Hi there.

I bought a HVLP gun from Harbor Freight on sale for about $50 a few months ago. So far, I've done two boats with it, using Epiphanes Hi-Gloss. To summarize my limited experience so far:

Everything in the previous responses rings true with me as well. You can do it and get pretty good results early, but there is a learning curve involving:

gun adjustments- there are 4 different things to adjust on my gun, and they all inter-relate. Find something to practice on to get your initial settings.

pressure setting- I'd been running the gun at 40 p.s.i., and just noticed yesterday that the nozzle itself says "10 psi max"! Yikes! The two-page instruction manual said almost nothing about how to use the thing.

I'd definately recommend getting a thinner for use in spraying, rather than the mineral spirits normally used in brushing. Get the same brand as the varnish, if possible. The downside of this is that personnal respiratory protection is a MUST, as the spray thinners are mostly that nasty ol' xylene.

For your spray booth, you can get the large rolls of the thin painters' drop cloth much cheaper than the clear visqueen we normally use for cheap tarping.

Spend the $7 for a Tyvek suit. You'll sweat like a pig, but I was surprised at the difference it made in comparison to wearing my regular overalls which apparantly shed like a cat. When done, hang the Tyvek suit inside out so it can dry quickly.

Having said all that, and being pleased even with my first efforts, I also have to agree that brushing can also produce 'most excellent' results. At the Northwest Sea Kayaking Symposium last weekend in Port Townsend, I checked out the CLC display on the beach. The varnish finish on their West River 162 was maybe the best I've ever seen, certainly in the top 5 list. I asked the tall guy there (I can't remember his name, sorry, but it's not Lee, who I also met) what they used. He said a combination of the two big Z-Spar varnishes, applied with a 2" foam brush. I mean to e-mail them to see if they'll reiterate the specific recipe for me.

If you're going to be building boats for a while, I'd say it's worth the effort.

There's a little more on this at my website, but I still haven't fixed it for you Netscape users yet.

Good luck.

Pete in Snohomish