Intro:
My name is Evan, and I am the Lead Designer and Woodworker at Cypress DesignWorks. I am also a Mechanical Engineer and an absolute tool nerd. I love helping pair people up with the right tool for the job and their budget.
Model Details and Pricing: The Q5 Platinum is a 5 stage HVLP turbine made by Fuji Spray in Toronto, Canada. This system can be purchased with their T70 Bottom Feed Style Gun, or their T75G Gravity Feed Style Gun. This system retails for around $1,400 depending on the configuration chosen.
Summary:
I can confidently recommend this sprayer for anyone who wants a top of the line HVLP system. The Fuji Spray Q5 Platinum was clearly made with professionals in mind, but with an obvious design that even a beginner can understand. This system has high-quality parts, extremely versatile adjustments, quiet operation, and plenty of power. Although this is not an inexpensive system, its features and incredible quality make it a great investment for businesses or serious hobbyists ready to take their finishing to the next level. This a true buy once, cry once tool.
Features: (What makes this system stand out)
Quiet: The Q in Q5 stands for Quiet, and let me tell you this system lives up to that designation. I was blown away by the difference in noise between this 5 stage turbine and our old 3 stage and 2 stage turbines. You can have this at full power and have a normal conversation in the room. If you're like us and spend considerable time in your finishing process, having a quiet system goes a long way.
Adjustable Power: Another feature that we found notably helpful was the variable power knob on the actual turbine. This machine is capable of incredible power, but when spraying thinner finishes like Lacquer and Polyurethane, you don't want or need it all. Being able to fine-tune the actual airflow makes it much easier to get the right amount of finish output without bounceback.
Turbine Fit and Finish: The Q5 Platinum Turbine has a nice blue powder coating finish. It features a large, easily replaceable filter. It also features a nice chrome holder for your gun. The knob for power adjustment is smooth but firm enough to stay where you put it.
The Hose: The hose is a thick, high-quality over-molded rubber hose that won't kink and will stand up to abuse over time. At 25' long, it has plenty of length to keep your turbine away from your spraying area which helps keep your filter clean and your motor last longer. On the dispenser side of the hose is a flow control valve that can be used for fine airflow adjustment from the spray area. This unit also comes with a 6' Whip which can be added to the end of the main hose. This Whip is extra flexible and we found this particularly useful when spraying furniture as it allowed a much greater range of motion when spraying awkward places like the underside of a cabinet.
T70 and T75G Guns: The adjustments on both of these guns are incredibly smooth. Offering fine-tune adjustments on power, fan size, and fan angle make getting the right amount of finish laid down a breeze. It is also worth noting that these guns are what is known as non-bleeding, which means that when you aren't pulling the trigger, no air is coming out of the gun. If you've had one which had air bleeding, you know how much of a pain they are. Big win for the T70 and T75G.
The ergonomics of these guns are incredible. Comfort was clearly a priority when these guns were designed. As we spend countless hours in any given finishing session, this puts a big check in the win column for this system. The actual construction of these guns is clearly top-notch as well, with every metal part that fluid touches being made of stainless steel, preventing corrosion.
There are air caps available in seven different sizes for these guns (.8, 1.0, 1.3, 1.5, 1.8, 2.0, and 2.5mm). As this parameter is really critical to a fine finish, I am really glad to see Fuji Spray offering a large range of cap sizes.
Finish Quality: Probably the most important feature of any finishing system is the finish quality. Without question, this system gets a 10/10 in this category. With plenty of power, high-quality parts, and a great design, this sprayer has proven to put down clear finish, latex paint, and even primer with absolute ease. The atomization is also exceptional, making for silky smooth finishes.
Disclosure:
This system was provided to us by Fuji Spray for us to use and review.
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