Auto paint spray gun?

[iwannadie]

I am going to under go my first paint job soon hopefully and am going to need to get a gun(s). I was looking through a sears catalog and saw these. I read some reviews and they are supposedly a chinese knock off of a good gun. All the reviews are pretty positive saying they are great guns for what they are and price.

I've seen other single guns for about the same price, I wasn't sure if I really needed 3 separate guns or just 1 with changeable tips. I want to spray primer, base and clear for sure though. I am not looking for a show quality finish and know the prep is the real issue with a good paint job and all that. Still I'd like a quality gun setup though to get the most out of all my prep work. I'd also like a gun that will last longer than a single car paint job, who knows what I may want to paint later ha. At the same time I am not going to make a living by painting so I don't need high end professional gear.

Would that be a good starting place or should I look for a higher cost single gun and get the tips that I need. I would like to keep the total gun cost around $150 maybe $200 tops if that is doable.

My compressor is stout enough for all the guns that I've been looked at so far.

 

[old_man]

I have used several of the $14 on sale Harbor Freight non HVLP gravity fed guns and they work as good as my Binks. The high pressure one they have at the moment (without the regulator) is erroneously called a HVLP on the box and advertisements.

The quality of the job relies more on prep and the skill of the painter than the gun. Make sure and run a large water seperator and a disposable filter at the gun.

 

[iwannadie]

I guess I should have added no harbor freight at all.

 

[kastein]

I have used several of the $14 on sale Harbor Freight non HVLP gravity fed guns and they work as good as my Binks. The high pressure one they have at the moment (without the regulator) is erroneously called a HVLP on the box and advertisements.

The quality of the job relies more on prep and the skill of the painter than the gun. Make sure and run a large water seperator and a disposable filter at the gun.

x2.

Prep and skill will change EVERYTHING about the quality of the job. Don't do your prep and the paint will simply peel off - happened to me, my replacement quarter panel (which did not fit well anyways, replaced it with a factory painted matching panel a few months later) was so bad that leaning on it with my keys hanging from my belt loop while changing my oil filter resulted in a huge amount of paint getting chipped off. I ignored the prep steps and simply wiped the dust off the pre-primed panel with a clean paper towel... BIG MISTAKE!

I don't care if the prep steps say you need to scrub the work with goat's blood and the shroud of Turin, do it, if you want the paint to stick. Follow their directions exactly.

 

[RCman]

The advice above couldn't be more on target. Prepwork is key, but not only that is a good quality paint.

I can't comment on the operation of the Sear's guns but I have handled them and compared to my 3M (Accuspray) gun, they felt kinda cheap. If you have $150 to drop on a gun, that's the best way to go. Head to a local paint shop and talk to the folks. Get a decent mid-range gun and a few different sized tips so you can play around before really getting into the painting stage. That alone really helped me when it came down to purchase stuff for my paint job.

Any reason for the base and clear? Granted mine is just a trail rig but I had excellent results with the single stage stuff, it isn't a show care mirror finish but the first tree branch would take care of that anyway. Ask anyone who as seen it in person, it came out really well. I'm not just tooting my own horn. Obviously if I was painting something other than a Jeep I'd drop the extra coin for the base & clear.

 

[iwannadie]

Thanks for the input and again I know it's all in the prep work, I was hoping to just keep it to actual paint gun advice. Not that I am being ungrateful just I've herd the prep work speech many times now. I was hoping someone had direct input with spray guns in that price range or the ones that I linked to even.

My first paint project won't be on my jeep it will be on my supra(actually scrap metals to get a feel for the gun setup first). I want to go with a clear coat for the protection. My supra now has no clear from the factory and it is oxidized really badly. Being that it sits in the arizona sun I figured having the clear on there will really help to protect the paint and I see no downside to it. If I am doing all the work and buying gear why cheap out and go with single stage.

 

[2stix]

look for an old syphon gun if you are doing this at your home. HVLP guns consume alot of air and unless you have a large compressor, you will have a hard time controlling it. the EPA has made the HVLP gun an industry standard because they are designed to put less over spray into the air. but for home use you can still use the syphon guns. i have used both the cheap HVLP guns and the better higher end HVLP guns, and i still like the old syphon guns. obviously the HVLP guns have some getting used to, so you are wise to practice on the scrap like you said. i have found a good mid quality HVLP being the devillbis line. i have few and have used them for spraying primer, single stage, two stage, clears, and even gel coat. i clean my guns by hand so i disassemble and reassemble them quite a bit and the machining is holding up well. the cheaper guns have terrible machine work, but for "one time" use, they work ok if you take them apart and deburr and file the pieces.

i also wanted to add that one of my favorite guns (HVLP) that i seem to use the most is my mini HVLP. its made by cat if i remember correctly. i dig that little gun, and for those that have limited air supply, these things work great. my suggestion is to go to your local automotive paint supply house and talk with both the counter people, and the customers that walk in. youd be amazed how much good info you can get from them. good luck.

