I would say the same thing. Started with cheap imitation Iwata guns and then bought a used Iwata LPH400 on ebay. The difference was night and day. I still have and use this gun often. I too have a Tekna Copper which is an excellent gun.

The cheap Chinese guns may look similar on the outside but the machining tolerances are not anywhere near the higher end guns. When you put the two side by side and then spray with a better gun - your eyes will be opened!

tomsteve wrote:

car5car wrote:

tomsteve wrote:

car5car wrote:it is

I believe my painter skills are not better than my gun.

you dont have to take it from me but take it from me:
upgrading to a quality gun will help tremendously to make you a better painter.
i started with a devilbiss startingline. upgraded to a finishline 3. big difference and work came out a LOT better. then upgraded to a copper tekna.
it is heaven spraying with that gun.

OK, now you can sell me your first gun.

car5car wrote:then upgraded to a copper tekna.
it is heaven spraying with that gun.

Wait until you move up to a Pro Lite. I hardly ever use the Tekna Copper any more, even though it is still a very good gun.

car5car wrote:OK, now you can sell me your first gun.

I still have my first gun. It's a Star S1000.....and I still use it for certain jobs.

But I did, just recently, find a StartingLine gun in the bottom of the gun cupboard. Obviously I missed chucking in the bin. You can have it for nix. It will make you appreciate the good one that you buy next.

car5car wrote:
OK, now you can sell me your first gun.

i still use it when spraying crap paint-like rustoleum on outdoor metal crap.
you can pick up a startingline kit pretty reasonably priced. comes with a gun thats not too bad for primers and a touch up gun that i found to lay paint better than the full size with 1.3 tip.
https://www.amazon.com/DeVilbiss-802342 ... 2010778060