In this guide, we’ll introduce you to all our favorite paint sprayers for furniture. We’ve chosen a whole range of options, from handheld units perfect for weekend warriors to top-notch HVLP systems for professional furniture makers. After our in-depth reviews of each model, we’ll talk through figuring out which is the best for your projects!
Here’s a glance at our Top Three:
Beyond giving your walls a fresh coat of paint in a jiffy, the primary reason we use paint sprayers is to avoid having to leave brush marks all over the furniture and other fine finish projects.
When they’re used with proper technique and patience, good paint sprayers can leave flawless, consistent color coats and mirror-like clear finishes on furniture projects of all shapes and sizes. They do much better than hand brushes at leaving even coatings on uneven surfaces, and they give you that factory-finish look on all your projects.
However, furniture is also one area where paint sprayers’ quality is put to the test. Not all systems can give you great results.
Here is a range of options that can!
Best Paint Sprayers for Furniture Reviews:
- Easily swap out the worn pump within minutes in 4 simple steps with a spare/replacement pump that has no loose parts to lose
- Sprays .47-Gallons per minute and supports up to .021-Inch spray tip
- 1-HP DC motor can run on longer extension cords.Height, Handle Up 39.5 inches. Height, Handle Down 29.5 inches
- The endurance pump with exclusive V-Max packings delivers the longest life and most reliable performance
- Comes complete with SG3 metal spray gun, 515 spray tip, 50 ft. Duraflex airless paint hose, TSL, operational DVD and quick start-up guide
- CONTROL PAINT FLOW: Fully adjustable pressure to give you ultimate control of paint flow for any project size; RAC IV SwitchTip allows you to reverse the tip when clogged to keep you spraying
- SPRAY PAINT UNTHINNED: Stainless Steel Piston Pump allows you to spray paint unthinned at high pressure
- SPRAY DIRECTLY FROM PAINT BUCKET: Flexible suction tube allows you to spray directly from a 1 or 5 gallon paint bucket
- SPRAY MORE PROJECTS EACH YEAR: Annual use recommendation is up to 125 gallons per year
- FAST AND EASY CLEAN-UP: PowerFlush Adapter connects to a garden hose for fast and easy cleaning
- CONTROL PAINT FLOW: Fully adjustable pressure to give you ultimate control of paint flow for any project size; RAC IV Switch Tip allows you to reverse the tip when clogged to keep you spraying
- SPRAY PAINT UNTHINNED: Stainless Steel Piston Pump allows you to spray paint unthinned at high pressure
- SPRAY DIRECTLY FROM PAINT BUCKET: Flexible suction tube allows you to spray directly from a 1 or 5 gallon paint bucket
- RECOMMENDED USE: Annual use recommendation is up to 50 gallons per year
- EASY TO STORE: Extra storage compartments provide space to store the spray gun, extra spray tips, and power cord
1. HomeRight C800766 Finish Max Fine Finish Sprayer
- Better than a brush or spray can
- Adjustable settings, easy to use
- Easy to spray and clean
- Brass spray tip technology
- U. S. based customer service and 2-year warranty
The HomeRight Max is a fine finish paint sprayer that’s ideal for first-timers who are planning furniture projects. It’s a versatile little handheld tool that does a great job on thinned latex and color coats.
For folks who want to give old pieces a quick update, and aren’t concerned about fancy finish work like lacquers, this is an excellent choice. It’s inexpensive, user-friendly, and convenient.
Pros:
It’s compact. One of the problems a lot of DIYer’s run into with full-size paint sprayers is that once you figure in an air supply, a roll of hose, gun, and accessories, you’ve taken up half your shelf space in the garage.
The HomeRight is an all-in-one, and doesn’t take up much more space than your average drill! It’s perfect for folks who need to be able to pack their sprayer away easily after a project.
It’s affordable! The HomeRight costs less than $75 and comes with everything you need to get painting right in the box. That’s pretty unbeatable value!
It’s made better than other inexpensive handhelds. There’s still a lot of plastic, but it’s much thicker than the casing on most other hand sprayers we’ve come across. This one also has a brass spray tip and housing for longevity, which is an impressive feature at this price.
It’s a solid performer with the most common paints. You can use the HomeRight for latex, acrylics, polys, even milk, and other specialty paints. It’s ideal for spraying solid color coats onto furniture pieces or giving your carpentry projects a simple poly finish. Any coatings in those categories are fair game, as long as you thin them according to the ratios in the user manual.
That’s enough versatility to do any color coat jobs on furniture, and get results that might not be quite professional-grade, but are much better than what’s possible with a brush or roller. If you’re primarily interested in color coats and pretty standard paint jobs, with the occasional poly finish, this is a perfect starter tool.
It incorporates aspects of HVLP design into a handheld format! Most other compact handhelds have miniature pumps inside, so they work a lot like an airless sprayer. The HomeRight uses a fan design, which is more like a miniature HVLP turbine. The result is that it produces less overspray and leaves more coating on your work surface than others at this price.
It’s fully adjustable. A lot of other cheap handhelds are either not adjustable or only have one knob. The HomeRight gives you some adjustment room in two ways. First, there are 3 spray patterns to choose from the horizontal fan (for spraying up and down), vertical fan (for spraying side to side), or circular fan. They’re all adjustable in width from 1” to 6”.
