Customer Reviews
I returned the spray gun because of a defect 
2007-05-20
I returned the spray gun because of a defect. So, why the 5 stars? Well, I bought another one. I've read all the reviews here and learned a lot. The spray gun is of nice quality. The defect was that the trigger didn't press the air valve pin straight in. It gave the valve vertical motion, which made the valve hang up - giving it an erratic, jerky motion. Not only was it difficult to trigger, I assumed the valve would prematurely leak or fail.
So far, my only use has been to spray spar varnish on a exterior door. (horizontal, on sawhorses) . I had just read a book in which an expert stated that he had attempted to spray oil based varnish once, when he was young and stupid, and would never try it again. Being old and stupid, I used the 1.5 tip and thinned sparingly with a splash of thinner and a tablespoon or two of naphtha to a quart. I had to open the gun up fully - and it worked pretty well. Seeing the clear finish accumulate on the door was the problem: I'm using 66 year-old eyes here. I got a lot of pressure drop in 50' of air hose, and had to set my compressor regulator to deliver around 80 psi to the hose. I set the gun regulator to 35 or so. I was pleased with the results.
Other reviews have complained about the gun to air hose connection. Or, more specifically, the regulator to hose connection. It is 1/4 pipe thread - sort of. I got really lucky and noticed that a water supply hose worked perfectly as an extension hose. These may be referred to as compression fittings. The lucky part was noticing these at a Habitat for Humanity store for $1 each.
Good Spray Gun 2007-02-09
I used this gun with the 2.0 mm nozzle to spray acrlyic latex paint on a a cabinet I built. To get good results the gun should be held approx. 6 inches fron the surface and moved slowly and evenly. Also, latex paint should be thinned with 10% water. Water may raise the grain on wood so another round of sanding may be needed before the final coat. In addition, this spray gun uses a fair amount of compressed air. The owner's manual states that it requires 8.5 scfm @ 40 psi. My compressor is rated at 8.0 scfm @ 40 psi., so it runs constantly once I start spraying, just keeping up with the sprayer.
PSH1 Spray Gun 
2007-01-10
I purchased this spray gun and have used it several times. It has produced good results and I am completely happy with it. I did not have any problems (reported by others) with connecting the regulator and standard air hose fittings. I did use teflon tape on all threads.
PC gravity sprayer 2007-01-09
excellent product. works very well with stains and thinner paints. I purchased the larger latext needle and it work pretty good. there may be a learning curve I need to go through for the thicker material.
spray finishing gun 2006-11-06
This is a very good piece of equipment. I just wish it came with more adapters.
This is the pup for the job 2008-05-27
I bought this spray gun and used it for about a year and it worked great
I didn't clean the gun good after a few spray runs and I had a lot of water in my air compressor, these two things made my spraying a real hell. I bought another type of gun for spraying and I found I didn't have the control I wanted. I ordered another Porter-Cable. I couldn't be any more happy, I also got a new Porter-Cable air compressor and with the two, it's great. This is the right ticket for anyone who wants a sprayer that you have great control over the spray. This Pup will work great for you, just take a little time to learn how you want your spray on some card broad. Go Porter-Cable!!!
Perfect 2008-01-06
This is an excellent gun. Very adjustable in terms of air flow, fluid feed and spray distribution. Very easy to use, and spray on finishes come out excellent.
Very easy to clean.
Worth every penny. You will find some inexpensive HVLP guns that do not spray as well and are much harder to clean.
High End Results 2007-12-22
I build High End Custom furniture and apply a conversion varnish as a finish. Prior to using this gun, I had been using my old gravity feed Binks that I had painted cars with. There is less over-spray with the Porter Cable and certainly easier to clean. I thought that I would hate the idea of a plastic cup, but even after allowing the varnish to set-up like a rock, the cup blows clean with air pressure. The fit and finish of the gun is outstanding, and with different needles and nozzles available, its a dream. I'm buying a second to dedicate it for latex painting.
well-made, excellent item, to be used carefully and judiciously 2007-10-09
in all, I am very impressed with the craftsmanship and performance of this tool. However, it has not been easy as a relative beginner with spray painting to learn how to use this particular tool. first of all, I cannot say enough about the quality of the construction of this tool: fine chrome on the outside and turned brass around the spray nozzle. The only thing which would help me to better rate the construction of this tool would be for porter-cable to include a case, which for an item of this quality I feel should be included.
I think however, a few cautionary notes would be helpful to you if you are considering adopting this gun for new spraying project. first of all this gun is difficult to clean. They do include a nice brush made with the correct dimensions that works very well to clean this gun but still, there is a large amount of cleaning that has to happen on the many multifaceted and intricate surfaces inside the gun. Since I don't use a tool like this regularly I am not sure what the standard of cleanliness is and I spend a long amount of time after each use bringing the gun back to its original condition, perhaps this is not necessary but it considerably adds to the time required to use this tool.
Make sure to keep paint from drying on the air inlet attached paint bucket. Over time I've cleaned out every part of the gun except for the top of the paint can which collected enough paint inside it to block any incoming air. This created a large problem when I tried to use the tool in that I was not able to get any paint to come out of the gun and so I increased the pressure and opened all the apertures only to find that I still was not able to get any paint out. I proceeded to water down the paint hoping to reduce its viscosity to no effect. I finally figured out that to make the gun work I needed to keep taking the lid off to let the pressure rebalance in the paint can. I was finally able to clean out the paint can in the gun worked perfectly. The most helpful advice I could give them is that it is important to clean out the surfaces that the gun uses such as the nozzle and the top of the paint can while perhaps spending less time on cleaning the rest of the gun. However, as I said before this gun has not disappointed me in any way from its workmanship and is provided a great transitional tool for me to learn about paint spraying.
I also did not find the overspray from this gun to be that bad even though it just so happened that every time I worried about it I feel that I overcompensated with tape and drop cloths and whenever I didn't worry about it I inevitably hit something small that was very difficult to clean up. However, the overspray from this gun has impressed me as being much less a worry that I previously thought.
Great Product but . . . . . 2007-05-27
I finally put the gun to task after begging for a day off from work. The sprayer made quick work of my patio cover rehab. Be sure to purchase the 2.2 mm nozzle kit, the 2.0 nozzle kit and the 20 oz. metal can. I used the 2.0 nozzle to prime and the 2.2 to spray quality oil-based high-gloss paint. (Minor clogging with the primer on the 2.0 nozzle-switch to the 2.2 nozzle halfway through the oil-based painting part with much better results). The sprayer performed extremely well. Be sure to dilute your liquid to recommended specifications. (Many reviews have advised quite well the dilution propotions for this gun.)
The downside is:
1. The manual sucks! Trial and error with lots of sheets of newspaper to practice on will help. Also, work on stuff that will not matter to acclimate your skill level. The manual is so bad that I learned to clean the gun the "old fashion way" i.e. common sense. I've been painting for 30+ years but finally took the plunge to a sprayer.
2. Did I say the manual sucks! Get a book from Taunton Press to really understand how to handle a sprayer.
I have finished natural wood projects by hand for 17+ years. Currently, I am finishing a maple mantel cap but will complete the project by hand until my confidence allows me to finish natural wood projects with this sprayer.
I was liberal with the five stars but still the manual sucks! Your results will be outstanding. It is a well-built, quality gun. Compressors are another story. I was running it on a pretty substantial 26 gallon compressor that ran the entire time I was spraying. My neighbors live close by, they didn't like me today. When I run nail guns on this compressor, it does not recycle nearly as bad.
If you are looking for a HVLP sprayer, this is it!
