Customer Reviews

Fuji 3004 Q4 PRO Quiet 4-Stage HVLP Spray System

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had this unit about 10 months now and I am very happy with it. My goal, in general, was to get a sprayer with the following features/functionality:

-spray fine finishes such as lacquer and water borne finishes
-also spray thin stains as well as occasional latex and oil-based paints
-variable air pressure for more control
-spend less than $1,000

This unit has satisfied those goals very well. The variable air control is really a must, in my opinion, otherwise I cannot adequately control the atomization. This air control works very well on this unit. It does not vary the motor speed, but varies the flow through the hose with a convenient control located at the gun handle - you can vary the flow as you work and fine tune it without having to run back to the compressor unit to make adjustments. I just turn the unit on and then make all the adjustments at the gun.

This unit sprays everything have tried very well: thinned lacquer, straight stains and dyes, latex paint (with Flotrol), and slightly thinned oil base paint. The finishes are extremely smooth.

Once I have the air and fluid controls set for a given project, the amount of overspray is really remarkably small. Although it is possible to create a lot of overspray, that usually means the air control is set to high.

The unit is very easy to clean - usually I just run solvent through the gun after every coat. Then thoroughly clean the needle and nozzle after the project.

A bonus for me is the sound level of the unit - it is really very low - it is like a mid range "whoosh" . Definitely not a loud unit at all. I find that once I have everything adjusted and start spraying, I do not even pay attention to the sound of the unit at all. I understand that some other brands have very irritating noise levels. Not so here.

I also appreciate the manufacturer's after sale support. Very helpful. I also purchased (from Fuji direct) the 6 foot whip hose and the set of small plastic cups for small jobs. The whip hose is very light and I find it very helpful in maneuvering in my small spray area.

I have been happy with the needle/nozzle combination which came with the unit, although my guess for the majority of my lacquer work, the #3 nozzle would work fine also.

Whatever happened to my first review of this product? I can not find it anywhere and I wanted to spread the message about Fuji very much!

I bought a Fuji Q4 about 3 weeks ago and after having waited for long because of a delay in manufacturing due to the release of the new XT Non Bleeder type gun that comes standard with all new Fuji Q3 and Q4 systems.

I opted for the Q4 because for a relatively small difference in price you simply get the most powerful turbine in the market. It is a 4 stage turbine made right here in America. Fuji manages to put this monster in a very steardy black metal case and the system is claimed to be 50% quieter than the competition. Comparing it to a Turbinare unit I was thinking to buy I totally agree with Fuji's claims.

The unit came in a steardy box but to my dismay the plastic fitting that connects the hose to the turbine was broken. In addition to this, the 6 foot Flex hose I had ordered to come with my unit did not show up either.

A simple call to Fuji and a couple of days later I received a box with the Flex hose, a new plastic fitting and a quick coupling compliments of the company. I was also informed that
I would be receiving a new metal fitting as soon as they are available.

I highly recommend any new buyer to get this Flex hose as it really makes spraying a pleasure w/o the burden of the big rubber hose that comes standard with the unit. By the way, my unit also came with the small plastic cups I bought as an additional option and a pack of spares like cup seals and additional strainers.

I used my Fuji to spray 26 restaurant chairs for a friend who is openign up a new restaurant and the unit performed much better than I had anticipated. That time I used the plastic cups only because I had to spray between chair legs and I needed the smaller size of the spray sytem. The finish was as impecable as I ever had using a spray system and with an ease of conntrol I never felt using my compressor powered NON HVLP sprayer. It is such a different experience to have your paint go where you itnend it and STAY there instrad of the mess that a high pressure sustem creates. After spraying the 26 chairs I pretyt much walked away from the job with no paint stuck on me or my clothing.

The next day I had to spray some booths for the same friend and I tried to use the metal cup that comes with the system. Unfortunately, I could not make the gun achieve an good seal and since it is pressurized the paint was oozing out from it. I went back to the plastic cups and finished the job w/o a problem.

Having contacted Fuji again I was told they will be sending me a newer make of a cup and hopefully this problem will also be solved. Please note that since the XT gun and cup assembly is new for Fuji and I guess some problems had to be anticipated. The point here is that the manufacurer is simply AMAZING in responding to comments and lightning fast in taking care of any problems you may have. You get to talk to Paul, the owner himself (not some clerk that could not give a darn about anything) and this guy even responds messages on weekends!

