spray gun 1.4 tip

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 3:30 pm
reading thru posts here I'm planning to purchase my paint gun with a 1.4 tip due to a few experienced here have said they use a 1.4 tip for base coat and clear.

I am all about quality and really want to get a high quality spray gun within reason on cost. especially reading here how much better clear sprays with the right gun.

so heres the common question again: what spray gun do you experts use or reccomend?

to keep this within reason I would like to spend $600 max. I hope thats enough for a decent one.
Eric

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:32 pm
I'm not an expert but have restored and painted a few vehicles that you can see in the Members Projects Section.

My go to gun for epoxy primer, base coat and clear coat is an Iwata LPH400 Silver Cap 1.4 tip.

I also have a DeVilbiss Tekna Copper with a 1.3 and 1.4 tip set. It has a larger cup and spray pattern and does a great job but it seems I tend to grab the Iwata most often.

For 2k build primer and Polyester primer, I use an Air Gunsa AZ3 HTE2 which has a 2.0 tip.
1968 Coronet R/T


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PostPosted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 9:25 pm
[quote="'68 Coronet R/T"]I'm not an expert but have restored and painted a few vehicles that you can see in the Members Projects Section.

My go to gun for epoxy primer, base coat and clear coat is an Iwata LPH400 Silver Cap 1.4 tip.

I see the Iwata #5670 is a 1.4 tip but tip is the orange basecoat it says. is 1.4 the main thing or is there a difference in the silver and orange 1.4 tip?

it has reviews on spraying base and clear real well. thoughts?
Eric

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:00 am
Buckwheat wrote:what spray gun do you experts use or reccomend?

to keep this within reason I would like to spend $600 max.


Two parts to your question, so two parts to my answer.

What do I use?

For topcoats:
20230219_161717.jpg


For primers and smaller jobs:
20230219_161840.jpg


My topcoat guns are mostly 1.3mm. There are two 1.2mm guns in that drawer and just one 1.4mm which I use primarily for Acrylic lacquer. The 1.3mm guns are the workhorses while the 1.2mm are there for colder days. With the right settings and aircap a 1.3mm will handle almost anything you can throw at it, in terms of paint, anyway.

For primer I recently bought this:
20230219_161332.jpg


For $200 it has a finer and more even fan that approaches the Pro Lites. It lays down a high build 2K primer absolutely dead flat. Never seen that good before. And it cost under $200 after I dropped the Workquip gun and wrecked the inlet nipple.

Now, for $600USD, what do I recommend? At least you're being sensible with your budget and this gives you a whole range of options, all of which are good.

For topcoats, this Pro Lite with 1.3mm setup and the T110 aircap for $384USD. Absolutely my favourite gun.

Alternately, the Devilbiss GPG. Essentially the old GTI or Tekna but with a plain Jane alloy finish. Lots of options here. They have an extra setup so, for example you could get a 1.3mm and a 1.8mm or for only just over your budget you could get two - one with 1.2mm and 1.3mm and the other with 1.6mm and 1.8mm. Essentially 4 guns for the price of two. Try to get the 7E7 aircap with the 1.3mm - it's better than the GPG1 but I think Devilbiss have stopped supplying it.

From Iwata, the W400 in either Classic or BellAria. Classic gun capable of exceptional finishes and price at USD$269 means you could get two and come in under budget. The BellAria is better, IMHO, but make sure you get the new model which has a split air cap that really improves the spray pattern. Hard to believe when the old one was so good, but they have and it's worth it.

Also from Iwata, via their Italian factory, the AZ3 HTE-S. This is the later model and they've fixed a couple of minor issues but essentially the same as the gun you see in my drawer, above.

The AZ3 also comes in a 1.3mm (which is what I have). Fan size is a little small for jobs like full resprays on large cars, but that doesn't mean you can't do it with a couple of extra passes. I'd prefer a W400 or Pro Lite though for those jobs. Super reliable, near indestructible and brilliant for medium sized jobs though where you don't need the big fan which can just waste paint if your target is smaller - I've done literally hundreds of bars with this gun. And it's easy to clean. And the breather on the lid doesn't leak. Sprayguns Direct have a 3 gun deal for a shade over USD$500 which is pretty good value and would give you a primer gun, a base coat gun and a dedicated clear gun, plus change.

Or you could spend your change on an AZ4 HTE-S. Similar design to its big brother the AZ3 but brilliant for small parts. Fan is only about 100mm wide but really fine atomisation so you get a finish that will be good enough, off the gun. Absolutely love mine for those kind of jobs where a full sized gun would just take you to Run City. Get the 1.0mm with 200ml cup.

All these guns are fairly light on air consumption at 8-10cfm, so your compressor will thank you. They're also name brands that have good parts backup should you need something.

I know that there are some members, well one actually, who uses a 1.4 and gets lovely results. But he has many years of experience and, believe me, a 1.4mm gun in the hands of someone else could be a recipe for disaster. I use a 1.4mm only in certain weather, sometimes, but otherwise just for acrylic and epoxy primer. Not high build where a 1.8mm is much better. For clears and direct gloss I use a 1.3mm.
Chris



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PostPosted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:35 am
Thank you kindly for the replys.

i'm a middle of the road painter I will say. not by any means a novice but on the cusp of doing pretty good.

