When To Ditch The Rattle Can And Shoot Primer?

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 1:23 am
Hi Guys,

Up to now, I have been using rattle cans for the bike parts I prep--usually just a pair of fenders and a tank--sometimes a set of side covers also. Generally, 2 cans are all I need for primer.

I may have a much bigger job coming up that will include 12 or 13 pieces. I'm starting to thinking that I could get a better job (and maybe save a few $$) if I were to spray primer now.

I have an old Harbor Freight HVLP gun that I haven't used for several years and my current Iwata AZ3. I'm hesitant to use the Iwata for primer (I'd need to buy the appropriate tip) for fear of not getting it clean enough for the bc/cc. Would my HF gun be good enough for primer or what would you guys recommend for a dedicated primer gun for the occasional job??

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 3:03 am
What size is the HF gun?
Chris



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 10:03 am
Do you know of these little beauties?

https://preval.com/

I used them to do the roll cage in a project to get into the hard to reach places. You can mix up your paint of choice and spray away. I don’t think the quality of the spray is fine enough for finish paint, even though I used it for the color and clear on the cage but it has its place. I’ve sprayed HB 2K reduced down a bit with good results. The spray quality diminishes after spraying continuously as the power unit as they call it gets real cold. Let it warm up and it’s back to normal. You can get replacement power units and reuse the glass bottle.

Seems like the big job you have going on you will want to use a gun, but I’m mentioning these for your smaller jobs

JT



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:09 am
RamblerRacer wrote:Do you know of these little beauties?

https://preval.com/


Seems like the big job you have going on you will want to use a gun, but I’m mentioning these for your smaller jobs

JT
Definitely something to look into--Thanks!!



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 11:11 am
NFT5 wrote:What size is the HF gun?
I'll look it up--haven't used it for 10 yr or so, LOL. I think the last thing I used it for was to shoot some latex paint on our interior doors. I am very good at cleaning stuff though so it should still work.



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 12:46 pm
i bought a Horrible Freight purple gun to shoot some contact cement. there cheep enough that i would just throw it away when i was done with the contact cement rather than trying to clean it. well i went a different direction and didn't use the contact cement i have been using the purple gun for primer now and it works real good. i have been spraying U-Pol up-2253 its a real heavy bodied hi- build primer and the purple gun sprays it good. if you doing tins then get the purple gun and some bulk primer and dich the spray cans, you'll most likely save some money in the long run.
Jay D.
they say my name is Jay



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 2:32 pm
badsix wrote:if you doing tins then get the purple gun and some bulk primer and dich the spray cans, you'll most likely save some money in the long run.
Jay D.
I'll have to dig it out then. I doubt it has a 1.8 tip but maybe I can adjust to make whatever it has to do decent job (??). Sounds like some testing is in order.



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PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 7:11 pm
NFT5 wrote:What size is the HF gun?
It has a 1.4 tip. I doubt I can find a 1.8 for it though.The gun it'self has "H881W" No name or anything else.

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 12:03 am
Put it back in the cupboard and get yourself another AZ3, with the bigger tip.
Chris



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PostPosted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 7:38 pm
NFT5 wrote:Put it back in the cupboard and get yourself another AZ3, with the bigger tip.
sounds good, I'll do it. Spray Guns Direct has one at $133 US....seems like a good deal and I have bought from them before.

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