As you can see, that leaves you plenty of leeways to make basic adjustments, and find the ideal size and shape of spray fan for each project and surface.
It’s pretty easy to clean the main system. All you have to do is rinse out the paint cup, fill it back up with water, and spray it into the sink until the water runs clear. That takes care of all the internals. The HomeRight also comes with a cleaning brush for scrubbing the nozzle, in case you run into pesky clogs.
It also comes with a viscosity cup, which helps you measure your thinning ratios to get the right mix for spraying.
The final accessory is a secondary nozzle which turns the tool into an air blower. You’d use it to blow the dust off your work surface before painting. It’s not a necessity, but it’s a nice extra to have on hand.
It’s covered by a 2-year warranty.
Cons:
Like a lot of all-in-ones, it’s a bit heavy. Once you’ve got it full of paint, you probably won’t mind that this one’s only made for smaller jobs. It’ll tire you out too quickly to do a whole wall anyway!
We don’t like it much for clear coats. The HomeRight does a good job with color coats, and it’s fine with polys, but not something that we’d use for ambitious lacquer work or varnishes.
The PaintWIZ below is better for those, at about the same price (its downside is its performance with color coats).
It has a mixed track record when it comes to reliability and durability. The parts on this are mostly plastic, and they will crack if you drop them. Some buyers have also run into issues with motors which burn out or simply die. That’s covered by the warranty, but still a hassle. The main issue is with the seals on the paint cup, which need to be cleaned thoroughly and lubricated well after each spray, or they’ll need to be replaced entirely.
It’s better than many competitors, but still cheaply made. This is very much a DIYer’s tool, not a professional-grade sprayer, and that’s reflected in the build quality:
The motor is relatively low-powered, and you’re going to need to thin any thicker paint types. The adjustment knobs are good, but they don’t feel as solid as a standard HVLP gun. It also produces a decent amount of overspray (like most handhelds) because the machining quality on the spray cap can’t quite measure up to a good full-size system.
While it’s quick and easy to clear most of your system after a spray, the nozzle can be tricky to scrub, and you need to be on top of keeping it clear as you work
It has some limitations. You can’t switch spray tips, which makes it harder to achieve the optimal spray settings for each type of coating that you work with. It’s also not good for spraying at angles. You’ll have to adjust the position of your furniture piece as you go.
2. PaintWIZ PW25150 Handheld Paint Sprayer PRO
- Full coverage water based disinfectant sprayer
- Ideal for spraying high traffic surfaces - indoor and outdoor use
- Powerful 400W indoor/outdoor rated all-in-one handheld sprayer
- Sprays Stains, sealers and other thin materials with supreme control and low overspray
- Bonus items: 1.3L cup, additional nozzle, viscosity cup, paint strainers, cleaning brush
The PaintWIZ is a handheld all-in-one much like the HomeRight. It has the opposite skill set, though! While it’s not quite as good as the HomeRight when it comes to thicker paints like latex, which many DIYer’s are planning to use, it’s excellent for finish materials like lacquers, enamels, and other fine finish coatings on furniture.
This is a good alternative for entry-level folks who are thinking more about clear-coat finish quality and fancy lacquer-work than bold latex color coats.
Pros:
It’s actually slightly cheaper than the HomeRight ! The MSRP is about $10 cheaper, and when you’re looking at prices in this range, that’s a pretty sizable difference. It’s a great way to save money if you’re not planning to do much with latex. As we mentioned, this one’s specifically marketed for thinner materials and fine finish projects.
Like the HomeRight , it’s a miniature HVLP system in a handheld package. There’s a motor and fan assembly creating a steady stream of air through the spray cap, and a suction-feed cup to draw your materials in as you work.
Unlike the HomeRight , which is made by a company with no real offerings in high-end or professional-grade paint sprayers, the PaintWIZ is made by a division of Fuji Spray. Fuji is one of the best paint sprayer companies on the market right now, and unquestionably the best in the HVLP world. While we would never compare this little tool to one of their full-size HVLP systems, you can see the engineering trickle down.
It’s much better for doing fine finish coats than the HomeRight , for one thing. It has a much more consistent fan output, and it doesn’t suffer from the motor reliability issues that can occasionally plague the HomeRight. The PaintWIZ’s 400w motor gives you lots of atomization, which is especially helpful for clear coats.
The overall result is a smoother, more glass-like finish when you’re working with lacquers. You can also see better consistency when you’re using fine finish color coats, like colored lacquers or enamels.
The HomeRight can occasionally produce inconsistencies which, while fine on a forgiving material like latex, can mar your clear coats and fine finish coatings. That’s not the case with the PaintWIZ.
The improved adjustments help, too. While the PaintWIZ’s spray cap design and adjustments are largely the same (three spray patterns: horizontal, vertical, and circular, and adjustments in width for each), they stay in place better and feel more exact. It also gives you even wider pattern options, from under an inch to a full foot across.
In addition to clear coats of all kinds, the PaintWIZ also works well on thinner paints like chalk materials, even though it’s not amazing with latexes. It’s great for stains and has fewer issues spraying at angles than the HomeRight. That’s a real boon for folks who want to re-spray their deck!
