Sleek MCM Credenza and my review of the Earlex Hv5500

Well I’m back again, this time with an update on the recent transformation of another Goodwill find and my review on the Earlex Hv5500. I’m in a good mood writing this because it’s my last week of school until I get my degree, my husband is back after a long week back home and I’m finally starting to get back into my weekly groove.

So first let’s talk about the Earlex Hv5500. Obviously this is a higher end High Volume Low Pressure (HVLP)spray gun that is self-powered, has a 3-click pattern change system with a 90% spray efficiency. I did my homework when looking at these guns because I didn’t want something too hard to work with, user friendly, but had all the right things I was looking for.

1. The finish: The finish with this gun is unbelievably awesome. I mean, this was so much easier to work with than the Critter because the system is self-powered and I didn’t have to wait on a finicky compressor to keep constant flow. Therefore, there was a seamless spray pattern….absolutely no flashing, paint streaks or lines!

2. It can spray a multitude of products. This system was designed to spray everything from water based products, to oil based products, to shellac and lacquer. It comes with a video to show you how to dilute each type of product.

3. 3-Click Pattern: This is my favorite feature! It has two settings for spraying horizontally and vertically, but it also has a quarter click turn that is meant for fine finishing or detail painting. This is perfect when you need to get smaller details and crevices but don’t want to waste the overspray paint.

4. Overspray: I love this gun because the overspray is pretty much non-existent. We’re talking zero dust, zero splatters, zero spray on my backdrops or sheets. The spray pattern flow is also adjustable so this helps to control that. I saved about 50% more product using this gun than I did using the Critter.

5. Lightweight: This gun may look big and heavy but don’t let it deceive you…it is super light, made of aluminum and does not weigh heavy on your hand.

1. I wouldn’t really see this as a con…but the cleanup. You must ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY do the cleanup on any HVLP system. This is one area you can not skip out on. Cleaning this system is more tedious than cleaning the Critter, BUT Earlex sends you an instructional video that will detail how to take it apart, clean it, put it back together, dilute your paint type and even how to spray! It’s a lot easier than you think but, it does take time, and they send you a couple of essentials with your kit.

2. Needle sizes. I don’t know if this is a con either. The needle that comes with this gun is a 2.0 but a 1.5 is recommended for furniture refinishing. And the needles are $40 a pop but a good investment. Honestly, I wouldn’t know the difference until I tried a 1.5 and even then the 2.0 does just fine for everything I’ve done.

3. That’s it! Those are all the kind-of cons I have for this system. Overall, I absolutely love this gun and am so glad my husband made the investment for me.

Now lets talk about the MCM Credenza. I found this on my lunch break at Goodwill.

It was in decent shape, all the drawers worked and it had a glass top. I paid a little more than I would have liked with this piece and it was a beast! It took two guys and myself to maneuver this thing into my car with a carseat in the back.

First thing we did was strip the drawers of the stain. It was a mahogany color that deepened as it aged so removing it turned the drawers pink. We had to remedy this by sanding until the wood was white. The legs were also a little wobbly, but were hammered back into place and re-secured.

I sprayed the base using 2 coats of General Finishes “Lamp Black” and sealed with 3 coats of High Performance Top Coat in Semi-gloss. I flipped the credenza on it’s back for easier painting and gave it at least an hour between coats. Spray painted coats dry quicker than hand painted coats.

I wanted to give a medium warm tone to the drawers so I used Rustoleum’s “Early American” and sealed in Minwax Semi-gloss polyurethane. The ombré look in the drawers was completely accidental. I don’t know why one set absorbed darker than the other. Both of them were stripped, sanded and stained the same way, so I’m thinking maybe this piece just wanted some modern flare. I don’t know what kind of wood this is either but I also thought the woodgrain was super funky but cool.

I tried to clean off the grime on these original handles. They were just too far gone and dull no matter how many times I cleaned them. So I primed them, painted them a bright gold and sealed them with enamel.

I really love that this piece came with it’s own glass top. I think the addition of the top alone makes it the perfect entry piece or media console.

I lined the top two drawers in this funky gold and black mod triangle paper I ordered from Spoonflower. I am OBSESSED with their prints! I only did the top two drawers because the others were in great shape. These two had some ugly stains that just couldn’t be left bare.

Anyway…I hope you can get something out of this review. I know I wasn’t as detailed as my last post about the Earlex but there really isn’t much to divulge on. Once you get to know the basics of spray guns, its the added features that set them apart. I’m hooked on the Earlex!