I give the Fuji Q4 a round 5 star for performance even with the few mishaps I had with it. It is super quiet, super powerful, super performing and it is backed up by what I feel is the best customer service I have ever encountered in my 15 years of buying wood working equipment from various big name manufacturers like Delta, Powermatic, Bosch etc. These guys could learn something about customer service from Fuji.

I give Fuji a 4 star for quality control but again, the outstanding service they offer prety much decides it for me: Fuji is an absolute winner! DO NOT buy another HVLP spray system until you try a Fuji first. Highly recommended.

Pluses:

1. Quiet operation - it sounds like a small vacuum cleaner

2. High quality parts - nothing cheap/flimsy here

3. Great quality of finish - consistent quality with paint and
laquers.

Minuses

1. VERY stiff hose - it induces fatigue after a short while which
becomes a bit of a distraction. I plan on changing mine soon

2. Expensive - I got what I paid for so it's not truly a
complaint

Overall I would give this product a 4.5 rating if I could. I'm very satisfied with this product

It is really great to see when a product is designed exactly to do the job it is intended for. This system is simple, strong and produces exquisite results. Moreover, it is easy and quick to clean, time after time. It is meant to be re-used day after day, and has already proven itself after a month of use.
I have only used oil-based paints (Benjamin Moore), and have thinned them by around 25%. This seems a lot to the uninitiated, but rest assured the results are superb. Spend time with some scrap wood, playing with the adjustments to get the flow and spread as you need it. Any orange peel effect, just thin it some more. Simple. Get the Quiet version - it is absolutely worth it, and the noise level resembles that of a (quiet) vacuum cleaner. My only minor gripes are the fact that the 6ft whip hose does not come standard (I have never used the standard hose - it is long, rigid and heavy) and the standard paint reservoir is alumin(i)um. When using oil based paints (especially bright white) the tarnish from the alumin(i)um ever-so-slightly can affect the paint if not rubbed absolutely clean first. Other than that, I use the mini-cups a lot (again, nice if they were standard) which are great for small jobs. Spend the money and enjoy the quality. I am very impressed and happy with this product.

I am a professional cabinetmaker and have fought with my high pressure spray equipment in the past. I went searching for a better mousetrap and decided to buy this system and give it a shot.This product is the real deal. It is so incredibly simple to use. The amount of overspray you get is nearly non-existent. The finish is top quality.
I highly reccommend this system. I bought the Pro 4 and am glad I spent the extra hundred bucks.
Scott Jackson

Instructions are easy to follow, the machine looks and feels sturdy, a little practice on some scrap wood and the results on 5 doors was really excellant. I have only used oil based paint and when thinned out it worked very well. The paint bounce was very minor, it is easy to clean. purchase the 6' whip it's well worth it. really well pleased.

I have had the Q4 system for about two years and am extremely please with the quality of the tool, the quietness of the system and the amazing support I have received from Paul Smith at Fuji and Roger Phelps at [...] from whom I bought the system.

I bought the Q4 based on web reviews, write-ups and word-of-mouth. Not being a professional finisher, I had/have plenty of finishing questions of which many are not addressed in books or online forums. Paul and Roger have been very polite and prompt in answering my questions via email and phone. I don't recall getting such great service from any other outfits in the past twenty years.

The following is some information that may help newbies like me reduce their learning curve when spraying latex (Benjamin Moore Impervo):

I don't do a lot of spraying so the easy-to-use Fuji system was right for me. That doesn't mean there isn't a learning curve. Being very picky about my finishing results, I found it desirable to do a fair amount of testing of various dilutions of my primary finish which is latex paint. Lately, I've been using Benjamin Moore's Impervo (satin). I have a "mock" spray booth set up in my garage (lots of plastic). Where I live in California, the temperatures now (late November) vary between 68-73 degrees once I have warmed the garage a bit with a heater and lights (make sure you have plenty of good lighting including a couple of low lights that will make it easy to see dust and other defects in the thing being finished. Humidity is at 20-40 percent. The needle/nozzle that works well for me is the number four (but I have also had good results with the number three needle/nozzle). The aircap is turned about one-quarter turn counterclockwise from closed and the fluid control is turned 1.5 turns cc from closed. The air flow is fully on and the mesh fluid filter is removed (though it would probably be okay to use it as my dilution). I use the vertical spray pattern as recommended. The doors that I've been painting recently are lying down horzizontally (rather than standing up vertically).

