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Best spray gun for a beginner?

18K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  shoddy_F-body 
#1 ·
Well, I just found out (the hard way) that I shouldn't use the GP gun that came with my compressor to paint my camaro. What would you guys recommend for someone that has never painted before? I am doing my engine bay now and will be doing the body next year. I have enjoyed working on this car so I may try another restoration in the future. (As lokg as Bill doesn't sell all his '69s by then;)) I'm looking for a gun that is easy to use and forgiving, at a reasonable price. I can't afford or need the best of the best, since I won't be using it often, but I don't want to buy crap either.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Want a cheap little gun to play with?

Read this guys page:

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/HVLPspraygun.html

I've got this gun, it's pretty good for painting parts panel repair and touchup work, but I still use a Chicago Electric (read as cheap) 2 QT pressurized pot gun that I bought from Harbor Freight about 15 years ago for doing full panel and complete paintjobs. They still have it for about 70 bucks or so. This is it:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=215

They also have an HVLP version. I like the pressurized pot because there is no way to spill paint from the pot onto the car, I can paint in any direction including upside down and you won't get any spitting of the paint until the pot is almost empty.

Lot of good guns out there, (SATA digital seems to be a favorite) but not many of us can justify a 3-400 gun when we paint a car once every 10 years or so.
 
#5 ·
believe it or not, and please don't laugh, but on the recommendation of a local aquaintance, I bought an $80 spray gun from Walmart when my old craftsman came out of storage bad with parts no longer available. It's by Cambell-Hausfield, a gravity feed but not HLVP. It was perfectly happy with the 7 cfm my compressor could provide, and well, you've all seen pics of my car...

For $80, you can't go wrong.
 
#6 ·
JimM said:
believe it or not, and please don't laugh, but on the recommendation of a local aquaintance, I bought an $80 spray gun from Walmart when my old craftsman came out of storage bad with parts no longer available. It's by Cambell-Hausfield, a gravity feed but not HLVP. It was perfectly happy with the 7 cfm my compressor could provide, and well, you've all seen pics of my car...

For $80, you can't go wrong.
Lowes carries an Ingersol Rand gravity feed, conventional(non hvlp) for about the same price.
 
#7 ·
victimizati0n said:
i dont know much about paint guns, but i do know you want an HVLP spray gun (it is the kind that the paint is above where it sprays out, not below (which is mostlikely the type of gun you got)
Well, not really.

The gun with the 'paint above' is a gravity feed gun. Made in HVLP and Conventional.

The gun with the 'paint below' is a siphon feed gun. Also made in HVLP and Conventional.

Personally, I prefer the hybrid guns. They often go advertised as "RP" guns or "reduced pressure". They generally meet the HVLP standards, or are at least accepted by most states for amount of material transfer and pressure at the cap, but still spray out nice like a good old conventional gun.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for all the replies! Harbor Freight has two HVLP guns on sale for $50, one of them being the gun mentioned in MarkCs post(part #43430) that wants 9.5-14.8 CFM and the second one only needs 5.91cfm(http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90977)
I can't seem to find the CFM ratings for my compressor. It is a Husky brand but built by Cambell-Hausfield. 32 gal verticle tank, single stage 5.5 hp peak/1.7hp cont motor 150 PSI max. Will this be enough for the 43430?
 
#9 ·
I have a Craftsman that is similiar to your Husky. I don't think you will have the 9.5 cfm needed. You probably have about 8 cfm. Another option ( One that I was considering, though slightly more expensive) is the Walcom Slim series. They are designed for about 6 or 7 cfm. They run about $200.00.
 
#10 ·
The cost of automotive paint and primer is almost as much as gasoline nowadays. :angry: A gravity feed gun will completly drain the cup of material compaired to a siphon feed that always leaves some in the bottom of the cup.
I would recomend a gravity feed HVLP. I have a binks mg-1 that works very well for me.
 
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