Guys,
I am going to admit upfront that I am a tool junkie and I typically do not buy low end stuff. That said, I am in the process of doing a frame off restoration of my 1976 Triumph TR-6. I have been closing in on body work / painting and have been working my way through educating myself on what type of equipment I need to do the job. My shop is set up with with hard copper compressed air lines (main 3/4" and take-offs 1/2"). I run a 2 stage 5 HP 80 gallon compressor. I will be adding desiccant drier and oil/water filter for my paint set up.

My original thought regarding spray guns were more toward a middle of the road product (DeVilbiss Finish Line or Eastwood Concours). However, my tool junkie nature kicked in and I am now considering kicking it up a notch and purchasing a Tekna Prolite set up with the TE-10 and TE-20 air cap and three nozzles.

My plan is to use a base / clear system from Akzo Nobel (local auto finish dealer near me sells this product).

My questions...
1. Am I crazy to consider the higher end gun being that this is my first rodeo with painting a car?
2. What should I consider for a primer gun...cheap HF gun or something else?
3. Any other recommendations for a newbie on a steep learing curve?

Thanks - Tom

If you buy a decent spray gun you will accomplish two things.
1. Take away the excuse the paint turned out bad because of the cheapo gun.
2. Have a gun worth something if you decide to sell it later and upgrade.

I use an Astro EVO4018 for build primer. Have had it for years and still works fine.
http://www.jackxchange.com/products/EVO4018.cfm

A good painter can produce good results with a good spray gun or a crappy spray gun. A new painter or un experience painter can produce bad results with a crappy spray gun or a good spray gun.

What I like about buying an expensive paint gun is you can get good results that need less sanding and polishing. And you can use less materials. When you buy a $150 quart of paint to paint half a car. If you use a cheap gun you spray a good amount of that paint into the air and if you dont get good coverage you have to go back and buy another $75 pint. When you paint 15 cars a month like me and you have to spend $75 more a car on paint because of using a cheap spray gun. It doesnt take long before you realize a quality spray gun will pay for itself.

However in your situation if you are buying plenty of paint and you arent planning on doing it again. Then a gun like you mentioned will probably be fine.

"I use an Astro EVO4018 for build primer. Have had it for years and still works fine."

Coronet - What do you use for your base and clear?

"However in your situation if you are buying plenty of paint and you arent planning on doing it again. Then a gun like you mentioned will probably be fine."

Mooney - Are you referring to the Finishline / Concours models? No telling if I will do more than one car....I suspect that if my first attempt goes well I will paint more. With your experience, would advise that I fork out the extra $$ for the Prolite?

I doubt if this is your first attempt you will get much better results from the prolite vs the finishline. If you think you will be doing this several times a year then the prolite will probably be worth the extra dough. Better guns will atomize the paint better giving you a smoother finish and you will be able to get higher coverage efficiency. Personally I use an Iwata LPH400. I spray at 20lbs pressure with the trigger pulled with my base and probably get 85-90% transfer efficiency. Then my clear I spray at 28lbs and probably get about 80%. Where as if I used a cheap spray gun I would have to crank the air up to about 35lbs to get a good atomization. Then I would have about a 60% transfer efficiency. The paint job with the cheap gun may have 20% more orange peel. But other than that there wouldnt be much difference.

The tekna is beautiful gun, but not cheap. If you were a painter using it everyday or don't have a problem with the price, go for it. to "real industry painters" they are likely our top selling gun, followed closely by iwata supernova and 400 lately. I get the occasional guy wanting a sata but not as much as I used too. I sell a whole lot of iwata's air gunsa's to the DIY guys. its a good gun for the price.

hughfree wrote:Coronet - What do you use for your base and clear?

I was using an Iwata LPH400 Silver Cap (1.4) but more recently a Tekna Copper 7E7 with a 1.4 tip set.

The Iwata had a slightly smaller fan size and being an LVLP requires you move a little slower. Softer spray equates to better transfer rate of material to the vehicle. I still keep this gun handy because like mmooney84 said above its a set it and forget it gun once dialed in. My air settings for base and clear were exactly the same as he uses.

As stated above gun set up is critical but there is definitely a difference in quality when purchasing the better known brand names. The machining tolerances, quality of the materials and overall design of the gun is easy to see. Quick set up to get a nice pattern and atomization of the paint (fine droplets) are two of the most obvious advantages.

The higher quality guns usually require a bit more air so watch the CFM requirements so you don't get more gun than your compressor can handle.

TO the OP,a prolite would be a great gun for a new user it is very user friendly.I have one in my collection and use it daily and I also use sikkens products everyday.I can offer you help with settings and product selections if you are interested as I paint everyday.

Guys,
I really appreciate the feedback. Trust me when I say that I know that it is not the tool but the craftsman using the tool that makes a different! My experience with cheaper tools has always been marginal. I used to purchase Craftsman hand tools back in my earlier years (when they were made in the states with US steel). But what I found was as my wrench turning hobby became more serious I started to find that their were difference with how they were constructed and the functionality of their design. I started purchasing used Snap-on equipment and never looked back.
I realize that from a competency standpoint that painting with a $400 gun will not make me a Foose but as several people have mentioned I think that the functionality of higher grade tool always makes a job easier regardless of you skill level. I guess t he $200 question still comes to this...will I be able to tell the difference and will it provide a better chance for me to screw it up less my first go round.
Thanks again for all the great feedback.

It'll make a difference. Also, divide the cost of the gun by the overall restoration cost and you can quickly see how on even a single full restoration job a $400 gun can be considered disposable (I know it's not really but you get my point).

Also if Jayson is saying he can share his experience with the gun then that right there would be enough for me to go with the Prolite. It's an excellent gun.