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Looking for my first spray gun

13K views 34 replies 18 participants last post by  Old Fool 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all... recently I sprayed my fenders for my Superduty and I have decided its time for me to buy some of my own equipment. My buddy is a body shop guy and he turned me loose with a HVLP setup. I do not know much about the technology out there for spray guns as in who is the best and what not. I assume its like hand tools..and everyone know who the best companies are but it comes down to the Matco/snapon/Mac/ whomever its mostly a personal opinion. So all I'm looking for is a setup to do Primer and then Base/Clear. For strictly refinish work. I'm not a custom builder or anything like that and whatever I buy it will probably be the only guns I ever own so I mean I don’t want el **** toro quality. I'll pay but I don’t want to make another investment again.
 
#2 ·
Spectre32 said:
Hello all... recently I sprayed my fenders for my Superduty and I have decided its time for me to buy some of my own equipment. My buddy is a body shop guy and he turned me loose with a HVLP setup. I do not know much about the technology out there for spray guns as in who is the best and what not. I assume its like hand tools..and everyone know who the best companies are but it comes down to the Matco/snapon/Mac/ whomever its mostly a personal opinion. So all I'm looking for is a setup to do Primer and then Base/Clear. For strictly refinish work. I'm not a custom builder or anything like that and whatever I buy it will probably be the only guns I ever own so I mean I don’t want el **** toro quality. I'll pay but I don’t want to make another investment again.
I have used a couple of guns from Harbor Frieght. I know they are not the best, but for occasional use and primer they work great.
 
#8 ·
If you want a decent gun i would go with one in the 100-150 range. I have used the sharpe finex and it is a good gun to start with. You could go with a 1.3 or 1.4 tip and shoot clear and base then get a cheap gun for your primer. I prefer a 1.8 tip. Just remember its all in the prep. The better you prep the better the paint job will turn out.
 
#9 ·
For as often as it gets used I will stick with the cheap HF gun. If it messes up you toss it. Look in a body shop where they keep the paint guns. There are plenty of exspensive guns there that don't work. There is nothing worse than having a gun go south while painting a car. I use a fresh gun while putting the top coat on, never had one mess up yet that way.
 
#10 ·
The thing about paint guns is not so much how they spray as much as how many times they can be taken down cleaned and put back together.
The best guns and smartest buys are the ones every other company compares it'self to and are made in Germany.
The next best are made in Japan..
After them are the third world made ie.China,USA,Korea etc.
Personally I use a German gun that has been taken apart and put back together over 3000 times and the only part I have ever had to replace was the paint cup.

The answer is going to depend on how many times you are going to use it, not how much it cost.
 
#11 ·
Most of the paint guns you see in the big box stores and other places that sell them are made in China. They put different names on them and sell them at different prices. Someone starting out does not need a $300 dollar gun they wouldn't know what to do with it. They sell those Chinese paint guns at the swap meets with the Bulldog name on them. :D I buy more than one of the HF guns at a time. It's still cheaper to clean them with lacquer thinner to be used again but not much cheaper.
 
#12 ·
V8&4spd said:
Most of the paint guns you see in the big box stores and other places that sell them are made in China. They put different names on them and sell them at different prices. Someone starting out does not need a $300 dollar gun they wouldn't know what to do with it. They sell those Chinese paint guns at the swap meets with the Bulldog name on them. :D I buy more than one of the HF guns at a time. It's still cheaper to clean them with lacquer thinner to be used again but not much cheaper.
Milo is not talking about guns from the big box stores. Those are cheap guns. He is refering to sata which is made in germany and guns like iwata which is from japan and of course there are others. As far as someone that is only going to paint one car and get on with it i agree they shouldnt buy an expensive gun. But buying cheap guns over and over again would not be a way to go imo. Like Milo said he has used his gun over 3000 times. Buying a new cheap gun everytime you spray a car would end up costing the same if not more anyways if you do the same amount of jobs.
 