 

[kastein]

Another thing you should make sure to never do is put your thumb on the adjustment knobs on the gun while painting. They make good thumb rests but it tends to result in wacky splatters and terrible looking paint jobs if you accidentally spin one of the knobs a little while painting. Don't ask.

 

[2stix]

yea, almost as funny as hitting the at the gun regulator with the hose without knowing, then wondering why you only have 10psi at the gun. stuff happens.....

 

[iwannadie]

look for an old syphon gun if you are doing this at your home. HVLP guns consume alot of air and unless you have a large compressor, you will have a hard time controlling it. the EPA has made the HVLP gun an industry standard because they are designed to put less over spray into the air. but for home use you can still use the syphon guns. i have used both the cheap HVLP guns and the better higher end HVLP guns, and i still like the old syphon guns. obviously the HVLP guns have some getting used to, so you are wise to practice on the scrap like you said. i have found a good mid quality HVLP being the devillbis line. i have few and have used them for spraying primer, single stage, two stage, clears, and even gel coat. i clean my guns by hand so i disassemble and reassemble them quite a bit and the machining is holding up well. the cheaper guns have terrible machine work, but for "one time" use, they work ok if you take them apart and deburr and file the pieces.

i also wanted to add that one of my favorite guns (HVLP) that i seem to use the most is my mini HVLP. its made by cat if i remember correctly. i dig that little gun, and for those that have limited air supply, these things work great. my suggestion is to go to your local automotive paint supply house and talk with both the counter people, and the customers that walk in. youd be amazed how much good info you can get from them. good luck.

I was reading about the HVLP guns being a bit of a pain for people who are used to the older style guns. However, not so much an issue for people introduced to right to the new style gun. From what I've been reading most guns are using a pretty high CFM but my compressor is rated for about double what they claim to need. That is if they do in fact need 40psi, I've seen some people say they had to run higher PSI. I thought the whole low pressure was the purpose of these guns so I was chalking up those claims to be from people who didn't know better, but who knows....

I did read the lower end guns that is is best to tear them apart and deburr and clean them really well before use. Some people were saying they found some heavy oil inside the guns that had to be cleaned out.

Would you recommend a 3 gun setup(primer, base and clear) or just 1 gun with different tips for each coat?

 

[iwannadie]

Another thing you should make sure to never do is put your thumb on the adjustment knobs on the gun while painting. They make good thumb rests but it tends to result in wacky splatters and terrible looking paint jobs if you accidentally spin one of the knobs a little while painting. Don't ask.

Ha, that is good to know I did see they tend to have a large knob right where my thumb would want to sit.

 

[Yardog]

Go to ebay and get a SATA Jet 90. Not HVLP and it doesn't require much air. Best gun ever made. Use it for base, clear and single stage. Get a cheap gun for primer. Never use your topcoat gun for primer. The sears gun may work ok for primer or doing your frame with chassis black. depending on tip size and type of primer. I would not recommend base/ clear your first time out. Practice with it first.

 

[WebDog]

I also used the HF gun and Nasson single stage paint with good results, tough paint and great for jeeps.

 

[2stix]

with the price range you posted you are going to be limited. yes you can get combo deals with 2 or even 3 guns for that price, but the quality will suffer. a decent single gun can be a better deal like the finishline series from devilbiss. i have a finishline i use for primer and then the GFG670 for both base and even clear. but i have used the finishline for everything and it worked well. i just like the GFG for clears and since i have it i use it. i wouldnt worry too much about a primer gun as pretty much any gun will work for that if it has a large tip (probably 2.2 in most cases). your going to sand it anyhow, so get a cheap HF gun for that, then a nice gun with extra size tips for all the rest of your spraying needs. go to spraygunworld.com and check out some deals.
Yardogs advise of the sata jet 90 is good, but i have never used that particular gun, though you can pretty much bet the sata is going to be a great gun. just pricey.

 

[js_customs]

Little late to the party here, but +1 for Devilbiss. I use the starting line (link below) and it works great. I have the set with a primer gun, not a mini HVLP gun, but I've done 5 or 6 paint jobs with it so far and have been really impressed. The only issue I had with it is the regulator was junk straight out of the box. I bought one from Harbor Freight and that one lasted 1 paint job. I ended up getting a higher end regulator from the local auto paint store and haven't had a problem since.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DVR-802342/

 

[iwannadie]

Little late to the party here, but +1 for Devilbiss. I use the starting line (link below) and it works great. I have the set with a primer gun, not a mini HVLP gun, but I've done 5 or 6 paint jobs with it so far and have been really impressed. The only issue I had with it is the regulator was junk straight out of the box. I bought one from Harbor Freight and that one lasted 1 paint job. I ended up getting a higher end regulator from the local auto paint store and haven't had a problem since.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DVR-802342/

Not too late, I haven't pulled the trigger on anything just yet. I was actually looking at the Starting line on amazon and saw the 2 gun set. I think that I am leaning towards a setup like that. I think I'd like the idea of a 2 gun set one fore primer one for base and clear.