Paint spray gun
 

So I am thinking about trying my hand at some painting and was looking for recommendations on a good, affordable sprayer that gets good results when properly used. Appreciate your thoughts.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

Check the search function, and paint and body section. $100. HVLP spray guns are affordable and do a decent job. A good Respirator is most important. Also plenty of good videos on YouTube to get you started.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

Check out the gunman on youtube.

The harbor freight one use to be pretty good for a cheap gun, but they have made them even cheaper now and they are not worth it. Paint is too expensive to bother with these really cheap guns.

For an all purpose gun you will need a 1.8 and 1.4 tip for primer and color, or two guns.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dvr-802343/overview/

I have had good results with this package.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I am a rookie painter. I have had good results with these

http://www.tcpglobal.com/TCPG7000.html#.W3bydV5KiUk




I just stained both sides of 150' of fence with a cheap purple harbor freight gun. It did the job but it went to the trash after the hours long painting job.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

The set from TCP global is what I use 90 % of the time. Epoxy primer with 1.8 tip...base coat with 1.4... keep it clean as you go.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I use the HF cheapies for a lot of things, especially POR15 or when I'm painting tractors or putting polyurethane on wood. I don't know about the quality being less than it used to be because I bought several one time when they were on sale for $7.99 ea and I still have some. After putting something like POR15 through one I just chunk it in the garbage when I'm done. I have a "good" gun that I use on vehicles but off the top of my head I can't remember the brand. I'm an amateur so I can't tell a big difference in the quality of the finish but the good gun has a much wider pattern so I can cover a lot of area quickly; as long as my compressor can keep up.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I have the purple HF unit; it has served me well. I painted my '68 Skylark and the roof of my truck with it. I also have an old Binks (which doesn't work). It's a leftover from the '60s. A lot of vehicles were painted with it- my '64 Impala convertible, '56 Chevy 210 wagon, '82 Buick Regal and others.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

X4 for the purple Harbor Freight gun. It’s gained quite a good reputation in the painting community, especially for $10 (with 20% off of course)

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I have used the HF purple gun to shoot a ton of primer. I would give it a shot if I was doing a quick paint job but I plan on buying something a bit nice when I finally paint my truck. I have a Sharpe in my Amazon cart but haven't pulled the trigger since I don't plan on painting for quite a while.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I also need a compressor, but they are expensive! I found this one, and I wonder if it will work for spraying a whole truck...

https://www.amazon.com/Rolair-VT25BI...ers-reviews-20

Re: Paint spray gun
 

You need double that. Get something with 12-15 cfm.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

Tractor supply has sales on 60 gallon 5 hp compressor at $499 which is way better for painting and any body work.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

The OP needs to start looking into air systems, which means a decent compressor (certainly not the onr in the link), air lines, filter, dryer, and a way to cool the air. Sure, you can try to paint w/ hot wet air and often no pressure, but expect poor results.
If you're going to go down the air road, you might as well go as big as practical on the compressor--you can never have too much air. That pretty much means 80 gallons, US made pump and motor turning at 1725RPM. Best to troll craigslist for a gently used one.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I painted my '64 with a small compressor but I did it in pieces, not the whole truck at once. Might not work well to paint like that with metallics or pearls but for a solid color it works fine.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I don't deny having the best equipment available is great but knowing your limitations can be a benefit. Just like welding - Practice/Practice/Practice !

Re: Paint spray gun
 

I just pulled the trigger on a tekna 703566 pro lite (see what I did there) . My Sata wasnt cutting it anymore . It is almost 35 years old so i cant complain. I use cheap harbor freight guns for primer . But for base and clear a good gun is important. Now don't get me wrong a cheap gun can do good if you plan on cutting and buffing as most diy do. But I try to get it as good as possible so I may have a nib or two but very little orange peel to contend with. But I do have access to a state of the art booth for water born paints.

Now my absolute favorite gun is my binks7 . Uses more paint and makes a cloud of spray mist but it will do a glass shine . But if your painting one or two cars a year what's an extra guart of paint.

Re: Paint spray gun
 

Also the pro lite uses the TE/10 and 20 air caps. The fan jets are much smaller than the true hvlp air caps. Very important if you using a smaller compressor. Using a smaller compressor has problems in of itself. The air is hot and holds a lot of moisture. I have put a coiled hose in a 5 gallon bucket with ice water prior to the air separator and a disectant dryer on the gun when I'm doing work at home.