intermediate level gun suggestions

2887 Views 18 Replies 8 Participants Last post by 67Elcamino, May 28, 2012

fleetsidelarry

Discussion Starter · May 26, 2012

I'm a hobbyist doing the body work on my '66 truck and '48 street rod. being a beginner I of course bought HF guns, one of which I used for the primer work. I just used the newest one (the 47016 with 1.4 tip) to do a panel in base/clear and the results were OK, but I think I could do better. I'd like to step up to an intermediate level gun and have been looking at (all with 1.3 tips):

1. DeVilbiss Finishline 3
2. Sharpe Finex 3000
3. Iwata AirGunsa 9230

the Devilbiss comes with a 1 liter cup, the others with .6. it also comes with a regulator. all are in the $120-130 (with shipping) range (I guess this may not constitute "intermediate level", just better than what I have)

I'd appreciate any feedback (including alternatives) you guys care to offer

thanks

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

jsm1847

· #2 · May 26, 2012

Whats up man...
I've been shooting with a Finex for over a year now. Now grant it, it's been the touch up gun, but it shoots very well. Cleans very well, handles well. I've held the DeVillbliss and didn't like it...
What I notice about higher line guns is that their cheap stuff is just that. Cheap.
Finex, from what I know, makes mid level guns only.
Just my opinion for what its worth...

Old Fool

· #3 · May 26, 2012

Finex is Sharpes value line.

mike the painter

· #4 · May 27, 2012 (Edited)

Back when I was useing sharps and devilbis they were fantastic every day guns about 150.00 but that was back 20 yrs ago and they were syhpon guns.To this day I can pick up either one of them and spray a paint job every bit as slick as my Sata and Iwata...I've only used one gravity gun in that price range that I liked and it was also a devilbis NOT A FINISH LINE it was blue and it sprayed like a dream I would lean towards the devilbis gun My friend had a finish line and I was impressed at how nice it looked and felt in my hand the trigger had a very nice feel to it also...way better than when they first came out, but I never did spray anything with it, so, Still I always lean toward the devilbis and thats what I would get if it were me...But be carefull the nice thing about the HF gun is ,if you screw up you can always blame it on the cheap gun. You'll loose that getting a better gun...and the flip side is if it comes out nice you can say proudly "and I did it with a HF gun too:......... and to tell you the absolute truth all the differences are only something a pro would notice and you'll think either one is a great gun so dont sweat it get a better gun and love it save that harbor frieght gun though you never know when an emergency will come.I had a car start rolling backwards at the shop and I threw that gun under the tire and it dam near saved someones life...Its always good to have one or two of those around the shop too.

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jsm1847

· #5 · May 27, 2012

Old Fool said:
Finex is Sharpes value line.

well,well,well.....what ya know.... Ha ha. Hey I said for what it's worth... In this case not much. But it does shoot good.

Northstar T

· #6 · May 27, 2012

Finex. I've used others, but always come back to the ol reliable Finex.

Russ

Lizer

· #7 · May 27, 2012

I shoot with the Finishline for all my primers. I've never shot bc/cc with it yet, nor was I planning on it. However I am probably going to be using it for that as well since I really shouldn't drop $300 on another gun when I've got a new house and 11 acres to pay for.

With that being said, for what I've used it for so far, it's been a very good gun for me (and I've sprayed with very nice Iwata's and Sata's, as well as $40 cheapos). However, I can't say if it's any better or worse than those other guns because I haven't used them. I'm also a hobbyist.

67Elcamino

· #8 · May 27, 2012

Ive recently played around with the finishline and finex3000. I really like the finex. Bigger fan, better adjustment control, uses less air , better atomization, way easier to clean(less parts) , a lot lighter than the finishline. For some reason I just couldnt get used to the finishline and kept having issues with the spacer inside and making sure it layed flat when installing the tip.

fleetsidelarry

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 27, 2012

thanks for the replies, guys, I appreciate the information. I knew with a question like this there probably wouldn't be any consensus.

Lizer

· #10 · May 27, 2012

Camino has me interested in that Finex now should I ever need to get another midlevel gun. Sounds like a nice piece. The main reason I went with the Finishline is because it came with three different tip sizes.

novafreek6872

· #11 · May 27, 2012

larry, you might try the "better" purple gun. Its around $40 and comes with regulator. They use a small amount of oil on the parts when put together so clean it really good first, but no silicone inside like the really cheap purple gun. The good one is #66222 I think.

Its more of a true HVLP as the cheaper one says HVLP but is really just a conventional gravity gun. I used a new one (66222) this morning to spray a hood and cowl. sprays pretty darn slick without a ton of overspray. 35psi with trigger pulled. I'll put a pic up in a little while.

Its definitely night and day over the really cheap version.

Andy

novafreek6872

· #12 · May 27, 2012

Short video. 1 hour after 3rd coat. As sprayed. $35 gun.