Of course, aside from the improved fan system and tighter adjustment control, what really makes a difference with this one is the fact that you can choose between different spray nozzles. As with any full-size paint sprayer, being able to choose the right size of spray tip can make a huge difference in controlling overspray and improving atomization.
Unlike the HomeRight , which comes with just one (unspecified) nozzle, the PaintWIZ comes with two. There’s a 2.6mm nozzle for paints and other thicker coatings and an additional 1.8mm nozzle for thin materials, like fine finish coatings and clear coats. That gives you lots of room to find the perfect way to spray each furniture piece–even each coat!
There are two cups included as well! The PaintWIZ comes with both 800ml and 1.3l cups, so you can pick the size that’s best for each project.
It also includes a viscosity cup and cleaning brush, like the HomeRight. This one gets a leg up in our book, since it comes with strainers, too! You’ll need to buy those extra for the HomeRight.
It’s covered by a 1-year warranty, and it has a better reputation for reliability than the HomeRight.
Cons:
Even though most of Fuji’s full-size paint equipment is made in Canada, the PaintWIZ line (including this model) is made in China. It doesn’t have any reliability issues to speak of, but there’s definitely a difference in quality between the Canadian-made tools and the ones imported from China.
It comes with a shorter warranty than the HomeRight , even though it’s the more reliable of the two. You might consider adding on some additional coverage at the checkout.
There’s no dust-blower feature. That’s not even close to being a deal-breaker for us, but it’s a difference worth noting.
It can certainly spray latex paints, with enough thinning, but it’s just not as good with them as the HomeRight. It doesn’t have the power to give you a consistent flow with those most viscous materials. You’d have to thin to an extreme, and lay at least 3 coats to get good results with most latexes. That’s impractical and worth knowing up front.
3. Fuji 5175G – T75G Gravity Spray Gun
- Professional Spray Gun features convenient side pattern control knob to adjust size of fan pattern from small to large
- Non-Bleed Spray Gun for less blowing around of shop dust
- New sleek lightweight design.Stay-cool nylon handle (fitted over a metal tube)
- High-Efficiency Air cap installed for even less overspray and superb atomization
- 100% stainless steel fluid components, ergonomic stay cool handle
This Fuji gun is made by the parent company of PaintWIZ , and it’s at the top of the lineup for the company’s HVLP tools. The T-75G is currently our favorite HVLP gun of all time, and it’s our top recommendation for working on furniture if you’ve already got an HVLP turbine in the toolbox. It’s good enough for even the most demanding professional, and a great investment for ambitious DIYer’s.
Pros:
The latest T-series guns, of which this is the flagship, are redesigned to be sleeker and lighter than the previous generations (which were already very manageable). It’s a full 100g lighter than most others, including other high-end Fuji’s. It’s less than 2 pounds all told!
It combines a gravity-feed cup with a pressure hose, so you get every last drop out of each batch of material. Guns with gravity-feed cups are already more efficient than pressure-fed guns, and adding a bit of pressure in the gravity position gives you the best of both worlds!
You can switch positions if you want, and use this gun with a bottom-feed pressure cup. That’s thanks to a rear rotating nipple, another convenient feature you don’t find on all HVLP guns. You’ll just need to get ahold of a pressure-feed cup to make full use of it.
Not only does it improve the T-75G's efficiency with materials, but the extra bit of pressure makes this a better tool for spraying at angles than other gravity-feed models. That’s great for coating the insides of cabinets, and for angled molding pieces where you might not always be able to find an ideal spray position.
It’s rugged. All the fluid components are 100% stainless steel. The nylon cup is shatterproof, and the knobs are all made from solid metal. This is a gun that will last for years of daily use and is as at home in a professional shop as in an ardent hobbyist’s toolkit. It even has a metal collar around the nozzle!
All the components are CNC-machined to fit very tightly but move incredibly smoothly. That makes for a precise gun that can be adjusted quickly, but also holds its settings.
Both the volume and pattern adjustment knobs feel tight but move smoothly and surely.
The excellent machining quality isn’t something that’s easy to measure objectively, but you can see the improvement in the results you get on your furniture pieces! You get great control on the spray pattern and amazingly little overspray. This is a precision tool that can take you as far as your technique can go in terms of finish results.
As far as machining quality goes, though, the spray cap is the star of the show. It has superb atomization, making for flawless clear coats that lay like glass on your nice woodwork. You can also get incredibly consistent color coats, even with tricky lacquers. Professionals need to look no further for an HVLP gun!
The redesigned non-bleed spray cap prevents dust from blowing around and getting onto your wet piece. It also has super-high efficiency and produces the least overspray and bounce-back of an HVLP gun we’ve reviewed to date. It’s much more efficient than handheld sprayers and even more efficient than other HVLP guns!
Out of the box, this one comes with a 1.3mm spray cap, perfect for fine finish materials. Fuji’s caps are refreshingly affordable for high-end components, which makes expanding your arsenal quite accessible. We’d suggest the 1.3mm for most all-purpose furniture work, but you may want something larger for latex or other thick paints, which are increasingly popular on cabinetry these days.
It’s much more ergonomic than other guns. There’s a nylon grip along with the handle, which helps keep things cool on longer sprays. Nylon isn’t cheap like plastic–it’s shatterproof and as rugged as the rest of the gun.
