The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paint Gun Purchase

I would like some advice from the professional DIYs out there regarding paint guns. I recently purchased an Ingersol Rand 5HP 60 gal. upright compressor to have available for my '58 Apache frame-off restoration project. I would like to know what brand of gun and what size nozzel for the gun to use for the prime and the finish coats. Are any of the paint guns sold at Northern Tool & Equipment worth the money?

Raleigh 58

I am not a pro but have talked to several about learning to paint. They have all said the equipment is not important until you learn basic skills and even then its debatable. Paint legends like Larry Watson used what is comparable to a $15 harbor freight gun.

Larry Watson Painting

I have only painted one car and a bunch of little things and test panels. I can tell you it's more about pressure, spray pattern, and keeping your tip the same distance from the surface being sprayed at a right angle.

With regard to tip size and gun it really depends on what you are spraying and what gun you use.

If you want a decent gun you can get replacement parts for I would look at a Devilbiss Finishline. Or a better route for learning in my opinion is getting this harbor freight gun
http://www.harborfreight.com/high-volume-low-pressure-gravity-feed-spray-gun-66222.html

Make sure its the one with the purple handle and metal connection to the cup. Its leaps and bounds better than what the guys used from the 50's through the 70's. Just clean it spotless right after every use.

I subscribed to this guys youtube channel a while back and there is a bunch of good tips you can glean from him
http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesfreddys/videos

The only other tip I have is make sure you have your air supply clean and water free. This is not difficult you just need to build your tubing out properly. It should be bone dry or you will have nothing but problems.

Unless you are building a show truck I'll second the H.F. spray guns. They have a smaller one too, get them both, I got them in a package deal. The small will be needed in a few of the tight quarters in the cab and some of the nooks and crannies under the hood.

Thank you for your experience and input.

Raleigh '58

I can't resist but replying..you need a primer gun and that can be what ever you want but if you are going to spray finish you need a good gun! HF stuff just will not do,+ its all made in china..BUY US

I'll respectfully disagree with you apba12m, My truck was painted with that exact same H.F. gun by a couple of amateurs.

i painted my 62 this summer i invested in a top line filter and used new hose for the job it came out great . i can't stress enough how important it is to have clean dry air. i bought a in line filter that drys and removes the oil for186 dollars at west texas auto colors in lubbock texas . just my two cents

All good and useful input. Thanks. It is beneficial to learn from the experiences of others.

I have used the cheap HF guns in the past and have learned to stay away. they work ok for small pieces and touch-up, but for quality painting, they just wont do. A good low cost setup would be Devilbiss Startingline kit. You can find them at Eastwoods, or on the net. Cost is about $165

I have a cheap old HF gun, has painted quite a few rigs quite well, but stepped up to a Devilbiss this year.

I'm not an expert by any means but here's my experience. I bought an "expensive" devilbiss gun and I've bought several "cheap" Harbor Freight guns. My plan when I started was to use the cheap guns for primer and the good gun for paint. I found that I couldn't tell much difference in the results. I'm sure that professional painters can tell the difference but I'm just an amature. The devilbiss gun will cover more area so if I'm painting a large part I usually use it. The thing I like best about the HF guns is that I can get them on sale very cheap and when one gets a little nastier than I feel like cleaning up I just throw it away and grab another one.

One last question fellas. What does the number for the gun tip(?)represent and what tip (?) number is recommended for applying the primer and then the finish coat(s) including clear coat?

Check out Summit Racing. Got my latest guns from them and it all works great. A couple of lower end Devilbiss guns. Had an old Sharpe from back in the day and I use it for primer now. Here is the link for their stuff.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DVR-802789/

1.7 or so tips are for primer and 1.4 are for base and clear. Generally speaking. Of course it all depends on the type of paint u are using.

Been looking between these two setups:
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/de...uch-up-paint-gun-kit-802789-p-15099.aspx

or

https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/sharpe-finex-fx3000-top-coat-primer-hvlp-paint-gun-kit-p-14970.aspx

I have about 4 HF purple guns hanging around ,1 Farmhand (TSC) and an IWATA that I bought on eBay for pretty cheap and need to pour some paint through it. But it is more of a detail sized gun with about a 10oz cup.

My last auto paint job that I needed to look good was a BC/CC and I borrowed a Sharpe to squirt with. Did a fine job. My HF guns seem to have a hard time deciding sometimes if they want to do a good or poor job. Note that I have 4. I did not mention that I have bought 4 and effectively have 3 frames, 3 sets of knobs, and 4 paint cups and lids. I have one that has been crafted (or cobbled) together by the "best of" those 4. Take home message, The higher end guns are built, like most everything, more exacting specifications and the QC department actually exists.

If I was planning on spending that price range I'd go with the Sharpe.
The 'Line' set is way cheaper elsewhere if you shop around.

Caso,
Your thoughts on a devilbiss finishline v. the above sharpe guns?

I'm just a novice too...
But the 'line' guns can be had for less I know.

I'd choose the sharpe between the two all things considered... I think.

Well, I bought a sharpe finex fx2000 on ebay. was a pretty good deal i think, about half price of most of what I saw new. Said it was taken out of the box, never used. Was not able to get a tip size on it, but likely will be around a 1.4mm. I guess the good thing about those guns is that different sized tip sets are available. Bad thing is they cost almost as much as I paid for the gun to start with.

But I reckon I'll probably shoot build primer out of my old siphon cup gun anyway. Maybe by this time next year, I'll have my truck ready to try out this gun on. hahaha