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Paint gun suggestions

BAFRAID

She’s looking like a Super Bee again!!
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I am new to auto painting. My first project was my 65 dart which just needed to be scuffed up with 320 and re-sprayed. I used a single stage on that. It was ok but the paint seem to be clumpy like it wasn’t atomizing correctly and it took a few passes to actually get coverage. I have to admit, And I’m a little embarrassed to say I used one of the $15 harbor freight guns. I know, I know what else should I expect. LOL I had read some reviews and did some research and heard they were pretty good guns for the price. I’ve also done some research since and yes a professional can make them work but for a beginner it’s a lot of work and not so good of a turn out. A YouTube channel called, Paint Society, suggested the Eastwood Concourse CC 500. This gun is about $400. Has anyone used this gun? Does anyone have any other suggestions for a more budget friendly do it yourself gun? Also, is it safe to buy a used gun? I’d be open to that if somebody had one for sale. I am running the gun on a 60 gallon 5 hp compressor.

thank you.
 
I bought a Devilbiss Finish Pro for $200, so far I'm happy with it. Came with 3 fluid tips, breaks down easy for cleaning, doesn't have any rubber parts and the paint/primer doesn't adhere to the finish so it's pretty easy to wipe down. Not a top of the line gun but does a good job and serves every aspect of bodywork provided you clean it good after priming. I still prefer the old Binks siphon feed lol, don't know if the higher pressure better atomizes the paint but I can consistently put paint down smoother with it?
 
When I started, I settled on the Devilbiss Starting Line two gun set from Eastwood. They are very well made, easy to use and pretty simple to setup. I would recommend them for anything short of a concours paint job. I have sprayed almost everything through them using one of the three tips they provide. I admit, you can screw it up, but with practice the guns are pretty reliable and cost-effective. Now that I have sprayed for a while, I will probably get a dedicated clear-coat gun. That part of the process is harder to master and ends up making me sand/polish way too much.

Also, your compressor and tank size is not the key. You need to make sure it has the SCFM to keep up with a HVLP gun (keywords HIGH VOLUME). I am betting it might be a little light. Water separator and filter required.

Lastly, I recommend getting a small regulator and filter for the gun. This allows you to set the pressure right at the gun and will prevent any tiny particles that get through the hose. Without it you may be shooting in the dark (pun intended).

Hope this helps.

RGAZ
 
When I started, I settled on the Devilbiss Starting Line two gun set from Eastwood. They are very well made, easy to use and pretty simple to setup. I would recommend them for anything short of a concours paint job. I have sprayed almost everything through them using one of the three tips they provide. I admit, you can screw it up, but with practice the guns are pretty reliable and cost-effective. Now that I have sprayed for a while, I will probably get a dedicated clear-coat gun. That part of the process is harder to master and ends up making me sand/polish way too much.

Also, your compressor and tank size is not the key. You need to make sure it has the SCFM to keep up with a HVLP gun (keywords HIGH VOLUME). I am betting it might be a little light. Water separator and filter required.

Lastly, I recommend getting a small regulator and filter for the gun. This allows you to set the pressure right at the gun and will prevent any tiny particles that get through the hose. Without it you may be shooting in the dark (pun intended).

Hope this helps.

RGAZ
Thank you that does help. I do have a filter and water separator on the compressor. I also have a small, cheaper, gauge at the base of the gun. The compressor I have is the 5hp, 60 gallon from harbor freight. It does well and may only turn on once while painting for 20-30 min. I’ll look into the paint guns you and 747mopar mentioned. Thank you.
 
I have to admit, And I’m a little embarrassed to say I used one of the $15 harbor freight guns. I know, I know what else should I expect. LOL I had read some reviews and did some research and heard they were pretty good guns for the price. I’ve also done some research since and yes a professional can make them work but for a beginner it’s a lot of work and not so good of a turn out.
thank you.
Did you use this gun? https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html
I am by no means a professional painter myself, and I had very good results painting a A-100 van with one of those! Have you ever used a paint gun before, if so how many times??
Did you do some practice before starting to spray?
You must not have had the right mix of paint, piss poor prep work on the vehicle before spraying, your air pressure and other settings must be out to lunch, you moved to fast, or to slow while painting if you had poor results. I will probably never use mine again and would sell it to you but you don't like them, or you seem to need more work/practice on how to use a paint gun. Good Luck
 