The T-75G has better weight distribution than the competition, too, and feels more balanced than the rest of the pack. An easy-pull trigger also makes starting each spray as close to effortless as we’ve encountered–without ever feeling loose or wiggly.
The best ergonomic feature has to be the side adjustment knob, though. Most other guns have in-line adjustments, which are awkward to tinker with while you’re spraying. This side-mounted knob lets you tweak your pattern mid-spray without putting your hands in contortions.
The tight machining and high-quality materials make for easy cleaning. With most water-based coatings, you can get most of the way there by running a cup of water through the system, and then you’ll just have to brush any tenacious material out of the spray cap. Of course, it’s a good idea to be as thorough as possible, and use mineral spirits where appropriate.
You get a very helpful, comprehensive manual. It’s full of troubleshooting advice, thinning proportions to use as benchmarks and other helpful info for getting to know your gun and figuring out how to get the most out of it.
The T-75G is made in Canada and has a fantastic track record for both durability and build quality. Fuji also has excellent customer service, with Canadian representatives and prompt response times.
It’s covered by a 2-year warranty.
Cons:
It’s expensive. The T-75G costs over $300, even if you get it on sale. That’s prohibitively expensive for most DIYer’s, although it’ll be worth it to the most ambitious home furniture hobbyists. We recommend it primarily to working professionals, though.
In addition to the gun, you’ll need a good HVLP turbine system and a hose to get to work on your furniture projects. This would be underserved by anything less than a 3-stage turbine since you need a decent amount of power to make use of the spray cap’s superb atomization. If you don’t have one on hand, consider one of the complete systems below (the Mini-Mite 4 and Q5 are the best choice for high-end work).
As with any HVLP gun, you’ll need to thin quite a bit to use latex and other thicker paints. You’ll also probably want a larger cap than the 1.3mm factory component.
4. Fuji 2203G Semi-PRO 2 – Gravity HVLP Spray System
- Professional non-bleed Spray Gun with Adjustable Pattern Fan Control
- 1.3mm Air cap set installed
- 400cc Gravity Cup. Lightweight and portable
- Metal Turbine case with handy gun holder
- 25ft Hose includes air control valve to reduce overspray and bounce back
Our most affordable recommendation for DIYer’s in the market for something better than a handheld sprayer to use on furniture is the Fuji Semi PRO 2. It’s a complete HVLP sprayer system with a turbine, hose, and gun included. This will take you up to the edge of professional-grade work, and give you great results with nearly any furniture coatings.
Pros:
It’s one of the most affordable HVLP systems out there. It costs well under $500, and you don’t need to buy any extra equipment or components to get up and spraying out of the box. It comes with everything you need: a powerful turbine unit, a 25-foot hose, and a high-quality gun.
The turbine unit is the most powerful 2-stage system on the market. It packs a 1400watt punch and has a bypass design to get the most power translated to the turbine from the motor.
The power claims Fuji makes about their super-powerful 2-stage system are totally backed up by its results: this is the only 2-stage system we’ve seen that can spray latexes this well, and get such excellent atomization with finish coats.
The turbine sits packaged in a compact crate, protected by a sturdy metal housing. Inside, washable air filters keep you spraying smoothly without particulate interference. Since you can wash them, they’ll last much longer without replacement than other systems’ filters.
There’s a handle for carrying the turbine at your side, and a holder for the gun when you’re not spraying. The whole thing measures 28cm x 22cm x 20.5cm.The entire system is DIY-proportioned. It fits easily in storage if you’re a weekend DIYer, and the 25-pound total weight is insanely portable.
It comes with a 25-foot length of hose, equipped with handy quick-connect fittings. They make it easy to get up and running without worrying about tightening threaded seals and fittings.
The hose also has an air control valve right on the end, so you can adjust for overspray and bounce back before the air even hits the gun. That greatly increases the degree of finesse you can get with the adjustments on the gun itself and makes the Fuji Semi PRO 2 a heck of a lot more versatile than competing HVLP systems at this price.
The Semi-PRO 2’s gun is a gravity-fed HVLP spray gun a lot like the T-series we’ve looked at already. It’s professional-grade, and even if it’s not quite as good as the T-series, the M-series that comes with the Fuji Semi PRO 2 is still very high-quality. It’s precision-engineered beyond the level of DIYer-grade tools and provides lots of bang for your buck.
It has the same non-bleed cap design, for a start. It also comes with an ergonomic nylon grip, and mostly metal construction–including the cup! The M-series ships with a 1.3mm all-purpose spray cap that’s ideal for fine finish materials, as well as paints if you thin accordingly. As we mentioned in our T-75G review, additional caps are very affordable from Fuji, should you want to spray thicker coatings like latex.
We’ve recommended the Fuji Semi PRO 2 instead of the Hobby version of this setup because of the professional-grade gun. It gives new furniture workers a lot more room to grow their abilities than a hobbyist model, and it has a lot more professional amenities. The hobbyist models don’t have pattern control or the non-bleed cap feature. They’re more than worth the extra cost in our opinion.
Its 400cc gravity cup is super maneuverable for tight spots, corners, and high places on your furniture pieces too!
On the whole, the Fuji Semi PRO 2 is ideal for furniture projects. Even if the M-model gun can’t quite match the T-series, it gets very good atomization that borders on professional-grade consistency. That allows for very smooth clear coats and lots of control for layering color coats.
