The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop HVLP paint gun

Which one would you recommend and what # spray tip. I'll be painting my truck with nason ful-base paint with a clear coat by Dupont. Which gun would you use? I bought a cheap gun with a 1.7 nozzle for primer and I think I need a better gun with a different nozzle for the basecoat and clearcoat. What are you guys using. Thanks in advance. Larry

For an HVLP gravity feed, Nason recommends between 1.3 and 1.6

http://pc.dupont.com/dpc/en/US/html/visitor/common/pdfs/b/product/nsn/Nason/fulbaseb-cbasecoat.pdf


For the clear, Dupont has quite a few different lines. Do a google on "Dupont XX clear coat tech sheet" (fill in the x's with the pn) and you should get a tech sheet like the one linked above that will give you that info.

I think you'd need a 1.3 to a 1.4, but see what the clear calls for first..

Thanks Robert. I looked up the clear coat, 496-00, and it calls for the same nozzle as the paint. Larry

Larry, the 496-00 is a spot/panel clear, which gives it a faster flash time.. This is actually suited to the collision environment where they are only spraying a body panel or a portion of a car, not an overall. If you are spraying one piece at a time, this may work for you, but for larger items (full truck, full assembled bed, etc) you may have better luck with the 497-00, which is an overall clear. The flash time is slightly longer. What may happen with the spot/panel clear on too large a "canvas", where you started may have flashed by the time you get to finishing that application, and this may result in an overspray issue on the initial area. The 496 tech sheet lists 3-5 minute flash, which doesn't give you much time in an overall, especially for someone who doesn't do it every day. The 497-00 was 5-7 minutes flash time. Sometimes it's nice to not be so rushed.. Of course, if this will be a "makeshift booth" spray, lower temps and limited air movement (exhaust fan) will extend flash times, so that would be a consideration.

You can get any brand HVLP gun. The autobody forums have arguments all the time on which is best. I settled on a Devilbiss Finishline 4 kit. It has 1.3, 1.5, 1.8 and 2.2 tips included in the kit. It does everything having to do with vehicle resto without any compromise. I then added a Devilbiss Tekna Copper as my main gun for shooting base/clear. It costs a lot to do this, but this is my reasoning... I want to remove as many variables as possible when doing paint work. Its bad enough there are concerns over technique, etc, but add in an inferior paint gun and what you have is a disaster waiting for a place to happen. Now, if my paint is not perfect, its not the gun or the PPG product. Its ME. After several years, this has proven to work really well for me.

I have good results spraying Dupont paints using a 1.3 tip in my Devilbiss gun with pressure at gun set at 25-30 psi.

For priming, I use a 2.0 tip.

Robert,I bought my paint from Finish Masters here in Richmond and I'm pretty sure they gave me the right clear coat. I probably got the number, 496-00, wrong. You know how that old age memory is.

Deve I bought the same Gun this morning from Finish Masters. They seem to be good people to deal with.

Thanks guys for the info, now if it will just stop raining and sun come out I'll try it out.Larry

Some of the counter staff with "less background knowledge" tend to push the product they sell the most, figuring it is the most popular. As the collision shops are their biggest customer, the spot/panel clear fits that category. Just wanted you to be aware of the difference so you can be sure the product suits your needs.

Thanks Robert. I do have the 497-00 clear coat. All it took is a call to my brother, where the truck is in his garage, and he checked the number for me. That's what was nice about dealing with Finish Masters here in Richmond. Bert, the sales person I deal with does his own painting and I trust him, so far. Looks like he has advised be the same as what you guys have said, so it looks like the Devlibiss gun which he says is a good one to start with is a good fit. Thanks guys for all the good info. What you guys tell me makes me believe what Bert has told me is right. Thanks Larry

Sounds like he's steering you the right direction..