Astro pneumatic clear coat gun or alternative.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 04, 2019 10:18 pm
Looking at getting either an Evo-T13 or EUROHE103 mainly shooting transfer Euro classic clear. Have not been able to find people with experience with these particular guns but good experience overall with Astro.

Looking for opinions between the two my understanding is the EVO is LVLP and EUROHE is a RP? I'm leaning towards the HE.

http://www.astrotools.com/air-tools/eur ... ozzle.html

http://www.astrotools.com/air-tools/eur ... c-cup.html

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:22 am
Both of these guns take a large amount of air to operate.

The HE is looking for 13 CFM and the T-13 is 12 CFM so you will need a compressor that puts out 15 CFM minimum (a little head room) to get them to function properly.

Other than that the HE looks like it was designed for clear coat application.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:37 am
Good to know my compressor is rated for 16.5CFM @ 175psi on a 60Gal tank so should be ok.

Thanks for input I was thinking for a beginner's dedicated clear gun the HE or other budget RP gun with 1.3mm tip wpuld do me well. Right now using "pro tek" HVLP with 1.4mm. Looking for better atomization and a slight decrease in speed I will have to move.

If anyone has first hand experience with EUROHE please let me know but most likely going to grab one.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 6:57 pm
Astro rebrand and market guns made by a couple of manufacturers. Those ones are made by Star, in Taiwan.

Star produce a range of guns, mainly for industrial use and quality is very high - they are, without doubt, the toughest guns I've ever owned. I have about 8, in various models. That said, they're not really state of the art in terms of automotive finish quality and I would not be looking at one of their guns for larger clear coat job use. Fans are a bit narrow and atomisation isn't at the same levels as are being achieved by manufacturers like Devilbiss or Iwata.

Pricewise, Star position themselves at a mid-point (around $300-400AUD) and this is justified by their quality but there are other guns out there that will produce much better results for the same money. Examples include the Iwata AZ3 (better atomisation and just as tough) and Devilbiss FLG5 (much wider, very even fan, possibly not quite the same durability), both of which can be had for the same or less than a Star and will produce much better results for clear coat. Even SATA now have a budget gun which, while not as good as their top shelf offerings, is not bad and certainly reasonable value.

For not very much more money (under $500AUD) you can get a Devilbiss ProLite which is absolute state of the art if you want a dedicated clear coat gun. I have 5 of these, 3 of which are for clear only but with different setups to suit varying finishes and clears.

Note that European style clears tend to be much thicker, HS type, and you really need a good gun to bust them up into very fine droplets. The cheaper guns just won't do this.

Star were the first guns I owned and I still have them all, and use them for specific applications. Their small guns (S2 and S1000 are awesome for small jobs while the 4000 is better than the FLG5 for 2K (single stage direct gloss) and I have an S2000 1.8 which is the best primer gun I've ever had, while an old 710 is nearly its equal.
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 12:46 am
Thanks for input Chris I will probably try the HE for now as I'm just starting out and have a few of my own cars to do so not a huge deal if quality isn't show car level.

The GTI pro lite is on my wish list but not in the budget right now. Really looking for the best for under $200.

Atomization of the euro/ higher solids clear is really my main concern which was why I was leaning away from the EVO or other LVLP.

This will be used for 1 or 2 driver grade cars a year.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:06 pm
Understand where you're coming from but still recommend the AZ3 or FLG5.

If atomisation is what you're after then either of those will do a much better job and they're at about the same price point as the gun you're considering.
Chris

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:30 am
I have a 25 yr old Astro "Star" HVLP that I still use today.
For the money it's a great gun.
I hope the new ones are made as well.
JC.

(It's not custom painting-it's custom sanding)

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