It’s perfect for someone who wants better results than are possible with a handheld unit but isn’t experience or ambitious enough to justify a full pro-grade HVLP system. We think it’s the best furniture sprayer under $500, and far outperforms its price tag!
It includes a very helpful, comprehensive 20-page manual which talks you through troubleshooting, thinning ratios, and proper cleaning procedures. It’s honestly one of the highlights of buying North American-made tools–getting a cogent, informative, and literate manual.
It’s Canadian-made, as with the other Fuji systems below. It’s covered by a 2-year warranty.
Cons:
The 2-stage turbine is powerful than other 2-stage options, but it still can’t compete with the big boys for atomization quality or capacity for thicker coatings. The lower power factor is the primary reason it can’t atomize at quite a professional level for your clear and finish coats. However, it’s an outstanding system for a DIYer, especially new users.
Likewise, while you get a very nice gun with this system, it’s not in the same bracket as the T-series guns that come with more expensive pro-grade Fuji systems. You’ll see the difference in the atomization quality of your finishes, as well as the precision of the adjustments.
The Fuji Semi PRO 2 isn’t professional-grade in build quality, either. Again, while DIYer’s shouldn’t have anything to complain about, it’s not made to stand up to daily use in a professional shop. The casing is more lightly-built than the professional-grade Fuji’s below, and so is the gun that’s included.
As we mentioned in our review of the T-75G, you’re going to need to thin latex paints with any HVLP system, and you’ll probably want to get an additional larger-cap for thicker coatings.
It’s loud. Unlike most of the professional-grade Fuji’s, many of which feature noise-dampening muffler features, the Fuji Semi PRO 2 is completely uninsulated. It makes quite a racket, so you’ll need ear protection to be sure.
5. Fuji 2904-T70 Mini-Mite 4 PLATINUM – T70 HVLP Spray System
- Professional Spray Gun features convenient side Pattern Control Knob to adjust size of fan pattern from small to large
- Non-bleed lightweight Spray Gun with Ergonomic Stay-Cool handle
- PLATINUM Turbine featuring The Heat Dissipation Box
- Featuring with all Mini-Mite PLATINUM models are Fuji's Noise Reduction Covers
- Portable and easy to transport
This Fuji system is our recommendation for the most passionate home furniture workers, such as restoration hobbyists and ardent DIY carpenters. It’s also a good choice for budget-conscious professionals. It’s much more powerful than the Semi PRO 2, given that it has twice as many motor stages in the turbine unit. It also comes with a top-notch gun in the T-70.
Pros:
It’s a souped-up, tricked-out version of the incredibly popular Mini-Mite 3 system. That model has won many top-honor awards in woodworking and tool periodicals, and it’s a mainstay of professional furniture workers and cabinetmakers. It’s the Top Tool in both Wood Magazine and Fine Woodworking this year, and it’s easy to see why full-time woodworkers are so enamored with it.
The Mini-Mite 4 is nearly identical to the Mini-Mite 3, but with more power under the bonnet. It’s the same size, and not much more expensive. We think it’s a better deal since you get an extra motor stage for only a slight price increase. That expands your capability with latexes and other thick furniture coatings and improves atomization for all your coatings.
It gives you a lot more power to work with than the Semi PRO 2, that’s for sure! With 4 motor stages, you’re looking at a full 9psi at your disposal. That’s enough to achieve professional-grade results that can compare with anything coming out of a high-end factory or workshop.
You’ll see the difference between this and the Semi PRO 2 in lacquers especially, but it’s an all-around improvement in finish quality, thanks to the finer atomization that power provides.
The Mini-Mite 4 also has a stronger casing to handle professional use. It’s made from slightly thicker metal, which is better at holding up to daily use in a pro shop or ambitious DIYer’s workshop.
This one comes with some smart pro-grade features under the hood as well:
It features Fuji’s proprietary heat dissipation box, which is one of the smartest features we’ve seen on turbines. The heat dissipation box distributes heat away from the motor block and out the back of the turbine crate through a plate with specially-cut holes. It’s very effective at keeping the motor cool, and it works silently. While it’s not a feature that casual users would notice, pros and passionate hobbyists will enjoy the increased longevity that it provides.
There are also basic noise dampeners in the casing on the turbine unit. It’s still not nearly as quiet as the Q-series, but much better than the Semi PRO 2. The Mini-Mite is no louder than any other turbine unit, even though it’s more powerful than many.
This one has dual, washable air filters like all the Platinum-series Fuji.
The most impressive thing is that even though it’s way more powerful and well-made than the Semi PRO 2, the Mini-Mite 4 is actually a lighter system! It’s under 24 pounds all told. The turbine crate has the same carrying handle and gun holder built-in, so you can easily move it around your shop.
Another big improvement over the Semi PRO 2 is the T-series gun that comes with the Mini-Mite 4 ! The T-70 is close in design to the T-75G we’ve reviewed above, but with some tweaks. It’s pressure-fed, with a 1-qt metal cup.
That’s the big departure, and most of the other features are the same: like the T-75G, it has all-metal fittings, knobs, and a collar. There’s a stay-cool ergonomic grip made from shatterproof nylon and the side-mounted pattern adjustment knob.
