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TR2/3/3A Purchasing a paint gun

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sp53

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Purchasing a paint gun, around here it seems that the body shop supply stores are small independent shops and I have no idea what I am looking at or how much a paint gun should cost. However, I do believe that I can purchase one on line if I knew what to look for, so what would you recommend for a middle of the road paint gun for someone who is DIY.
 
You are probably going to get a really wide range of responses. My first question is, what size compressor do you have...more specifically, what CFM does is flow? There are guns on the market that require quite a bit of cfm and also ones that require very little.

Cheers
Tush
 
Get a top loader gun, one that has the container for paint on the top. You don't have to buy an high dollar one, a $50/60 one from HF will work if you keep it clean. I have one for primer and one for top coats. Just go slow, maybe a panel at a time and you can do good work.

Marv
 
Good point Marv. Which is that you need a separate gun or a gun with changeable tips for primer vs. topcoat and even clearcoat if you go that route.

I got my sprayer at www.tptools.com which is a also good source for information and what's available. Also have one of their blast cabinets.
 
I went to check the cubic feet per minute, but could not find the sticker. I had seen before and not sure of cmf, but I bought the compress and sandblasting stuff back in 80s and made sure it had enough to sandblast. I am curtain it will have the cmf to push paint.
 
Depends on how much you want to spend....I see Sagola and they are good guns but pricey up here....

I would be more inclined as a starter to get a kit. Something like the Devilbiss Finish Line Kit....gives you some tip options...one for primer one for base and clear. Some of them are sold with a touch up gun that can be handy in tight spaces or for small jobs.

I recently bought the Eastwood Concours gun. It comes with a few sized tips as well. You can also buy that in a kits with different fluid tip sizes and option of getting a touch up gun along side as well. The great thing about the concours gun is that is only requires 4 CFM.

Cheers
Tush
 
I agree with Tush. More so than any other tool...you get what you pay for with paint guns. What is your budget?

The cheapo guns spray just fine, but they will have issues...like dripping, hard to clean, limited flexibility in paint thickness. These guns will work, but you will also work using them too! To get a truly decent gun you will need to look at a $200 budget up.

So...if you want a good recommendation...what budget are we looking at?
 
I bought several of the HF HVLP gravity feed paint guns and have had great success with them. I don't use the same guns for primer and top coat. One of my neighbors owned a paint and body shop for over 30 years and he was impressed at how well the HF guns delivered the paint. Correctly mixing the paint and reducer are also key to getting a great finish as well as spending lots of time prepping the metal prior to painting. Also, cleaning the gun immediately after painting is essential if you want to use it again in the future. I paid between $10 and $20 for the HF paint guns and have had no problems with them.
 
That Devilbliss finish 4 for 200.00 sounds good. I bought a thrifty set at Home Depot that came with two gravity feed guns for 80.00 a while back and could not get things going very well. I used a zyleen/oil based paint on the frame and probably should have thinned the paint more. I used to have a Sharp syphon gun that I actually got kinda good with, but I loaned it out 20 years ago. Anyways I would like to spend around 300.00
 
Something like this...but again, check the CFM requirements...they are hugely different between the two guns.
https://www.eastwood.com/devilbiss-finishline-hvlp-gun-kit-15659.html
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-concours-pro-2-gun-set-w-aluminum-case.html

You might not want to buy new...I have bought a couple of guns off my local craigslist...one brand new and the other one used for 1 job...obviously, you will want to check that the gun was cleaned/handled well.

Remember, you will also need some air drier/filtration set up to keep water out of your lines...

Cheers
Tush
 
I have a DeVilbiss Finishline 3, it seems to work well. I just recently shot my 41B John Deere tractor using 8 parts implement enamel 3 parts reducer and 1 part hardener. Shot it with a 1.3 tip came out very well. Recently redid some old dark finished kitchen cabinets in a rental using a white Sherwin Williams Enamel mixed 8-1 with Penetrol, used 2.2 tip, very pleased with the results, very smooth finish. I have a Finex with a small tip for small projects. I have thrown away a small gun from Tractor Supply and another from HF, just wasn't worth the effort. Ya gotta have clean dry air supply, if the compressor is operating at capacity to supply the gun it is going to heat up and dump oil and water in the line.
 
I am in University Place right next to Tacoma and there is a Lowes down the street, nice Healy. I like the color
 
You can get a good set of guns from Eastwood. They usually have a sale of the 3-gun set. Touchup/door jam small gun, and 2 other sorted guns. You can get in regular or Low pressure guns. Prices are reasonable I have bought and used these guns. Some prefer SATA guns, but my DeVilbiss do just fine.
 
If you don't have one, I would also recommend a descent air dryer. Moisture in the air lines will kill what would have been a great paint job. I have a Devilbiss QC3 dryer.