#13 ·
I know he is talking about proffesional guns. A hobbiest would never get enough use out of a exspensive gun. I have one of those Finex guns somewhere. I had trouble with it. I found out they were known to blow out the seals. I found out too late. The paint supply place had the seal kits for them.
 
#17 ·
I FREAKIN love she HVLP shifter, I bought a devilbiss Finishline 3 new on amazon with the dekups system ( i like it but id like to have the metal cup too which doesnt come with it, and i dont know why and its 80.00 for just the cup) Anyway im pretty sure I paid 130-140.00 shipped. Im just a average DIY'er but I love the gun so far it sprayed my acid etch and my 2k urethane primer beautifully. It came with 3 different fluid tips 1.3-1.5-1.8-- im about to spray color and clear this weekend.
Personally I will probobly only use it on this miata practice car and then im going to do my bronco. And then it will sit on the shelf till I get another project. Ive always believed in buying quality name brand parts and tools theres definately a difference between getting by and . But me like 90% of us have a big time budget. Id say find a decent one and take care of it and use it forever. But like most here have and will say-- maybe buy a cheap HF gun and spend more on a good dryer/filter and good shop plumbing and the prep is 99% of a great paintjob.
 
#21 ·
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Professor Spray

Finex is made in China.
The difference between inexpensive guns, one year warranty vs. two-three year warranty guns is like everything else. A Mercedes costs more for a reason, a Smith and Wesson cost more for a reason. The main reason is two fold. Good guns shoot clear coat flat, almost without sanding. and they last longer than a few months. Typically 20 years. Inexpensive guns last a few months with usage and then decay without usage. But the main issue is that a beginning painter can shoot perfect with a great gun. We typically get this response.

"I've bought cheaper tools in the past and many times you end up spending more because you have to go out and buy the same tool again...The higher quality guns, especially the good HVLP's in my experience, allow you to be much more precise in the amount put into the gun and also onto the airplane."

"You were right on on every point. You get a good gun... No need whatsoever to go to any kind of class. The good guns show you what you need to know. The atomization is terrific especially at such a low psi. Thanks again."

Again, a Saturday Night Special will shoot, but a Glock is a Glock. . . Plus, a great gun is not that expensive $150 - $250. And no you don't have to buy a Sata... overrated and big commissions.

Professor Spray
*************
 
#24 ·
I guess I will go.
Here is the gun I used.

These three pictures. of a maroon color are the fender of a boat trailer.



I tried to take a few different angles of the same area, to try to get a reflection of the paint, so you could hopefully see paint quality.
The boat trailer was done in Dupont Centari, Code RS 379 W, with 793S Hardener. a single stage paint. The paint has not been buffed. It was sprayed outside, not in a booth.

This is a picture of the bumper cover on my Ford Aerostar. It is a BC/CC paint. The clear I used was PPG DCU 2042, the base coat was DBC 4282, Mocha Frost Metallic.
It was also does outside, on sawhorses, in a carport
 
#25 ·
By doing the work yourself, you're saving roughly 3000.00 off a 4000.00 scratch and shoot. Why not buy the best gun available to improve the odds of you getting a nice finish? If you're spraying a solid color, I don't feel the gun grade is quite as critical as if spraying a metallic or pearl. With a cheap gun, you run the risk of mottling the material and getting an uneven finish with metallics or pearls. With a solid color, that isn't a worry of such a problem as that.
 
#26 ·
Some very valid points in the last post. But with any gun, if is making a good spray pattern, you should be able to paint metallics with out "tiger striping".

I am going to suggest the biggest factor is still how the gun is handled. I have seen posts about painting that ask "Why do I have runs and orange peel in the paint I sprayed?"
Reality is, if that happens, you were spraying too wet in one spot, causing runs, and too dry in another, causing orange peel.

If you can afford it, buy the higher priced, high quality gun.
But if the price of a gun is holding you back from buying any gun, I would suggest you can get a good paint job without a high dollar gun.
 
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