Like the other gun, the T-70 can be adjusted for gravity-fed setup, thanks again to that rear rotating nipple feature. Pressure-fed designs are good for covering the ground, which is why we think this is a good workhorse setup for furniture work.
If you’d rather a gravity-fed cup, it’s easy to convert afterward. You can also custom-order this one with the T-75G by sending Fuji a message at the checkout (they have great customer care).
The T-70 has a non-bleed, high-efficiency air cap like the T-75G, 1.3mm standard out of the box. As with the other T-series guns, it produces very little wasteful overspray and gives you superb, clean edges for your spray pattern.
As with the Semi PRO 2, the Mini-Mite 4 includes a 25-foot hose with quick-connect couplings and an adjustment valve. You can tweak your turbine’s output before it reaches the gun, which again makes for lots of room for precision.
Even with all its extra power and professional-grade features, it’s still well under $1000. This is an affordable option for pros on a budget, and it’s still a reasonable purchase for ardent DIYer’s who want to be able to attain professional results.
In terms of results, the Mini-Mite is very close to being the best on the market right now. It can achieve professional results with any coatings, even the finest finish materials. You’ve also got the power on hand to do big latex coatings on cabinetry if necessary.
The only models that beat it are the Mini-Mite 5 and Q5, also from Fuji, and we’re recommending the Q5 instead of the 5-stage Mini-Mite because, at over $1000, you really want the luxury of a super-quiet system.
Like all Fuji’s professional-grade models, the Mini-Mite 4 comes with a viscosity cup, wrench, and cleaning brush. There’s also a super helpful and straightforward manual, much like the one that comes with the Semi PRO 2.
It’s made entirely in Canada, has a superb reputation for reliability, and has 2 years of warranty coverage.
Cons:
While it’s no louder than most other turbines, it’s twice as loud as the Q5. If you’re a professional who works with a sprayer for hours at a time, it may be worth it to you to invest in the more expensive but more pleasant model. However, if most of your work is in the carpentry process as opposed to finishing or refinishing furniture pieces, you could easily make do with the Mini-Mite 4. Just don’t forget your ear protection.
It’s not the absolute best in terms of finish quality, although it comes awfully close. The Q5 system below adds an extra motor stage and a master speed control, which allows for even more optimized sprays with all materials. There’s about a $300-$400 difference between the two, so if you’re tight on money, don’t feel bad about going with this model.
6. Fuji 2895-T75G Q5 Platinum Quiet HVLP Spray System
- The extra power allows for less thinning of viscous paints and achieves finer atomization5-Stage Turbine produces 9 5psi featuring Variable Speed Control Dial allows user to adjust motor speed
- Quiet turbine - Patented noise reduction feature + Heat Dissipation Chamber (HDC)
- Professional Spray Gun features convenient side Pattern Control Knob to adjust size of fan pattern from small to large
- 25ft hose includes air control valve to reduce overspray and bounce back
- Includes the 5-for-5 Bonus Kit
The Fuji Q5 is our absolute favorite paint sprayer for furniture right now. It’s exactly the same size as the Mini-Mite 5 and includes the same hose, but it packs an extra motor stage and noise-reduction features into the turbine unit! This one also comes with our absolute favorite HVLP gun, the T-75G to which we dedicated a whole review earlier on.
It’s the most enjoyable HVLP system to use, and it gives you the most precise, optimized results on any furniture coating you could possibly want to spray. It’s our recommendation to any full-time pros who can afford it, or to DIY furniture crafters who want the best paint sprayer money can buy.
Pros:
Even though it’s just as compact as the Mini-Mite 4, it has an additional motor stage under the hood!
That gives you the absolute best atomization on the market right now with finish materials. If you do high-end restoration work and need to suit period looks with elaborate layers of lacquer, the Q5 is your best bet. If you need to give a glass-like finish on a brand new, modernist coffee table, it’s also going to give you better results even than the Mini-Mite 4!
The extra stage also offers the strongest performance with latex we’ve seen on an HVLP system. That’s ordinarily not a huge priority with furniture work, but given how popular latex coats in white and cream are these days, any professional should be equipped to handle both latexes and traditional finish materials. The Q5’s extra power also offers the convenience of requiring the least thinning with any thicker materials you use in your furniture work.
It’s far quieter than the Mini-Mite 4, which you wouldn’t expect of a more powerful machine. That’s thanks to the mufflers fitted into the turbine casing. They take down the noise level to just 50% of a typical turbine volume!
At a distance of 15ft, it produces only 63 dB, and at 20ft, it’s even lower: 60 dB. That’s the commonly accepted noise threshold for normal conversations, so this is an incredibly quiet machine–the quietest 5-stage on the market, in fact!
Folks who only use their HVLP system a few hours a week won’t truly appreciate the noise reduction beyond a pleasantry, but to those who make their living in furniture and woodwork, it’s a real godsend. You should still wear ear protection, but your hearing will thank you after a long workday.
The Q5 comes with the T-75G gun, which as we’ve mentioned, is our absolute favorite for furniture at the moment. We don’t want to spend too much time rehashing our thoughts on it here since we’ve written a whole review further up the page. If you skipped over that, go and have a look to find out why we’re raving about this gun!
For our review of the Q5 system, suffice it to say that the ergonomic, precise, and rugged T-75G is the perfect complement to the 5-stage turbine system. It helps you make the most of all that turbine power, and tweak your settings to get maximum atomization and minimum overspray.
