Hi all, newb here.

In around 2002, I bought a DeVilbiss FinishLine HVLP spraygun, model FLG-635-316. It's still brand new, unused, I just opened the box for the first time in about 18 years, and started peeking around to refresh myself on what I got.

I have 1.4, 1.6, and 2.2 fluid tips, and just the one needle in the gun.

Why in the heck are the fluid tips made of plastic??? Was this a thing back then? I get that it's a major cost-saving factor when they offer you a budget-priced kit, but the weird thing is that the FinishLine brand is supposed to be the step UP from the StartingLine brand, yet it came with the plastic fluid tips.

Needless to say, replacement tips are no longer available for this ancient piece of hardware (or are they???), but these plastic ones should be fine as long as I don't abuse them. I just don't understand why they kit the "better" gun with cheesy plastic fluid tips.

So, has anyone ever seen/used these things, and are they problematic or even worth a hoot?

Thoughts/opinions appreciated.

That FinishLine gun was a step up from the StartingLine at the time.

Needless to say, Devilbiss didn't proceed with plastic fluid tips across the line, so successful they were not.

You have two choices.
1. Sell it as an unused curiosity; or,
2. Use it until the tips wear out and then chuck it in the bin.

The 3M Accuspray also has plastic tips, and I think they say to use them 5 times. I've used one on 4 paint sessions and it still works great. I like it.

I remember there being some experimentation with the plastic tips on turbine guns back in the 1980s but nothing ever got into production. The heat generated by the turbines were causing uneven swelling of the plastic around the needle so there was never any more development on it......

Thanks guys, interesting points.

I e-mailed DeVilbiss to inquire and confirm that there are indeed no more parts available for this gun, haven't heard back yet.

Interestingly, the manual makes no mention of any lifespan of the fluid tips or replacement frequency, etc. So that begs the question, what causes a plastic fluid tip to wear out? Cleaning? Wear and tear from fluid friction passing through the orifice?

Does the needle ever touch the fluid tip? Newb questions, I'm sure.

Well, whatever the case, I expect it will (hopefully) work fine if I ever get around to shooting anything. I'm finally back on my project now that most of the home remodeling is done.

Thanks again.

Bus wrote:. So that begs the question, what causes a plastic fluid tip to wear out? Cleaning? Wear and tear from fluid friction passing through the orifice?

Does the needle ever touch the fluid tip? Newb questions, I'm sure.
.

iirc,,primers have fillers that will wear out the tip. base and clears? idk.
needle should seat in the fluid tip.
i bought a finishline about 08 but it didnt have a plastic fluid tip. musta figgered by then plastic wasnt good?

wondering if the metal tips would still fit. its a decent gun and definately a step up from the startingline,which is what i started with. that thing didnt atomize for crap, which i didnt realize too much until i got the finishline.
then i got a copper tekna.

tomsteve wrote:iirc,,primers have fillers that will wear out the tip. base and clears? idk.
needle should seat in the fluid tip.
i bought a finishline about 08 but it didnt have a plastic fluid tip. musta figgered by then plastic wasnt good?

wondering if the metal tips would still fit. its a decent gun and definately a step up from the startingline,which is what i started with. that thing didnt atomize for crap, which i didnt realize too much until i got the finishline.
then i got a copper tekna.

Well, I spoke with a DeVilbiss tech-support dude. He confirmed that there is definitely no "new" parts availability (at least not from them) for my FLG-635. I asked him what would cause the plastic fluid tips to "wear" out, and he suggested that there were some materials put through the guns that caused the tips to react adversely, so they abandoned the concept. This may align with your recollection of fillers causing problems, though he didn't specify whether it was mechanical or chemical action causing it, and I didn't press him. He was very helpful, and if I had to surmise, he was relying purely on legacy documentation (he sounded young enough that I suspect he was probably just a kid playing in the dirt when this ol' gun was actually made and sold. So he gets credit for digging as deep as he could).