Paint gun suggestion

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:47 pm
I have a lot of motorcycle projects(mostly ct70's and z50s), and I need to paint the hood, bumpers, and mirrors of my car as well. So I am looking for suggestions as to which paint gun to get. I'm not opposed to buying used either. Also I have a 80 gallon compressor so air shouldn't be a problem.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2015 10:19 pm
80 gallons of air is good for around 30 seconds of pulled trigger time, before the compressor will kick on again. So you do need to know the CFM rating of the compressor at a certain PSI (e.g. at 40 PSI), to really know for sure which gun(s) would be suitable for the air supply you have.

The gun requirement here will also be based on the largest work you'll be doing, so if doing a hood for example you will want a full sized paint gun.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 12:47 am
lol so a air nozzle slightly opened for 30 seconds and and air nozzle open fully for thirty seconds and the compressor will turn on at exactly 30 seconds!? He just said air isn't a problem and you throw some crazy statement without answering his question .

My advice to you original poster , is to get a mini hvlp gun I.e sata mini jet series work great for small projects and even big projects . The fan of the gun and volume of the gun is perfect for smaller panels like motorcycles. I personally used the gun on car panels and still got close if not the same finish as the big boy guns. I use a 1.4 tip for both base/clear with the mini jet



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 12:55 am
12.9 scfm at 40 psi.



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:06 am
No offense littlevil, but I personally don't want to do the hood of a car with any mini gun. I would rather take a full size gun and then dial it down for the smaller parts. The mini gun won't put enough paint our fast enough to do a large item like a hood very well. Remember, for all mini-guns (Sata, DeVilbiss, etc.) not only is the fan pattern smaller, but the fluid output is much less (read: thinner coats = more passes of base/clear to reach optimal thickness). This can easily lead to color issues, striping, more dirt/dust entrained in the paint, and finish quality issues (esp. if it dries too fast and doesn't lay out well).

If I'm only picking 1 gun to do base and clear, I personally like the DeVilbiss Tekna line. The ProLite is a good value for the money, but the best value right now is probably the Tekna Copper (about $390). Same atomization quality as the newest DeVilbiss guns , but it simply lacks the QuickClean coating (not as much of an issue for occasional vs. pro painters) and uses a nice anodized aluminum finish (which is still better than chrome, IMHO) instead. If you use the 7E7 aircap, you should be OK with your compressor's output.

The DeVilbiss Plus Gun is also a nice, forgiving gun that sprays well for about $300.

Hope this helps!

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:45 am
Littlevil wrote:lol so a air nozzle slightly opened for 30 seconds and and air nozzle open fully for thirty seconds and the compressor will turn on at exactly 30 seconds!? He just said air isn't a problem and you throw some crazy statement without answering his question .

My advice to you original poster , is to get a mini hvlp gun I.e sata mini jet series work great for small projects and even big projects . The fan of the gun and volume of the gun is perfect for smaller panels like motorcycles. I personally used the gun on car panels and still got close if not the same finish as the big boy guns. I use a 1.4 tip for both base/clear with the mini jet


He said he has an 80 gallon tank, so air isn't a problem. We can't go by that, and you know it.

We needed more information, to answer his question -- so he provided an answer of 12.9 CFM at 40 PSI. Now we know what his air supply really is and can help him with the gun question.

I didn't throw out a "crazy statement". An 80 gallon tank fully charged is going to put out around 6 cubic feet of air through a full sized spray gun that consumes 11-13 CFM, before the low limit threshold is hit and the motor turns on. So you get around 30 seconds of trigger time.

I disagree with your advice to invest in a mini-gun as his first/primary gun given what he wants to do. Most professionals would also disagree with that idea.

Given his air supply, he can chose from several good-quality RP guns. DeVilbiss Tekna, for example.



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:59 pm
How do you feel about the finshline 4?

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:23 pm
1MechEng wrote:No offense littlevil, but I personally don't want to do the hood of a car with any mini gun. I would rather take a full size gun and then dial it down for the smaller parts. The mini gun won't put enough paint our fast enough to do a large item like a hood very well. Remember, for all mini-guns (Sata, DeVilbiss, etc.) not only is the fan pattern smaller, but the fluid output is much less (read: thinner coats = more passes of base/clear to reach optimal thickness). This can easily lead to color issues, striping, more dirt/dust entrained in the paint, and finish quality issues (esp. if it dries too fast and doesn't lay out well).

If I'm only picking 1 gun to do base and clear, I personally like the DeVilbiss Tekna line. The ProLite is a good value for the money, but the best value right now is probably the Tekna Copper (about $390). Same atomization quality as the newest DeVilbiss guns , but it simply lacks the QuickClean coating (not as much of an issue for occasional vs. pro painters) and uses a nice anodized aluminum finish (which is still better than chrome, IMHO) instead. If you use the 7E7 aircap, you should be OK with your compressor's output.

The DeVilbiss Plus Gun is also a nice, forgiving gun that sprays well for about $300.

Hope this helps!



Did I suggest anything to you? Lol what the hell .. First off mini guns have the highest transfer efficiency rate , yea the fan is smaller so more passes but he said mainly motorcycle parts.. And seriously you think the paint would dry faster then a mini jet could put out? Are you painting in 300 degree weather ?? Do you actually paint cars or just read devilbiss manual and copy and paste ? Another thing if you are getting paint problems it's because you and inexperienced plain a simple..I've painted hoods doors even whole side of a car using mini guns with professional results..

And Chris I like giving you a hard time :)
And Chris how do you post pictures on a smart phone so I can show the results you can get not using a full sized gun proof is in the pudding

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:57 pm
I'm sorry to vent my anger but most people think you need to the biggest compressor and best gun and that's not the case.. For instance a mini gun uses a measly 4-5 scfm and still produce great results using a small compressor to run it.. People think you need the best gun but honestly I've used a harbor freight gun for funsies and it wasn't that bad yea it's heavy and humongous hard to clean and let's be honest it doesn't atomiZe very well but it still can produce a decent paint job, which sadly is the kind of decent paint job some people put out using the best guns. People think you need a great paint booth BLAH or perfect temps. I used to do the rental cars at the airport we could not build a structural paint booth so we used inflatable paint booths out side rain or shine cold or hot weather. I'f use the right clear given the tempatures and cleaning procedures you can produce great finishes. I just don't want to see anyone get discouraged is my point. When I first started out I thought too you need the best stuff but all you need is technique and paint product knowledge . You get that down and you can paint with anything anywhere and produce professional results I promise you :)

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:14 pm
m42 wrote:How do you feel about the finshline 4?


The FinishLine 4 gun is a decent gun but it uses a LOT of air (it is an HVLP gun) and also HVLP can be tough to get clear coat to lay out without orange peel. Out of the lower priced HVLP guns I've used, I would say it does a very good job -- but not as good as an RP (reduced pressure) gun.

littlevil:

I just can't get there on the min-gun advice, sorry. If shooting solid colors maybe, but doing metallics or any sort of a blend repair...I'm not going to start recommending a mini-gun to new painters in good conscience. When they have issues related to the gun fan size, or ability to atomize, or handling a tricky metallic (like any of the Honda silvers for example) -- what do I tell them? How about the first blend repair they need to do?

I'm sure you have this mastered with your mini-gun, but new painters will struggle I guarantee that.
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