I have researched a lot on many many folks reviews/videos and am going with the Iwata LPH400.

I have a cheap 2.0 gun and a sharpe fx3000 with a 1.3 tip. painted a 1969 Gto with it and it came out good but wasn't happy with the fan spray etc. bet this iwata will be a whole new world.

I will practice with the Iwata when I get it this week. also finally got the disposable lined cup system for it, I know i'll be happy with that as I hate worrying about the darn press on lids. and not being able to spray product as it gets low if u tilt it to much. these cups can spray upside down. anyhoot, a huge step up for me on the guns.

wanted to add, I do consider myself a one-good-gun-and-done painter. I think this one fills the bill.

all the reviews stated the orange 1.4 tip was for basecoat. silver is for clearcoat, really don't understand that difference?
Eric

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PostPosted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:42 pm
Amuses me how people come on here and ask a question but don't give all the information and then get replies which are completely ignored because they didn't address the question that was not asked. :rolleyes:

The orange cap (not "tip") is designed for base coat. Base coat is generally a much lighter viscosity than clear, especially the HS clears that are around now. The silver cap is designed for clear and will handle that task much better than the orange. The difference is how the paint is atomised and then controlled once it leaves the fluid tip. Note the orange cap has 4 holes on the face, next to the fluid tip,while the silver has only 2. The fan pattern is quite different and much smaller with the orange cap which relies more on the face holes to stabilise the air pattern and less on the horn holes which squeeze the pattern together. Thus the pattern from the orange cap is shorter and a bit over-atomised while the droplets from the silver cap are a little bigger, which is good for clear that needs to hit the panel and flow out. Note that the new series of W400 has a series of notches in the fluid tip which actually do a similar thing, "pre-atomisation" they call it, and the bronze cap and knobs differentiate the models while actually improving fan pattern which is now more rectangular and less oval, very much like SATA introduced a few years ago.

Bottom line is that the silver cap will do a very good job on both clear and base while the orange cap is better for base. The bronze cap is better than silver, orange or purple.

It has been covered before:
See: https://www.autobody101.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26705
Chris



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:04 am
NFT5 wrote:Amuses me how people come on here and ask a question but don't give all the information and then get replies which are completely ignored because they didn't address the question that was not asked. :rolleyes:

The orange cap (not "tip") is designed for base coat. Base coat is generally a much lighter viscosity than clear, especially the HS clears that are around now. The silver cap is designed for clear and will handle that task much better than the orange. The difference is how the paint is atomised and then controlled once it leaves the fluid tip. Note the orange cap has 4 holes on the face, next to the fluid tip,while the silver has only 2. The fan pattern is quite different and much smaller with the orange cap which relies more on the face holes to stabilise the air pattern and less on the horn holes which squeeze the pattern together. Thus the pattern from the orange cap is shorter and a bit over-atomised while the droplets from the silver cap are a little bigger, which is good for clear that needs to hit the panel and flow out. Note that the new series of W400 has a series of notches in the fluid tip which actually do a similar thing, "pre-atomisation" they call it, and the bronze cap and knobs differentiate the models while actually improving fan pattern which is now more rectangular and less oval, very much like SATA introduced a few years ago.

Bottom line is that the silver cap will do a very good job on both clear and base while the orange cap is better for base. The bronze cap is better than silver, orange or purple.

It has been covered before:
See: https://www.autobody101.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26705


Thank you for the reply. wow, now that was exactly the info I needed and just learned a lot there.

Not sure if you were referring to me regarding question not asked thing, if so it was because in research I had made up my mind on the lph400 Iwata and almost ordered the orange "cap" one then saw it was for basecoat, silver for clear, so I figured the silver will do both. would rather have the clear cap for sure as I struggled with the clear last time with a 1.3 and inferior gun. I never found info on why the orange cap was for basecoat! so wanted to err on the side of caution and go silver cap.

I do try and find previous info threads on subjects first. I know repeat stuff may get boring. but then, hobby threads are always a fun thing, all about communication and enjoyment so hope folks don't take offense to questions.

anyway really appreciate your info! your post of a dizzying amount of guns etc was to much for this middle of the road one gun done guy was to overwhelming to take in. I have seen many videos on folks using the Iwata and if the reviews ring true i expect to be blown away by the difference between my cheap sharpe fx3000 1.3 and this one. I cant wait to use the cups with no freakin cup lid worries and tilt angles!
Eric

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 7:26 pm
ok i cant help it... im going to post :rotfl:

Old pic, there is some new ones not in the photo.
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:06 pm
nice!

may even be able to paint a winning bronco with those! but I doubt it.

kidding aside, I appreciate that folks knowledge and expertise in using those and knowing the whys of using them. I can see how a collection over time would be fun. if I can manage a nice job I may very well become a gun collector to! :allgood:
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:44 pm
PainterDave wrote:ok i cant help it... im going to post :rotfl:

Old pic, there is some new ones not in the photo.


That is impressive,Knowing the difference of ea one and when to use is the cool part.
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