Spray Gun Advice?

[friday]

I'm currently psyching myself up to start stripping the paint off the Landy ready for a fresh coat. Although I came close to going down the roller route, since I currently have a HUGE ex-dental compressor sat in the workshop and Jawells is just down the road from me selling black satin "truck paint" at a ridiculously good price I've decided to spray her instead. A guy I know off another forum has offered to lend me his spray gun to do the job but tbh, I think I'd quite like to buy my own as learning to spray is something I've been meaning to do for a while now, and with my other project car needing painting as well, it seems the perfect time.

However, I'm not sure what gun to go for. Could anyone recommend one? Although there are very expensive guns out there, after reading a few bodywork forums, it seems that the general consensus is that it's less about the quality of the gun and more about how you use it. The guns available in MachineMart ( http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...ent-air-brushes ) and Screwfix ( http://www.screwfix.co.uk/app/sfd/cat/pro....17&id=21063 ) have been mentioned as possible cheap alternatives (and price is very much a factor for me!) but I'm not entirely sure which one to go for at the moment (or if it's better to bite the bullet and go for a more "professional" gun).

I'm spraying in Cellulose, and also applying etch primer and primer through a gun as well so I'm also not sure if it's best to buy two guns, one for primer and one for paint...?

I spoke to a Tracy from spraygunsdirect yesterday and, being a novice, she recommended this gun: http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=2102 but with a 1.8mm tip as she thought the Truck paint would be a bit thicker than normal stuff. I'm still hunting around though and getting more confused by the minute so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Leigh.

[ripley]

I'm currently psyching myself up to start stripping the paint off the Landy ready for a fresh coat. Although I came close to going down the roller route, since I currently have a HUGE ex-dental compressor sat in the workshop and Jawells is just down the road from me selling black satin "truck paint" at a ridiculously good price I've decided to spray her instead. A guy I know off another forum has offered to lend me his spray gun to do the job but tbh, I think I'd quite like to buy my own as learning to spray is something I've been meaning to do for a while now, and with my other project car needing painting as well, it seems the perfect time.

However, I'm not sure what gun to go for. Could anyone recommend one? Although there are very expensive guns out there, after reading a few bodywork forums, it seems that the general consensus is that it's less about the quality of the gun and more about how you use it. The guns available in MachineMart ( http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...ent-air-brushes ) and Screwfix ( http://www.screwfix.co.uk/app/sfd/cat/pro....17&id=21063 ) have been mentioned as possible cheap alternatives (and price is very much a factor for me!) but I'm not entirely sure which one to go for at the moment (or if it's better to bite the bullet and go for a more "professional" gun).

I'm spraying in Cellulose, and also applying etch primer and primer through a gun as well so I'm also not sure if it's best to buy two guns, one for primer and one for paint...?

I spoke to a Tracy from spraygunsdirect yesterday and, being a novice, she recommended this gun: http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=2102 but with a 1.8mm tip as she thought the Truck paint would be a bit thicker than normal stuff. I'm still hunting around though and getting more confused by the minute so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Leigh.

Dont waste your money, buy the right gun 1st time round even if you buy secondhand of eblag

get a DeVilbiss GTI Gravity with a 1.4 fluid tip set up, be good all round

http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=2521

regards

Graham

[Robke]

Dont waste your money, buy the right gun 1st time round even if you buy secondhand of eblag

get a DeVilbiss GTI Gravity with a 1.4 fluid tip set up, be good all round

http://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product_i...roducts_id=2521

regards

Graham

As he says , a DeVilbiss is the best , also buy a cheap one for the primers and you are on your way

Rob

[paintman]

Before shopping for air tools you must find out what air delivery your compressor is capable of.

You need to pick a spray gun thats air requirement is compatible with the air delivery capability of your compressor.

By that I mean one that requires less air than the compressor can put out so you won't have to keep stopping to let the compressor tank refill or you will have lots of extra problems.

Once you know this, then you can enter the maze of guns.

I do SMART repair profesionally (bumper scuffs etc) and use a SATA Minijet HVLP gravity fed gun with 1.0 air cap. The compressor has a 50litre tank, is 2HP and will run the gun quite happily continuously.

The same compressor does not deliver enough air to run a sander. It will power an air wrench, but you have to stop from time to time to let it catch up as it uses a LOT of air.

To do large areas you really need a bigger gun - which means a bigger compressor.

[friday]

Before shopping for air tools you must find out what air delivery your compressor is capable of.

You need to pick a spray gun thats air requirement is compatible with the air delivery capability of your compressor.

By that I mean one that requires less air than the compressor can put out so you won't have to keep stopping to let the compressor tank refill or you will have lots of extra problems.

Once you know this, then you can enter the maze of guns.

I do SMART repair profesionally (bumper scuffs etc) and use a SATA Minijet HVLP gravity fed gun with 1.0 air cap. The compressor has a 50litre tank, is 2HP and will run the gun quite happily continuously.

The same compressor does not deliver enough air to run a sander. It will power an air wrench, but you have to stop from time to time to let it catch up as it uses a LOT of air.

To do large areas you really need a bigger gun - which means a bigger compressor.

By saying it's an ex-dental compressor I may have given you the idea that it's quite small and under-powered. It's a hulking monstrosity of a compressor, about 4ft tall, that weighs a ton, sounds like a Luftwaffe squadron coming in on a bombing run and was made some time in the 50's by the look of it! However, I don't know what it's rated at so I'll take a look and see if it says on it somewhere. Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated though. And if you happen to have any guns you're thinking of selling...er...I'd be interested!