I dilute the paint in this ratio: 2 cups paint, 3 ounces distilled water and 3 ounces of XIM flowout solution (XIM was recommended by the BM dealer for Impervo (acrylic enamel) rather than Flotrol). Note, this dilution is a lot higher than recommended by Ben Moore as well as the documentation on the XIM bottle. Nonetheless, the viscosity is good, flowout is good and orange peel is not much of a problem though, having come close, I have yet to achieve a glass-smooth paint finish. Any suggestions are very welcome. The high dilution may work well for me due to the relatively low humidity level.

Prepping your object to be finished is more than half the job. Sanding to 220 grit is not good enough (for me) as the scratch marks are clearly visible through, at least, the first two or three relatively thin coats of paint. You will save time in the end by sanding to at least 320 grit if not 400 grit. Random orbital sanders will leave the telltale squirly marks if you don't hand sand them out to at least 320 grit or if you don't use a better finishing sander than the old Dewalt random orbital sand I use; which probably isn't a good example of a true finishing sander. But that's another issue.

Dust nibs in the finish seem to be an issue that every finisher must deal with. I have a minor problem with dust nibs despite having a good Jet air filter (AFS-100B) hanging from the garage ceiling and plastic all around for a make-shift spray booth. I tack cloth and lightly blow off dust prior to mixing my paint and again just before I paint. (I do a first blow-off before I mix the paint to allow for airborne particles to make it to the air filter.) If I see a large piece of dust in the just-sprayed paint, I quickly remove it with tweezers and let the paint flow out into the void left by the small tweezers. Dust nibs are gently sanded out between coats using 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper between coats. A vacuum hose is always in my non-sanding hand to suck up the sanding dust and to brush off the sandpaper to minimize "loading".

Cleaning the Fuji gun is very easy and fast. Compared to the new Apollo gun that I recently saw at a wood show (Nov. 2007), the Fuji XT gun is easier and faster to take apart. Take care of it and it will take care of you.

I hope some of this helps. Either way, you won't regret buying a Fuji sprayer!

Regards,
Andy Aronson

I have used the Q4 to spray polyurethane, stain, oil-based enamel, and latex with good results. The poly and stain left very smooth finish that is superior to anything you can do with a brush. The latex and enamels are a bit more difficult to work with as one has to thin these to the right viscosity to flow well, but not too much or they run. It just seems to take some practice... If you are just doing big latex painting work like sides of houses, get an airless sprayer instead.

The controls on the gun are fantastic - you can set for hoz or vertical fan, or even a circular shape which is ideal for touch up. You can adjust paint feed rate and air flow also. All of these controls are a bit confusing at first, but once you use it for a while, you find that they allow you to really fine tune the tool to get the best finish.

The customer support is amazing! Every time I have contacted Fuji, I have gotten a prompt (< 1 day) response from the CEO himself. They have air mailed me a new cup assembly when mine had a slight defect and have provided detailed answers to many technical questions.

This is a quality tool from a quality company that stands behind their product.

I spent a lot of time researching types of sprayers and manufacturers prior to purchasing the Q4. Reading these online reviews coupled with the discounts swayed me to purchasing this unit through Amazon.

I must say... this was a great decision. The sprayer is simple to use and has great results. Even better than that, the after purchase support was excellent. Based on the online reviews, I purchased the 6 foot flex hose and made the mistake of attaching it directly to the turbine. The turbine runs hot and the hose malfunctioned. I emailed the manufacturer at 5:00PM EST on Saturday and had an email resonse within two hours.

I have outfitted my entire shop through Amazon over the last 5 years and this is the best support I have ever received.

I recommned the product and the company.

This is just another example of having the right tool on hand when your doing a job. It never ceases to amaze me how much easier the job becomes and the quality of the outcome is improved. I wish I had purchased this Fuji HVLP system years ago! It is definetly a great product.