Hey yall,

First post, so quick intro. Names Jake, I restore old bikes (the motorized kind). Im in the Navy, Im 34, from Georgia, live in Texas...that should be good.

So yes, I've done searching, built up some good knowledge, but not enough. I usually buy the best I can afford, I hate buying cheap crap or something not quite appropriate, only to have to spend even more cash after learning the lesson, so Im making this post to hopefully save the headache.

I've done some HVLP with a crap compressor and a harbor frieght gun, I've done alot with rattle cans. Needless to say, Ive gotten real **** good at color sanding. I finally got a good two stage compressor, 12 CFM, 60 gallons, two stage, mostly quiet. I want to step up my game with the paint. Im looking to get one of those 'mini' HVLPs, I only paint bikes, and usually one part at a time. I actually prefer a small 'spot' of spray. I've looked at IWATA, Devilbliss, Sharpe and Graco. The Graco seems like the best bang for the buck, but before I spend the cash, I want to ask folks who know.''

So, yeah, small 'spot of paint, good atomization, quality....any extra crap I should need...all that good stuff. Winter is coming, gonna take old girl down to the frame, got a few old hoods to practice on. Thanks in advance, here's what the poor thing looks like after the latest 'Rustoleum' job-

Hoping to beat that!

You can try tool topia .com ,amazon or spray gun world . The last one I just heard of recently.

Best to use a full sized gun, even on smaller projects. Reason is the smaller guns generally have a smaller tip size, which is not great for many metallics or clear coats. If you are married to the small gun choice then the Iwata LPH80 is really the best choice IMO, with the 1.2 tip. We have one here for edging in jambs. I think highly of this gun but would not want it to be my primary gun for what you are doing.

Well, I ain't married to anything 'cept an mean **** Irish woman, so if you really think it's a bad idea, that's why I made the post, some kind person like yourself keeping me from doing something stupid.

So, I'll start researching full size guns. Don't suppose there's a 'medium' group?

What do you consider middle of the line guns? There are a few gun HVLPs that can be bought for $150-$200

Sorry, no 'middle' gun in terms of physical size -- but in terms of air consumption and what you are looking to do I have no qualms recommending the DeVilbiss "Plus" gun I carry. Low enough CFM usage that it should play nicely with your compressor.

Don't forget you can always turn the fan size down on a gun like this, so it's not like you will have to constantly spray with the gun wide open. This gun would cover you on bikes as well as if you ever wanted to spray car parts or complete vehicles.

http://www.autobody101.com/store/spray- ... -34oz-cup/

This is an RP (reduced pressure) gun which gets very close to HVLP efficiency but will atomize and lay clear coat down better than HVLP.

In my shop we do lots of small jobs. Bars, single panels and smaller pieces which are similar in size to motor bike parts. In fact we do bike painting reasonably regularly.

Here is a typical example, a set of driving lights that the owner wanted repainted from silver to black.




The way I look at it is that you first need to match gun to compressor. My compressor is rated at 14cfm which means that I really want a gun that will use down around 10-11cfm so as to not overload the compressor capacity. To some extent that restricts my choice of guns but there are no regulations here requiring HVLP so I don't use them. RP though allows a fair range of choice and since paint is expensive they make sense, getting most of what comes out of the gun on to the job. They also are capable of very high quality finishes, generally better than HVLP.

Second is to match the gun to the job. At the point of being ridiculous you wouldn't use an airbrush to paint a complete vehicle, nor would you use a full sized gun to do fine work like airbrushing. In a more realistic sense, using a full sized gun on smaller jobs is just as pointless. I accept what chris says that you can reduce fan size but without changing fluid flow that just concentrates what comes out the tip into a smaller area, increasing risks of excessive thickness and/or runs. So, there becomes a need to reduce fluid flow and maybe air flow as well which means that the gun is no longer operating at its optimum. Smaller jobs usually mean lots a different angles and that means that with a full sized gun you will be wasting paint that doesn't even hit the piece or covering areas multiple times. Either way that's money down the drain. Yes, I know you can get in closer and go faster, but that isn't necessarily the answer either.

Better, in my opinion and experience, to use a gun that is suited to the job. If you're painting something that is only 20mm, or even 120mm, wide then using a gun with a 350mm fan is gross overkill. Looking at that photo above you can see that while there is overspray on the paper, I have, reasonably, matched the gun to the size of the job. At the same time I haven't gone too small and compromised the quality of the finish.

Now this brings us to my next point, which is finish quality. With smaller jobs you really don't want to have to cut and buff. Which means that you need a decent quality gun that is capable of laying the paint down nice and flat so that the worst you may have to deal with is a dirt nib or two.

So, what did I use on this job? This little baby.


Star SMV1000F. 1.3mm setup will handle basecoats, 2K solids and most MS clears with exceptional results. 200mm fan is ideal for smaller jobs and side loading gravity feed means that gun can be used perpendicular to any surface, even upside down. Light and comfortable to use but big enough for two finger trigger operation. In my opinion a real competitor for guns like the SRi Pro, but half the price.

I just got myself the star smv 3000f with 1.4 tip and I must say this gun absolutely rocks!! So I would say that the smaller version is just as good.