Hey all,

Looking at buying a decent spray gun, wondering what the difference is between the gti pro lite and the tekna pro lite. The main difference i notice is the tekna doesn't have a air pressure adjustment valve, which to me is no big deal as i use a pressure reg.

Are there any other difference's? Do they use different parts?

The tekna pro lite seems to be great value with all three tips and two air caps for $408 USD + frieght forwarding expenses. Hopefully won't be more then $500 USD all up, so looking at probably $650ish AUD after all is said and done. I can buy the gti prolite locally for about $420AUD-$500AUD with a 1.3mm tip and TE20 cap.

The tekna pro lite has all three fluid needles and two air caps

http://www.amazon.com/TEKNA-703566-1-2m ... PDKIKX0DER

I guess my questions are;

Will I need all the fluid needles? Will only use the gun for base coat and clear coat's. From my knowledge different caps and fluid needles are approx $100-$120 AUD each.
Are the parts interchangeable? I wouldn't want to have to buy a spare part and have it shipped from the states everytime if they are different.
Are there any other difference's?


The difference's I have found so far are;
- GTI Pro Lite has a cool gold anodized finish. Tekna Pro Lite has the black QuickClean finish. - Does the gti pro lite have the quick clean stuff on the inside of the gun?
- GTI Pro Lite has a slightly more rounded handle.
- GTI Pro Lite has a slightly different baffle. (Whats the baffle? Does it effect spraying?)

I cant answer th last question as I know bugger all bout the gun workings, im a fill her up and spray guy, but the other questions I can help out.
unless your using the gun to prime with aswell, you wont nee the other tips, the 1.3mm is a good size for base and clear,
from wat I understand (which generally aint much )tekna is the usa brand of devilbiss, sorta like chevy and holden, the main difference I think is the air valve on the gun, which if you run a reg on the gun then it don't really matter, all the devilbiss gti parts are interchangeable as far as I know, but beware, if you get a hvlp cap, you need a good compressor to keep up with it, I think the hvlp cap for the lite needs around 380l/pm, the te20 is low 300l/pm and the te10 is around 270 l/pm
the only real reason I got the prolite over the tekna gun was mainly the lite was bought here in aus, it only took a few days to get here and if anything went wrong was easy to post back, the price was around the same as our $$ was bit higher than it is now!
the prolite is a very easy to use gun, for some reviews on it, check out the gunman on youtube, he uses the prolite all the time and often mentions the tekna guns also
krem

haha the gunman has basically sold me on the gun. Otherwise I would have almost no idea which one to get!

At the moment, I am leaning towards just buying it local. Most people seem to shoot clear/base with the 1.3mm tip. Is it the same for acrylic clear too?

I found it interesting that my spec sheet says spray in a 1.4mm though. Would there be any major difference?

Tekna is the English arm of Devilbiss.

If you look at the Copper then the 7E7 cap is the pick. For the ProLite TE10 (basecoats and MS clears) or TE20 (slightly wetter, Basecoats and HS clears).

The big differences are the the ProLite is lighter (420g vs 500g) and slightly smaller body. So it's great if you're on it all day, every day. Also is fully coated to make cleaning a bit easier. In terms of spraying I doubt that there's much difference - they're both premium guns and at this level the operator has more influence on the finish than the gun itself.

I use a Copper (7E7 and 1.3) and love it. That said, for some of the heavier clears I'd probably prefer a 1.4mm but I compensate by going in a little closer and then the gun suits my speed. It works well with acrylic using the 1.3mm. It is a little fussy about being dialled in just right and must be cleaned perfectly or it won't spray right. Suffers from a buildup around the cup fitting which is no problem if you clean there every use.

I think you'd be more than happy with either gun, but the ProLite does have the advantages of less weight and easier cleaning. One thing I'd strongly suggest is that you get one with the air control in the bottom of the handle. Usually you'd run fully open but there are times when it makes it much easier to dial down so you can adjust both air and fluid at the gun, on the fly.

Booki -
The GTI-Pro Lite is the non-US version of the Tekna ProLite gun, as has been stated previously.

The GTI Pro Lite does not have any of the QuickClean coating inside. The passages on the GTI gun are likely not anodized either, due to the actual anodizing process. However, the QuickClean coating is in all of the passages. It uses a different coating process. I've seen demo models of the ProLite gun that were cutaway, showing the insides. It's pretty cool.

As far as I know, the baffles do not significantly affect the atomization between the models.

My recommendation for tip size is dependent on the paint type and brand you are spraying. http://www.devilbisseu.com/en-gb/downloads/paint-and-gun-match. I use a 1.4 and the TE20 cap with my PPG waterborne paints.

If I had to choose in your position, I'd go local. The QuickClean coating is very nice for use with waterborne coatings, but it's not a deal breaker in my opinion. Just be careful cleaning your anodized gun (don't leave it in solvent overnight; don't use real low or real high pH cleaners!), and you won't have any internal corrosion issues. IMHO, it's not worth $150-$200 to go from anodized to QuickClean.

I hope this helps.

Ended up getting a Devilbiss GTI Pro Lite - looks like a solid gun, got the TE10 and TE20 air caps with a 1.3mm fluid tip.

Looking forward to using it

good stuff, you wont be disappointed, I forgot to mention, my prolite also came with a nice devilbiss spraysuit!!
I would try and change to 2pak for painting, its so much easier than acrylic, just make sure you have a mask, a sundstrom is a minimum!!
krem

Well I am in California where hvlp is the only spray equipment. I have been painting for 30 years. I started in automotive then went to buildings and signs, and now I do some auto restorations at My house in AZ. Cant paint at your house in CA. I for many years used turbine sprayers and cheaper china guns. But have had trouble with clear coats and some single stage 2.8 voc not looking Perfect. I usually get a bit of orange peel and it shows up on VW busses like it is really bad. On other cars no real problem But VW busses it looks like dry spots. So I purchased the American version Tekna Pro light and from what I hear it is the same as the GTI prolite. Used it yesterday and I will tell you It looked perfect. Much finer spray and it looks flat. No orange peel, just Mirror finish. That is the way I used to paint back in the early days before HVLP. The gun really makes a difference.

farnhamassoc wrote: Used it yesterday and I will tell you It looked perfect. Much finer spray and it looks flat. No orange peel, just Mirror finish. That is the way I used to paint back in the early days before HVLP. The gun really makes a difference.

Which air-cap did you use? and which fluid tip 1.3 or 1.4?