Did you use this gun? https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-hvlp-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-62300.html
. I am by no means a professional painter myself, and I had very good results painting a A-100 van with one of those! Have you ever used a paint gun before, if so how many times??
Did you do some practice before starting to spray?
You must not have had the right mix of paint, piss poor prep work on the vehicle before spraying, your air pressure and other settings must be out to lunch, you moved to fast, or to slow while painting if you had poor results. I will probably never use mine again and would sell it to you but you don't like them, or you seem to need more work/practice on how to use a paint gun. Good Luck
Yes that is the gun I have. Thank you 69a100. I am definitely new to auto painting and could have easily made some if not all the mistakes you mentioned. I used the 65 dart as a test to see how the guns work and to adjust my technique. I don’t dislike the gun. I believe I can make it work with a bit more experience. I just sprayed my primer with it using a 1.8 tip. After watching some professional paint videos I feel like I have to move a lot slower in order to get coverage. Maybe I needed more pressure. I have mixing cups and really make sure to fill to the correct lines. I was sold 1 gallon of Vibrance high build primer and the required reduced and catalyst to do my entire 69 super bee. They way it looks I can’t see how this will be enough. Lots of learning. I appreciate your thoughts and any guidance.
 
This is the gun I bought to spay color many years ago. It was over $400 back then. I now own three of these as i like the way they spray. One gun for color, one gun for CLEAR and only CLEAR, and the original gun now is just used for primer. Each gun has a different tip, 1.5, 1.3, and 1.8. I bought the last gun about 2 weeks ago and now the price is about $125. The settings are simple, I always use wide open fan and wide open paint supply. Air pressure is the only adjustment I make anymore running 24 to 28 lbs at the gun depending on what is being sprayed. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Iwata-9230...807198&hash=item1e7e5f8615:g:AlMAAOSwDk5Tuein

If you buy this gun and are using it for color and clear only then I would get the 1.5 tip not the 1.3 shown.

PAINT GUN SPRAY TIP SIZES- WHEN TO USE EACH
Posted: January 15, 2019 By: MattM
On TV it always looks oh-so-simple; just pour the paint in the paint gun, pull the trigger and you end up with a beautiful mile-deep paint job! I’d hate to break it to you but it’s not quite that easy and it takes years of practice to get those results. You can however reduce the room for error by educating yourself on what tools and accessories are the best for your paint job. This included which size tips to use in your HVLP paint gun and when to use each. Below we give a list of the common size spray tips and when/where to use them.

1.2-1.3MM- These nozzle and tip combinations are the most fine and therefore work well for thinner coatings. These smaller sized tips are most commonly used with clear coats and final top coats. Do not try to use these tips with thicker coatings like high build primers and undercoating.

1.4-1.5MM- These tips are the middle of the road and can be used for the widest variety of coatings. If you adjust your gun correctly you can use these with clear coats, and also spray base coats easily. If you set the gun correctly and thin primers you can also spray some urethane or low-build primers with these tips. If we were stuck on a deserted island and had to paint our car we’d choose one of these tips.

1.6-1.7MM- This larger tip is great for base coats and allows you a larger deposit of the coating on the surface. Some more experienced painters will use a larger tip like this, but it takes some expertise in mixing and gun setup to avoid runs and thick coatings of clear. A 1.7MM tip works well for sealer primers and is our second choice for deserted island painting.

1.8-1.9MM- Now we’re up to the big-boy tips. These are used for applying heavy coatings like high build primers and sprayable fillers. We don’t suggest using these tips for paint or clear coat unless you just want to coat something quick and the final finish isn’t an issue. Have a tractor you just want to coat quick and not have to thin or mix paint? This could be your tip.. but don’t expect that show-car finish! We use these tips often for applying our early stages of primer, especially epoxy primers.

2.0-2.2MM- We’ve now reached fire hose status. These tips are only reserved for heavy, high build coatings like rust products, undercoatings, sprayable body filler, and extremely high build primers. This will get the product on in a hurry, but expect to have to sand the surface to smooth it out.

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I currently have two Devilbiss FLG-670. I'm quite happy with them. The advantage is the better name brand guns is in the quality/tolerances of the needle, fluid tip and air cap.
 
I know paint & supplies aren't cheap, go find some cheap paint, get some trashed metal, wood, or even cardboard and do some practice with it is the best way to learn. Unless you know a painter that can give some guidance & pointers in the meantime? Good Luck
 
I have painted several cars with the HF guns and to be honest they work pretty well. That said, they probably would not be a good long term gun but they will get it done. The last car I painted (my Cuda) i bought a $200 Devilbiss gun with 3 tips and I will say that it definitely painted better but given that a HF gun is 10 times cheaper, if I was only going to paint one car that is where I would go. I still use a HF detail gun for engine bays, door frames etch.
 
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I'm not a painter by any stretch, but I bought a $100 job from TCP and it worked great. The fluid and air adjustments were able to fine tune my pattern easily.
I did invest in a larger cup due to the sheer size of our B Bodies and an electronic regulator that attached to the gun.
 