We haven’t even mentioned the most remarkable feature on this system yet, though. That’s the master speed control on the turbine. 5 motor stages is an awful lot of power to put behind an HVLP turbine, and you won’t always want it running at full bore.
Having a master speed control to directly adjust the turbine motor is the ultimate in adjustability. It’s essentially a more exact, consistent version of the hose valve adjustments that you can make on the cheaper Fuji systems before the air gets to the gun.
Between the master control knob on the turbine and the precise, refined adjustment knobs on the gun, you’re looking at a superbly adjustable, versatile system that can handle any coatings and projects at optimal settings.
The Fuji Q5 doesn’t get any better than this in terms of precision and customization! You can do anything from light finish tasks to heavy-duty, multi-layer sprays with exactitude and precision. Oh, and you get the hose valve to make even further adjustments. So, you can actually adjust every single component on this system to optimize your results!
Those are all pretty abstract terms to throw around, but what it translates to in practice is less overspray and bounce back on your clear coats when the motor is turned down, and better atomization on your thicker coats (like latex) when the motor is cranked up.
You get better results all around, and you can better complement each tip size if you’re using multiple. We’ve said, you can spray absolutely anything with this system and attain perfect results. We don’t say that lightly!
It’s a fantastic all-around HVLP system which you’ll find useful for lots more than furniture if you have a mind to expand your skills. It’s powerful enough to spray car coatings and paints to professional-grade results. It can also tackle whole rooms of interior paint, even if it’s not as speedy as an airless system. This is the best HVLP system on the market in our opinion, and furniture is just one of its many applications.
It comes with the best accessory kit of the bunch! In addition to the cleaning brush, wrench, and viscosity cup, you get an additional 5 tools/accessories:
- a 6’ whip hose for better maneuverability
- a wet film gauge
- a 19-piece kit for cleaning and maintaining the system
- an extra turbine filter
- a special notebook for keeping track of your materials ratios and adjustment settings, so you can get optimized results every time
The Q5 is covered by a 2-year warranty, just like the other Fuji systems. It sports the same excellent Canadian build quality and is backed by superb customer service. We should also note that while we know it’s a big investment to make, we haven’t heard of a single reliability issue with one of these. They’re rugged, reliable machines that can be your workhorses for years.
Cons:
There aren’t any significant downsides to this system aside from the cost (close to $1500). It can spray full rooms of latex if needed (although any cup gun is slower than an airless system), it can give you the absolute best results possible on fine finish work, and it’ll be enjoyable to use the whole time.
We recommend this system to any furniture pros who can afford it. It’s overkill for most DIYer’s unless you’re trying to compete in furniture contests or start selling your pieces.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve taken an exhaustive look at all the best options for painting and finishing furniture, which should you pull the trigger on?
The HomeRight is the best choice for newcomers and DIYer’s who aren’t expecting professional results but want something better than they can achieve with hand brushes. It’s ideal for doing furniture projects with latex paint and other color coats.
The HomeRight isn’t very good with clear coats aside from basic polys, though. If you want to do lacquer work or other more demanding fine finish work, you should go for the PaintWIZ instead.
The PaintWIZ costs about the same as the HomeRight but has the opposite skill set. It’s great at clear coats and finish work, but not so awesome with color coats. This one doesn’t excel with thick paints like latex, even using the larger tip that’s included.
However, it’s the more versatile of the two handheld units, so we recommend it to most budget-minded DIYer’s. This is the best you can do for home finish work on furniture without taking the plunge and investing in an HVLP setup.
The Fuji T-75G is our top spray gun recommendation for those who already have an HVLP turbine and hose on hand. It’s the ideal gun for furniture work, and as long as you have a powerful enough turbine to get it working to its full potential, it’s as nice a gun as any professional craftsperson could ask for. You can spray any type of furniture coatings using this, and get enviable, optimal results with them all.
The only downside is the fact that you’ll need the turbine and hose to make it work. If you have a turbine, but with less than 3 motor stages, you’ll probably want to consider investing in a complete system like the Mini-Mite 4 , rather than allowing your weaker turbine to limit your results.
The Fuji Semi PRO 2 is the most affordable complete HVLP system we recommend for furniture. It’s ideal for DIYer’s who aren’t going to be satisfied with the results of a handheld machine and want to take things to the next level. The Semi PRO 2 can take you right up to the upper limits of DIY-class results, and help you grow your skills. It has a surprisingly powerful turbine and a pro-grade gun. If you’re a casual hobbyist, this might be as nice a setup as you need.
However, if what you’re going for is actual professional/showroom finishes on your furniture pieces, you’ll want to skip over this and go for one of the professional models. This setup also isn’t rugged enough for daily professional use.
The Fuji Mini-Mite 4 has enough extra power under the bonnet to give you noticeably better results than the Semi PRO 2. It does a markedly better job on clear coats and fine finish materials, and it’s our recommendation to pros who need a great system but can’t afford the premium Q5. It’ll spray anything very well, and it has the professional features and build quality to last for years as a workhorse tool.
With all that said, if you want the absolute best precision, versatility, and finish quality, you should spend the extra few hundred dollars for the Q5. The Mini-Mite 4 is also twice as loud as the Q5, so if you work enough to really appreciate that difference in noise level, you may want to skip over this model and go for the premium option.
