Wow, 10 coats to just start covering? What brand of paint? And your 100% correct about the quality of the tools. I have4 diff guns, some better than others. My Sata 400 is my best gun, then I have a DeVilbis Plus gun. Really good also, and about 1/2 of the Sata. But about 4 years ago, I switched over to a 4 turbine system, that produces air for spraying, and air for breathing . I got tired of water in my compressor, compressor maintainence, it really required an 80 gal 2 stage compressor to run m shop. I will post a link to my turbin system, I use it mainly for base coats and single stages, or clears. I still use the compressor for primers. As for welding, I had a cheapo wire welder, it never gave me results I wanted, then I splurged for a Lincoln Mig with Argon gas, man what a welder, I was able to finally weld and it looked good, and my welds lasted.
Same with paint guns, I have used sharp, and several off brands, but 15 years ago, registered for a night class at a trade school, and when I saw what was possible with the right equipment, it became apparent, if I really wanted to paint, I had to get quality equipment. Good luck, and check out this link for the turbine system
http://www.axispro.com/index.php?categoryID=4
