Mini guns

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 12:13 pm
I have done a few small things in my garage with my FLG3 gun spraying epoxy, high build, and some single stage and BC/CC. VERY SMALL projects the biggest being the back end of a Triumph Spitfire that was hit all with the help of people on this site. That was back in the spring and I have not done anything since.

I have a frame and two axles as well as some wheels that I will need to spray in the upcoming months—wheels will get white epoxy followed by probably high build and finished with white BC/CC. The frame and axles will get black epoxy. I expect that I will spray these parts one at a time—the front axle is probably ready to go now.

What would be the advantages and disadvantages to using a mini/detail gun for these projects? I expect that I would paint the (1) front axle (2) the frame (3) wheels (4) rear axle in that order all on separate weekends. I have never used a smaller gun so I have no experience with one. Speed is not necessary for my situation. I imagine the arguments against are “clean up is the same” “not saving on materials…so why bother”.

Thoughts?

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PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2018 10:47 pm
There are a few important advantages to using a smaller gun when the size of the job warrants it:

- Materials saving. Painting an item 100mm in size with a gun that has a 300mm fan means 2/3 of your paint is wasted. Sure, you can reduce fan size, but unless you reduce air and material flow as well then you're likely to have problems. Full sized guns are not intended to to be used this way. Paint is expensive.

- Better control. The likelihood of runs is much reduced when using a small gun as the amount of paint in each pass is less. Inside corners, particularly, can be covered without risk of overloading. the smaller tip usually means that paint can be atomised more finely, allowing a better finish.

- Special effect finishes. The example that occurs most frequently in my shop is shadow chrome finish on wheels. Getting that super thin and fine coat of silver metallic is next to impossible with a big gun and the result is an uneven coating. With a small gun it's easy.

I use a range of smaller or mini guns, depending on the situation. just like any other tool, using the right tool for the job will give much better results.
Chris



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PostPosted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 11:57 am
Thanks for the insight and all those comments make sense to me. It seems based on my needs that a smaller gun would be useful for what I am trying to paint. Do you have any recommendations for guns that are in the Finishline range of quality?

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PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:20 am
Similar quality to the Finishline. Hmmm. I have an FLG5 and it's a much better gun than the FLG4. Not quite Prolite but still very good.

Most of what I have, though, is , I think, comparable quality and generally half the price of the top shelf guns from Devilbiss/Iwata/SATA. Maybe easier just to show you what I use and offer some comments.

Image


From left:

Paasche Millennium airbrush. Not so much for artwork but very small jobs or those situations where a brush touch just won't do.

Star S2. 0.8mm tip with a fan around 75mm. Amazing little gun that is over 15 years old and gets used at least weekly. Perfect for parking sensors and brilliant for shadow chrome. Comes in a range of tip sizes from 0.3-1.0mm. About $170AUD

Devilbiss Starting Line mini with 1.0mm tip. Unlike the bigger Starting Line guns this one isn't complete junk. It's the only HVLP I own and has a fan around 100mm. Very fine atomisation and low pressure. Most often used for blending clear joins where you just want a super fine mist of the blending thinner. Used to use for smaller jobs like door handles and mirror shells. Better for lighter/thinner paints.

Star V3 SMV1000 with 1.3mm tip. I love this gun. Light and super comfortable and the fan of 150- 250mm with the tip size means that it will spray metallics and pearls just like a full sized gun but in a smaller pattern. Will handle MS clear no problem. Compliant design means high transfer efficiency. Set up right it has a nice even spray pattern and is a breeze to clean and maintain. This one is the Pro version with wider fan and better pattern but I also have the general purpose gun which is 15+ years old and still gets a run occasionally. Side mount alloy cup means you can spray upside down so brilliant for things like sports bars, bike frames and anything else where you have to coat all the way around. Also excellent for bars, wheels, single panels, mirror shells etc. About $220AUD and Star quality means it will last forever.

I'm not sure that Star market all their products in North America. Some are sold as Astro.

ANI 150 with 1.2mm tip. This is a funny one. I set out to buy a top shelf gun like the Devilbiss SRi Pro but was talked into this at less than half the price ($150AUD from Sprayguns Direct). There are some good reviews of this gun on the 'net. Similar application use to the Star, above. The gun is ok and I can't really fault the spray pattern but I'm not sure that the quality is comparable to the Devilbiss, or even the Star, and I don't know how long it will last. There is now a new model with chrome finish and a revised cup lid that addresses the old one that is difficult to seal properly. For non-professional use it would probably be a reasonable choice but if the Star SMV1000 came with a smaller tip than 1.3mm I'd take that in preference. As it is I'll probably save up and buy the Devilbiss or an Iwata.

Others? Probably a heap of them at various price and quality points.
Chris



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PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 2018 10:36 am
Thanks for your input! I will do some more research.

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