For my gun I use a Devilbiss FinishLine 4 that I bought at TCP Global online a few years ago. As I recall the kit was around $200. At the time that was around the cheapest place I could find it including shipping.

As mentioned above, make sure your compressor can handle the guns CFM requirement. I'm using a PUMA 60 gallon compressor and I believe the motor is 2.5 HP. I am not sure how much smaller you can go on a compressor for this gun, I only know this combination works fine.
 
There are a lot of choices and you really do get what you pay for, just don't over pay for a good gun. Until top load guns became the norm, I used a Binks Model 7. It cost over $200 30 years ago .In my opinion one of the best guns ever made, but it required a lot air and created a lot of over spray. I recommend going with a good brand name because you can get replacement parts. The Devilbiss FinishLine is very good. I bought the lower priced StartingLine and paid just around $80 for it with a 1.3mm tip and aluminum cup. A nice feature with these guns, is that you can buy different nozzle and needle kits. I bought a 1.8mm tip kit for $35 to use on thicker primer. That gives me two guns for $115. I haven't seen anything for less that will do as good a job. It is not made as well as my old Binks, which still sprays anything I put in it.

TCP Global has the parts and gun kits. I only spray something once or twice a year, so it works just fine. I use a cheap siphon gun for most primers. The gun I use most is a old copy of a Binks touch up gun. I holds about 6 oz of paint and is great for small parts. I tried several nice looking guns from HF and they did not come close to the finish the Devilbiss gun gives. Once you use a really good paint gun, you can tell a difference. I do use the plastic disposable cups from HF. They are nice if you are in a hurry between paint types or colors.
 
You've received a lot of good advice from members here. I'll weigh in with my $0.02. I painted my car in my garage and it came out really well, so I'm speaking from some decent experience. I started with DeVilbiss StartingLine gun set. Was a good set to learn from, but once you use good equipment, you'll never want to go back to those guns except to shoot primer. I ultimately purchased some nice guns, and they have served me really well. Besides my TR3A, I've painted my wife's Mercedes bumper, a bumper and panel on my 4Runner, a bumper and fender on my Camry, and a couple panels on my buddy's Mustang. They all came out great and you would not know the panels were repainted. I shoot basecoat/clearcoat systems, typically from PPG, although I'm having to change basecoat providers as PPG is water based now, in my neighborhood and I am not setup with ventilation and heating to shoot water based paints.

I have three nice guns, and I think that's all I need. I have a DeVilbiss Tekna Copper gun with a 1.3 tip that shoots base and clear wonderfully. only 22 psi (at the gun) required and puts more paint on the panel and less in the air. Atomizes really great. You won't get high quality atomization from a cheap gun. Unless you push up the air pressure and put most of your paint into the air. I have a DeVilbiss primer gun that shoots both urethane primers and polyester primers, both which you'll probably want to use if you are trying to get your panels perfect. I also have a DeVilbiss detail gun, which is great for shooting smaller areas, say up to the size of one fender or door. That gun is great for blending on a panel, door jambs, stripes.

Get a quality gun cleaning kit and learn how to use it. Len has a free gun cleaning video on Autobodystore.com. I bought most all my hardware from Len. His prices are good but I am so appreciative of all the advice and coaching by him and on the forum he hosts - so I patronize his site. He drop ships many of his supplies, so I receive them in California in about two days. I also bought a HobbyAire supplied air kit to save my lungs during spraying these very dangerous paints.

I use a 3.5 HP compressor with a 60 gal tank. Even in dry CA, I get quite a bit of condensate in the tank and in the lines. I plumbed my garage with a pretty long run of copper with drain legs in it, so that the air can cool and moisture can drop out. Then, I split to two lines. One for shop air and one through a desiccant dryer for painting. And I have dedicated hose for painting. Let me tell you, the last thing you want is to spend hundreds of dollars on high quality paint and countless hours blocking out your panels to perfection, and then have water spray in the line, creating pock marks in your finished paint surface. It it difficult enough to do a great job without having all these problems due to hot dirty moist air.

There are some great videos available from Eastwood (Paintucation by Kevin Tetz) or from AutobodyStore.com. I watched both and learned a ton. I also did body work and paint on a couple spare panels and practiced quite a bit. I had one truck fender that I must have painted 5 times, so I could get my guns dialed in and learn how to color sand the finished paint correctly. Body work and paint is really gratifying if you take your time and really pay attention.

Pat

I'll post a few photos with my next post. Gotta run.
 
You can buy a $600.00 gun and it won't work any better than a $60.00 HF special if you don't know how to use it properly. I have 6 guns and use a HF top loader exclusively for primer. It takes a lot of knowledge and skill to give a car a paint job that looks like it's 3 feet deep! I'm not a painter, I just color things. Reason it cost me $7000.00 to have my TF painted. Practice makes perfect, or so they say. PJ
 
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