I make small welding carts and have painted them with rustoleum spray cans but I want to start spraying them to cut down on the cost and overspray. I had to take a picture of my iphone to show the picture of an actual cart but in a nut shell this is what they look like. The paint jobs have been turning out really nice but the overspray is killing me (not to mention the drying time). Anyway I want to stick with rustoleum so I'd like to know what my best option is without spendind $2-300 on a spray gun. I have a 3hp 60 gallon compressor. Any help would be appreciated.

Not sure why you have to stick with Rustoleum; there are plenty of decent inexpensive single-stage automotive paints you can use and would give you a real nice durable finish on your carts

To reduce overspray to a minimum, you need to go to HVLP. To go to HVLP you usually have to have a *lot* of compressor. I carry one gun that is inexpensive, HVLP and is less than 10 CFM air consumption:

http://www.autobody101.com/store/spray- ... -hvlp-gun/

1.4mm tip would be good for that application and if you really want to stick with Rustoleum you can reduce it so it will atomize in that gun.

Would it be easy to spray all the tight spots with a full size gun?

The answer to that is 'no'...for that nothing beats a mini-gun. But if you want to go to a good mini-gun the price goes up quite a bit to get anything decent, unfortunately...

What auto paint would you recommend? If a mini gun is easier to use then I would rather go that route. I noticed sharpe has one but the tip seemed small. Can i shoot primer and the paint with the same gun? I appreciate the help.

Check with your local jobber (or NAPA store) - see which line(s) of paint they carry and would recommend. You should be able to find something reasonable and of decent quality.

If shooting solid colors any tip size 1.0 to 1.2 on a mini-gun would be fine and yes you can use the same gun for primer and paint. You may have to reduce it a bit to get it to atomize with the smaller gun/tip. Make sure you buy compatible reducer when you get your paint.

If you don't find anything in the autobod101 store, you might check out Harbor Freight's "4 oz. Adjustable Detail Spray Gun"

I have a tekna and a plus gun. I love them for large panels and areas.

I find myself painting things like bike frames and handrails and a full sized gun wastes too much material.

A few months ago I purchased this detail gun for a metal hand rail and it turned out great. It doesn't have a lot of fan control, which was fine for spraying 1/2" vertical tube. Clean up is a little different than my Devilbiss guns.

You can rotate the cup to spray upside down. (gun is upside down and cup is right side up).

I just tried some paint from a ranch store called CAL Ranch. It's labeled as tractor paint. Van Sickle is the brand, but it was affordable and covered very well. It also has an optional hardener that I opted for to speed up the cure time. Who knows how it will hold up to the elements but so far I'm very impressed.

-vetsen

You said,,"a full sized gun wastes too much material"

Not true,,,sounds like you need a little help setting up the full size gun.

Welding carts I would get a mini gun and set up for wet on wet etch over single stage enamel or urethane.
Best Wishes

Get a decent, cheap mini-gun like a Sharpe FX1000. Find a shop that sells cheap industrial single stage urethanes like the Northstar brand. Get some accelerator to speed up the drying time. If you really want to get fancy lay down a coat of Omni MP170 first. A gallon will last you the rest of your life doing carts. Paint. Done. I do this all the time with aircraft engines that later get washed down with brake cleaner.

It's a welding cart, not a BMW. It will still look 10x better and be more durable than rustoleum.