Gesso-to spray or not to spray

[Junglewalker]

I have always applied Gesso with a brush, but would be interested to try the spray method.
Can it be done witha hand held Garden spray or is a Gravity fed gun hooked up to a compressor the only route?
Is the gesso mixed to be more runny..is the keeping clean of the spray equip very difficult? Any advice from experienced practitioners would be very welcome.

[prospero]

I've heard of this and it sounds a good idea. I might add I have never tried it......
A decent spraygun doesn't cost a fortune - it's the compressor that is the pricey bit. Although most framers would have one.

You need to keep it warm, but easy enough to rest the tank on the gun in warm water. As long as it isn't gravity-feed that is...

The finicky part is that you really need a dedicated area to do spraying. Otherwise the whole workshop will be perennially covered in dust.

[Junglewalker]

I have noticed a video on youtube that shows it.I will try to access a workshop that is employing this method..and if I do I will report in

[Not your average framer]

I did at one time consider this myself and wondered about getting a HVLP spray gun system. The HVLP bit stands for High Volume Low pressure and the system is powered by it's own built in air turbine.

It may be worth looking at the HVLP option, since running a spray gun from your existing compressor may prove to be unpractical due the size of compressor needed to run normal spray guns. As others have said keeping the gesso at the right temperature is an important factor to be considered.

You will also need to consider health and safety issues, in particular the importance of not breathing an gesso which may be dispersed into the air that you are breathing. Also there is the protective clothing to help avoid your normal clothing and you from becoming covered from head to foot in gesso.

This could be a useful and informative thread!

[Framerpicture]

Spraying gesso is a bit messy but very much quicker .It really needs a dedicated booth as lots of overspray .
You can spray gesso with either gravity fed or suction gun- I use both. I have also read about people using all in one fence sprayers.
We have an extractor but wear a mask as well. We have a compressor with a 200 litre tank which seems to cope ok

The gesso needs to be warm,I make it in 500ml lots and if necessary I can use that in the gun in one go without needing to reheat. We do heat the spray room as well but as of course there's a 24" extractor to remove all warm air as soon as you start sparaying!
500ml will put one coat on approx 4 20" x 30" 4" wide frames .You will need somewhere to put the frames when sprayed, we have made drying racks immediately behind the spray booth.
When you've finished spraying run very hot water through gun . If it does go off in the gun its a complete strip down which can be time consuming. Any left over gesso should be kept in the fridge when cooled down as its an organic material and will quite quickly go mouldy.

You'll need to play about with ratios for making your gesso make it too strong and the gesso will crack make it too weak and it turns to dust.

[Jonny2morsos]

Richard Christie set up a spray facility at his workshop. This is a link to his blog but you may have to do a bit of searching as I think it was a couple of years back. http://richard-framemaker.blogspot.co.uk/

He is a forum member - Framemaker perhaps he would respond to a PM or email.