PAINT VIDEO

andy

mike the painter

· #13 · May 27, 2012

That Finex sounds like pretty darn good gun with some nice features. I'm changing my mind and think I would buy that one if I needed one...But first I would go to the SPI forum and ask what they (the painters) thought of it....either way you look at it ,it seems like two choices Sharpe and Devilbis.I'm sure both spray great so I would say hold them both in your hand see which one feels most comfortable Hold the gun in all the posistions it'll be in when your painting (how you would be holding it when painting a roof ,Rockers and hood...Then which one is lighter and you really want the big cup..The Sata type cups with the snap on lids are pretty nice if the lid fits nice and tight But a screw on cap really sucks and is a pita...so you also want a big cup with a snap on lid...And A 1.4 tip That's a MUST have....
be sure to concider tip size when comparing guns both guns should be the same
My Sata with the 1.3 is great for spraying base but cant spray clear near as well as my Iwata does with a 1.4 but the Sata with the 1.4 sprays just as good.so if there not both 1.4 tips your comparing you wont be getting the best gun for YOU...A 1.4 tip is the best choice for a tip size that will spray everything well..

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fleetsidelarry

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 27, 2012

novafreek6872 said:
Short video. 1 hour after 3rd coat. As sprayed. $35 gun.

PAINT VIDEO

andy

wow, Andy, if I could get those results I would be extremely happy. One of my HF guns IS an old 43430 that I been using to spray primer (yes, I know now). I didn't use it on the front-of-pickup-bed test panel 'cause I was worried about contamination--I now wish I had tried it.

I noticed that the pressure at the tip with the new gun that I used-the 47016-seemed more like a conventional gun. while marketed as an HVLP, it is not described as such in the instructional materials that came with the gun

novafreek6872

· #15 · May 27, 2012

hey larry. thanks man. I used 35 psi with the trigger pulled, but its possible it would have sprayed just fine with a bit lower psi. I'm not exactly sure what people like to use with this particular gun. (66222)? Anybody?

With the super cheap HF gun I was using 45psi and getting lots of wasted overspray bouncing off the panels.

If your paint is not coming out as slick as you like, you might try laying the 2nd and 3rd coats on a little heavier. Everyone says to spray the panels like you want them to look...so I hammer it on pretty good. And of course, that increases your chances of getting runs too. Its a razors edge between runs and orange peel for a novice painter. Luck helps alot too.

Thank God for colorsanding and buffing!

Good Luck, whatever gun you wind up using.

andy

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fleetsidelarry

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 27, 2012

deadbodyman, thanks for the tips. I am leaning toward the finex also (mainly because of the width of the spray pattern), though to tell the truth, after seeing andy's video I may try one of those 43430 replacements. I realize results depend a LOT on the person doing the painting.

I assume the reason the 1.4 tip is better than a 1.3 for clear is the higher solids content?

mike the painter

· #17 · May 27, 2012

absolutely. Just be for warned ,I seen a lot of weird things in my years and useing those guns is a crap shoot You never know when they'll getcha buy they WILL getcha.like the time my painter was showing me how nice that 35 .00 gun was spraying and I had to admit it looked just as slick as anything I did with my nice guns and just as I was about to say so the fan knob fell of while he was laying down a beautiful last coat well that knob rolled all the way down the hood right through all that beautiful work, it made me sick.they just aren't built well and something off the wall will happen .He dont bragg much about it any more because I took the materials and extra labor to redo it out of his pay that week ..I explained how I made all these mistakes learning too and I paid dearly for them I dam sure aint paying for yours too especially when I warned him and he didnt listen....If something like that happens to you its not such a big deal ,redoing it will only get you better..for us it can put the whole week off kilter and customers get upset when they're cars arnt ready on time...go with a better gun You'll never reget it....

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novafreek6872

· #18 · May 28, 2012

deadbodyman said:
absolutely. Just be for warned ,I seen a lot of weird things in my years and useing those guns is a crap shoot You never know when they'll getcha buy they WILL getcha.like the time my painter was showing me how nice that 35 .00 gun was spraying and I had to admit it looked just as slick as anything I did with my nice guns and just as I was about to say so the fan knob fell of while he was laying down a beautiful last coat well that knob rolled all the way down the hood right through all that beautiful work, it made me sick.they just aren't built well and something off the wall will happen .He dont bragg much about it any more because I took the materials and extra labor to redo it out of his pay that week ..I explained how I made all these mistakes learning too and I paid dearly for them I dam sure aint paying for yours too especially when I warned him and he didnt listen....If something like that happens to you its not such a big deal ,redoing it will only get you better..for us it can put the whole week off kilter and customers get upset when they're cars arnt ready on time...go with a better gun You'll never reget it....

Ya know, now I'm gonna be checking that fan knob everytime I paint !! LOL Good thing the hood and decklid are done. :mwink:

Pros definitely need quality, dependable tools. No argument there. Just trying to fill the OP in on my own personal hobbyist experience. I respect all the advice the pros around here have to give, good stuff!

:thumbup:

andy

67Elcamino

· #19 · May 28, 2012

Lizer said:
Camino has me interested in that Finex now should I ever need to get another midlevel gun. Sounds like a nice piece. The main reason I went with the Finishline is because it came with three different tip sizes.

Thats why i gotbthe finishline as well. 3 tips dcups system= great deal

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