The Fuji Q5 is our top-quality recommendation for professionals who demand the absolute best results in all furniture work. It can handle any material you could possibly want to spray and give you superb results with every application. The drastically reduced noise level also makes this the most enjoyable professional HVLP system to use by far.
It comes with an amazing gun, it’s built like a tank, and it’s infinitely adjustable at every component. We don’t think you can do any better! The only reason not to buy it is the premium price tag. If you’re not making money from furniture work, you probably can’t justify the cost of the Fuji Q5.
Buying Guide
Furniture projects are some of the most challenging paint sprayer applications. Uneven trim and molding surfaces, cut surface details, and tight corners demand a highly maneuverable system with very good spray consistency. And when you’re spraying furniture, any flaws that might end up in your finish will be a lot more obvious than they would be on walls or ceiling. That’s especially true given that most household paint (particular latex) is more forgiving than the fine finish coatings that are typically used for furniture.
So, it’s no wonder people seek expert advice when in the market for a furniture paint sprayer! Here are our key pointers to have in mind as you consider your options:
Avoid airless systems:
You can eliminate one big category of paint sprayers right out of the gate! Airless systems are too forceful and messy to give you a flawless furniture finish. Their high-pressure output creates a lot of bounce-back, which doesn’t exactly lend itself to glassy clear coats. These systems also waste a lot of materials. While that’s less of an issue over big, whole-room tasks, costs add up fast on small furniture projects. Finally, no airless system has the refinement or precision to help you with tricky lacquer work or layering on woodwork. We suggest skipping right over them and going for the more precise, efficient, and consistent HVLP approach.
Stick to HVLP systems and HVLP-style handhelds:
HVLP (high volume/low pressure) paint sprayers are by far the best when it comes to furniture. They create much less bounce-back and overspray than airless systems, which is great news for your clear coats and lacquer work. The HVLP approach means more of your coating material ends up on the workpiece, and with a smoother, more consistent coat for each layer. They’re also the most versatile type of paint sprayer. Most turbine setups can handle latexes and other color coats as well as fine finish materials.
If you want to work on furniture projects but can’t afford the $400+ it’ll cost for a full HVLP turbine system, your best bet is to get a handheld sprayer that uses an HVLP design. There are some rather good options under $100, and they can give you the general sense of HVLP spraying on a small scale.
If you have just one or two small projects in mind, this is a good place to start. They won’t produce professional-grade results, though, so if you’re looking to take your work beyond the beginner grade, or have an ambitious list of tasks in mind, you should consider investing in a complete HVLP system.
Know which coatings you want to spray:
As you’re choosing between HVLP systems or HVLP-style handhelds, the key thing to bear in mind is the sort of coating materials you’re looking to spray. As you’ve seen in our reviews, different systems have their strengths and weaknesses. Some are great with latexes, some are better than others at getting fine atomization for flawless clear coats.
In general, the more expensive and powerful your HVLP setup is, the better it will be for all coatings. More powerful turbines do better at spraying thick coatings like latex, but they can also help you get even finer atomization with thinner coatings.
So, the more you want to be able to expect from your system, the more powerful a turbine you’ll want to look for, and the more you should expect to spend.
In the handheld range, most units are of comparable price ($75-$100). No models stand out as spectacularly powerful, but differences in design do mean that some are better for latex color coats on furniture, while some are a better choice for doing clear coats and lacquer work. You’ll want to choose the model that best suits your goals.
Know how much you want to spend:
Depending on how many furniture projects you want to tackle, the materials you want to use, and how professional a result you’re expecting, you could spend anywhere from $50-$1500 on your paint sprayer.
Handheld units, which we recommend for casual DIYer’s and first-time furniture workers, cost between $50-$150, in most cases.
Full HVLP systems, which we recommend for most DIYer’s and any professional furniture makers, cost between $400 and $1500. We suggest that DIYer’s spend between $400 and $1000 on a full turbine setup. Your own budget will be determined by how passionate you are, how much skill you have right now, and how far your ambition is hoping to take you. Professionals should expect to spend at least $700, and as much as $1500 for a top-of-the-line system with noise reduction technology and fully adjustable settings.
Consider the “grade” of your work, and where you want to be in the future:
The big determining factor as you wade through the process of deciding how much to spend and how nice a system you need is the quality of your work at the moment, and the quality of the furniture work you want to be doing in the future.
Your finish quality results depend on the atomization you achieve with each coating material, which is a product of your turbine power and spray cap refinement. The more you pay, the more power you’ll have in your turbine, and the more precisely engineered a spray cap you get.
Finish quality is also dependent on the degree of control you have over overspray and bounce-back. That’s again a question of precision machining quality on your gun, and the amount and exactitude of the adjustments between the turbine and the spray cap.
Overall, the more you spend on your system, the better a result you can expect!
What’s Next
Hopefully, by the time you’ve finished reading this guide, you’ll have a clear sense of what you need from your furniture paint sprayer, and which models are best for your projects. To find out more about any of our recommendations, and to compare prices, click on the links in our reviews!
Or, if you’re still searching for your ideal paint sprayer, head over to our home page! We have lots of all-purpose recommendations there, many of which are perfectly capable of tackling furniture jobs.