[Les Henson]

I bought a cheapo MachineMart one to spray the panels for catflap and it works fine. I've applied etch and hi-build primer, plus metallic blue top coat. I've also sprayed customers body panels with good results as well. Exclusively in Cellulose paint though, so I don't know if water-based or twin pack would be different.

I had to practice quite a bit on some spare panels first though - maybe a better quality gun would be easier to use?

Les.

[tacr2man]

Devillbiss is the Gun, also dont forget mask, not the panels, the one you breathe thru

[Boothy]

While we are the subject of paint and guns,

"what's the best hardest wearing paint to use on my challenge truck so that it might still look something shiney every now and then?" this was the question I asked yesterday to my local paint supplier, who incidentally seems to know what he's on about.

His reply was "Epoxy", never heard of the stuff but apparantly it can be brushed, rolled or sprayed and stays shiney and is resistant to scratches etc. The only problem being after a long period in sunshine it may whiten slighty or appear powdery, but as mine lives in the garage most of it's time shouldn't be a problem. Cost is more or less no different than anything else. Mainly used on lorry chassis and hard wearing surfaces like that, plus the fact it shouldn't kill you when spraying it within reason (i.e. not 12 hours a day for life).

Any comments please boys.

Boothy

[smo]

While we are the subject of paint and guns,

"what's the best hardest wearing paint to use on my challenge truck so that it might still look something shiney every now and then?" this was the question I asked yesterday to my local paint supplier, who incidentally seems to know what he's on about.

His reply was "Epoxy", never heard of the stuff but apparantly it can be brushed, rolled or sprayed and stays shiney and is resistant to scratches etc. The only problem being after a long period in sunshine it may whiten slighty or appear powdery, but as mine lives in the garage most of it's time shouldn't be a problem. Cost is more or less no different than anything else. Mainly used on lorry chassis and hard wearing surfaces like that, plus the fact it shouldn't kill you when spraying it within reason (i.e. not 12 hours a day for life).

Any comments please boys.

Boothy

Epoxy based paint for chassis or axles yes, not so sure about body panels though??

[paintman]

Nice looking job there Les.

[ripley]

While we are the subject of paint and guns,

"what's the best hardest wearing paint to use on my challenge truck so that it might still look something shiney every now and then?" this was the question I asked yesterday to my local paint supplier, who incidentally seems to know what he's on about.

His reply was "Epoxy", never heard of the stuff but apparantly it can be brushed, rolled or sprayed and stays shiney and is resistant to scratches etc. The only problem being after a long period in sunshine it may whiten slighty or appear powdery, but as mine lives in the garage most of it's time shouldn't be a problem. Cost is more or less no different than anything else. Mainly used on lorry chassis and hard wearing surfaces like that, plus the fact it shouldn't kill you when spraying it within reason (i.e. not 12 hours a day for life).

Any comments please boys.

Boothy

If you want a paint that looks good & is tough, use a Commercial polyurethane 2-pack its tough as old boots & quite cheap (4 paint nowdays)around £20 per litre, i would recommened glasurit 18-line, iICI Turbo or spies hecker, they maybe hard for you to get hold of, you can always PM if you want any contacts.

regards

Graham

[friday]

I bought a cheapo MachineMart one to spray the panels for catflap and it works fine. I've applied etch and hi-build primer, plus metallic blue top coat. I've also sprayed customers body panels with good results as well. Exclusively in Cellulose paint though, so I don't know if water-based or twin pack would be different.

I had to practice quite a bit on some spare panels first though - maybe a better quality gun would be easier to use?

Les.

Les, that finish looks pretty darn amazing to me. I'd be over the moon if I could produce something like that. My one saving grace is that I'm spraying in Satin rather than Metallic so hopefully it'll be a little more forgiving for a novice...(but then again, I may stand corrected! At which point, I'll start crying into my thinners... )

To be fair, after another recommendation for the Machine Mart gun by someone else, I think I'm going to try it out. At least it's a good price and I can always upgrade to something a bit more flash when I have more money and experience

Thanks for the posting the photos les, it's very much appreciated

Leigh.

[Les Henson]

The 4 most important things about spraying - room temperature, surface preperation, % of thinners, and gun pressure. Lots of practice on the same type of surface you are are doing the job on and clean the gun as soon as you have finished the job. Machinemart guns come with instructions on how to clean them - there are a couple of seals that need attention as the thinners you use to clean the gun will dry them out.

Les

[paintman]

And be sure to get the Technical Data sheets for the paint when you buy it. They have all the info you need incl gun pressures, amount of thinners, amount of hardener (if required), drying times etc etc.

Surface prep is everything. The finished item will be a reflection of how good the prep work was.

[friday]

The 4 most important things about spraying - room temperature, surface preperation, % of thinners, and gun pressure. Lots of practice on the same type of surface you are are doing the job on and clean the gun as soon as you have finished the job. Machinemart guns come with instructions on how to clean them - there are a couple of seals that need attention as the thinners you use to clean the gun will dry them out.

Les

Thanks for the advice Les, much appreciated. For reasons I might or might not go into on here (a big decision concerning the Landy's future is unfortunately now to be made ) it looks like there's a strong chance I won't be needing a gun anymore for the Landy. However, I'm still going to go ahead and buy one as, like I've said before, spraying is something I've always wanted to learn and who knows when things might take a turn for the better and I can put those skills into use

[friday]

And be sure to get the Technical Data sheets for the paint when you buy it. They have all the info you need incl gun pressures, amount of thinners, amount of hardener (if required), drying times etc etc.

Surface prep is everything. The finished item will be a reflection of how good the prep work was.

Cheers chap. It's a lot more technical than I previously thought but I'm looking forward to getting "stuck in" so to speak!