brush .This looks good as well .How about getting the HVLP thread up .Im sure that would be beneficial 

 

Kind regards 

Spencer 

Edited March 10, 2020 by spennie (log)

[Jim D.]

5 hours ago, spennie said:

Hi Jim .Im back again .I have been away in Asia for a few months and now back to work and upscaling our chocolate project .Reading back on the comments .I am now concerned about The over spray of the fuji .However when you convert to a HVLP gun from any make is not a common problem .Today im looking at the SATAjet 1000 B HVLP Air Brush .This looks good as well .How about getting the HVLP thread up .Im sure that would be beneficial 

 

Kind regards 

Spencer 

 

 

Are you asking whether overspray is an issue with HVLP guns?  If so, then yes, it seems to be. The overspray on the Fuji is substantial, which is why I reserve it mostly for big projects. In fact, I think the only reasons for switching from airbrush to spray gun are the speed of the latter (faster coverage) and the size of the cup (longer spraying without reheating or refilling). And speaking of overspray, I'm less happy with my homemade spray booth (large box with air filter inserted into the back and a large industrial fan just outside the filter). Especially with colors containing lots of titanium dioxide, the cocoa butter released into the air is sometimes too much to put up with. Even with a respirator, I think I need venting to the outside...or a new set of lungs.

[spennie]

On 3/11/2020 at 12:24 AM, Jim D. said:

 

Are you asking whether overspray is an issue with HVLP guns?  If so, then yes, it seems to be. The overspray on the Fuji is substantial, which is why I reserve it mostly for big projects. In fact, I think the only reasons for switching from airbrush to spray gun are the speed of the latter (faster coverage) and the size of the cup (longer spraying without reheating or refilling). And speaking of overspray, I'm less happy with my homemade spray booth (large box with air filter inserted into the back and a large industrial fan just outside the filter). Especially with colors containing lots of titanium dioxide, the cocoa butter released into the air is sometimes too much to put up with. Even with a respirator, I think I need venting to the outside...or a new set of lungs.

 

 

Still agonising over what set up to get . i want to make sure its big enough for potential growth in the business . i am put of the fuji system with the noice of the compressor .

Edited March 14, 2020 by spennie (log)

[Jim D.]

59 minutes ago, spennie said:

 

 

Still agonising over what set up to get . i want to make sure its big enough for potential growth in the business . i am put of the fuji system with the noice of the compressor .

 

 

The noise of the Fuji does not bother me much at all. It sounds very much like a typical vacuum cleaner (maybe more like a Shop Vac). To me, the sound of a regular compressor is louder, although it is not constant like that of the Fuji.

[Kerry Beal]

And it has a really long hose so you can put it in another room.

[spennie]

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

And it has a really long hose so you can put it in another room.

yes in the living room with my parents

 

[spennie]

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

 

The noise of the Fuji does not bother me much at all. It sounds very much like a typical vacuum cleaner (maybe more like a Shop Vac). To me, the sound of a regular compressor is louder, although it is not constant like that of the Fuji.

 

seems to be a hard topic to get a broad opinion on . I suppose thats because most peoples knowledge is chocolate 

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, spennie said:

 

seems to be a hard topic to get a broad opinion on . I suppose thats because most peoples knowledge is chocolate 

 

Not sure what you mean by saying it's hard to get a broad opinion. If you mean there are not many opinions on eGullet, then I think that's because very few members have a Fuji. I thought you had definitely decided to get the Fuji back in November. If not and if you have a decent compressor, you might consider going for the Grizzly (with the small cup as Bentley described it).  It's inexpensive and would give you a good feel for whether an HVLP gun is for you. It might actually satisfy your needs, but if it does not, you are out only a relatively small amount of money and can still get the Fuji. That's the path that I took.

[spennie]

On 4/12/2019 at 1:56 AM, Bentley said:

Grizzly makes a mini gun, which has a smaller cup. 

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Grizzly-Mini-HVLP-Spray-Gun-Stainless-Steel-Cup/H7670

I have used it and it works very well and does splattering nicely.  I've never used the Fuji, but as you can tell, it gets great reviews.  If cost doesn't matter, go for it - but the grizzly is $40.  Pair it with a good 2-3 HP compressor and you'll still be under $300.  

Could i ask what compressor your running the grizzly off 

Thank you 

[Jim D.]

49 minutes ago, spennie said:

Could i ask what compressor your running the grizzly off 

Thank you 

I'm not Bentley, but I have a 2HP compressor. A more powerful one would have made it easier, but my compressor always managed to produce a supply of air for the HVLP gun. The issue was that it had to keep running almost all of the time.

[spennie]

On 3/15/2020 at 4:55 PM, Jim D. said:

I'm not Bentley, but I have a 2HP compressor. A more powerful one would have made it easier, but my compressor always managed to produce a supply of air for the HVLP gun. The issue was that it had to keep running almost all of the time.

 

Thank you Jim your replys are are alway appreciated. Could i ask what over compressor you use 

 

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, spennie said:

 

Thank you Jim your replys are are alway appreciated. Could i ask what over compressor you use 

 

 

I have this one from California Air Tools.

[pastrygirl]

On 3/17/2020 at 11:46 AM, Jim D. said:

 

I have this one from California Air Tools.

 

I recently got a CA Air Tools compressor with 1/4" quick connect.  How do I connect my 1/8" Grex Tritium to it?  Do I need a 1/4" hose or just a couple of adaptors?  Or a different spray gun altogether? 

[Jim D.]

17 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I recently got a CA Air Tools compressor with 1/4" quick connect.  How do I connect my 1/8" Grex Tritium to it?  Do I need a 1/4" hose or just a couple of adaptors?  Or a different spray gun altogether? 

 

I'll post a PDF diagram provided for me by Grex tech support. I'm not sure how well it will show up here. If it's not legible, let me know and I'll try something else.

 

airbrush_setup_diagram.pdf

 

Correction:  The PDF did not post, but the diagram is available on my website.

airbrush_setup_diagram.pdf

Edited March 24, 2020 by Jim D.
Added link since posting PDF did not work. (log)

[pastrygirl]

@Jim D. perfect, thank you!

 

Edited March 23, 2020 by pastrygirl (log)