The more I’m reading the more I’m thinking that my paint is not atomizing correctly. I can get an even fan pattern and paint coming out but I’m getting flecks or splatter. Not sure if that’s too much air or not enough air pressure or too much fluid coming out. Any suggestions? or should I just try messing around with different settings on the gun.?
 
IME flake and spatter are a result of either too much air or way too little, the gun is dirty (some air passages are not open) or the paint is not reduced enough to flow cleanly, but I am not a pro so take it for what it is worth. Seems to me that the paint is loading up at the end of the gun. Usually if there is too much air you get a dry shot, if the air is too low you get some sputtering and droplets. Again, I am not a pro and I am sure there are some youtube videos on the subject.
 
I used the HF purple gun to spray my epoxy and the high build with no issues. 1.4 tip works pretty well, gun pressure was a touch on the high side (40psi) for a HLVP gun but that's what it took to get the atomization right, main thing is you need clean, cool, dry air. Get your gun adjusted with the right air/paint mixture (kinda like tuning a carb), do some test spray outs before you have a go at it. I have the Eastwood Concourse gun, it's okay. First one I got leaked like a pig around the needle seal, sent it back and got a replacement, no problems after that. Gun works good but I have to say the HF gun with practice will lay down paint just as well....so....it's your money. I also ponied up and upgraded to the Devilbliss cup system, the only way to rock.
I have a 5hp 40gal upright feeding another 60gal auxiliary holding tank with a desiccant drier before the gun air line. I also run a inline desiccant/ particle filter right before the regulator for final filtering before it all goes thru the gun. Works great, no fisheyes or contaminates other than airborne particles that may be floating around the booth. Even a professional paint booth will yield some nibs in the paint job, that's why you cut and buff afterwards. make sure your surface is squeaky clean and just before you start spraying, run over the surface one last time with a tack cloth, smooth even strokes with 50-60% overlap.
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Try starting with max fan (wide open) and max product supply (wide open). Stamped on your gun should be the air pressure required to get 10 pounds at the cap. This air pressure (going into the gun, after the filter/dryer) should be around 30 lbs give or take. Now try adjusting your air pressure to get a good pattern.
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If you can't get a GOOD pattern with the air pressure adjustment then you can start adjusting the product supply down and then adjust air pressure again. The last thing I would adjust is the fan, you really want the max your gun will give you. I have never had to adjust the fan off of max on any gun I have used. Good luck.
 
What is the consensus on hvlp kits, I've been looking at Fuji kits, I've read quite a bit about the turbines that create the air supply. four stage turbines are suggested for full car repaints, some of their kits with the higher end guns come with three tip/cap set ups. All the online chatter seems to be positive. Does anyone own one?
 
I recently upgraded my paint gun to an
Anest Iwata Lph400......an amazing gun! I could not believe how flat the paint came out even from the very first time I used it. My local paint store matched online pricing at around $350. I had been painting for a couple years with a moderately priced Asturo gun and it did fairly well.....problem is it needed rebuilding and I couldn’t find parts. The lesson I got from that was to buy a well known and popular brand as I now have a $200 paint gun that leaks air and I can’t find seals for it.
 
Sata was a very popular gun with good results in the body shop world for production work. There was another one awata or something like that( I know I misspelled it). I personally look for made in USA , I can get parts ... it maybe hard to find. Remember the old binks siphon gun! Lol
 
Dan Juhasz
My understanding is that the turbine kits were for spraying stains, sealers, and poly in the wood working industry. Fuji did just release an auto spray gun: The new Fuji V8 gravity feed spray guns are professional paint sprayers optimized for the automotive aftermarket industries: auto body shops, collision repair, auto refinishing, touch-up, and other automotive paint spraying projects. These air compressor spray guns are environmentally friendly, VOC-compliant, and cost-effective -- with transfer efficiency rate in excess of 65 percent.
So I guess they make a gravity feed gun for auto applications and the turbine is for cabinet makers, etc., but I could be wrong as I only did a quick check. My question would be: Why add another component to a simple system. If you already have a compressor, then you only need a gun, not a whole new mouse trap. At around $600 give or take you can buy a pretty sweet HVLP gun and some $$$$ left over for beer.
 
First thing first. What ever product your using get the TDS info . It will tell you what size tip, pressure , and type of gun they recommend for their product. I have been painting professionally for over 10 years now . Any new product I use first thing is to read over the TDS, then change as I see fit to match my painting style .

It sounds like your compressor is up to the task but your gun is just not setup properly or its dirty ! Even a cheap gun can lay down a decent paint job , but it may not repeat that same job a 100 times like a higher quality gun will.
 
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