TechnoToad wrote:Sorry about the delay in response. Been busy painting rockets!

3 year delay- you musta had a LOT of rockets to paint!
you certified back during a pretty exciting time for HPR.
little trick I learned sanding primer on body tubes- if you're goin for that show rocket look:
say I have a 4" rocket. I take a scrap piece of 4" body tube about 4" long, cut out about 1/3-1/2 of it ( along the length) then glued a grab block on the OD on the top. put some sticky backed sandpaper on the ID and use it as a sanding block. that worked real good for sanding along the length and making the surface flat/straight along the length.
then don't want to fly em because they look so dam good!LOLOL

NFT5 wrote:Painting any kind of tube can be tricky. You need to choose your gun carefully because tube will waste vast amounts of paint in overspray or result in runs if you narrow down too much.
8<-----SNIP----->8

However, if I was painting these I'd go for a smaller gun. My current favourite for jobs like this is the Iwata AZ4 (link here). Fan is only 160mm with 1.2mm tip but air usage is down to 3.7cfm. So no need for a new compressor at all.

The AZ4 looks very nice and affordable, as well. Cup size wouldn't matter, as I'd simply transfer over my AZ3 HTE's PPS 2.0 adapter to the AZ4 and use those.

I have noticed lots of overspray, so yes, this is a concern. I also have a Horrid Fright "detail" gun with a 0.6 mm nozzle, but I save that for mostly painting smaller, LPR, models.

NFT5 wrote:Painting any kind of tube can be tricky. You need to choose your gun carefully because tube will waste vast amounts of paint in overspray or result in runs if you narrow down too much.

The HVLP version of the AZ3 has a fan width of around 11" in 1.3mm which I'd think is a little big for what you're painting. The RP version is a little better at 9.5" but has a huge advantage in air consumption at 7cfm vs 12cfm for the HVLP and transfer efficiency is also much better.

However, if I was painting these I'd go for a smaller gun. My current favourite for jobs like this is the Iwata AZ4 (link here). Fan is only 160mm with 1.2mm tip but air usage is down to 3.7cfm. So no need for a new compressor at all. You could go a bit bigger if you really wanted to, something like the ANI R160 (link here) which, with a 1.2mm tip only uses 4.2cfm. Also a nice midi gun and very good value. I have two and use them often.

What do you think of the Astro EUROHVT1 with a 1mm nozzle? I just ordered one from Amazon to try it out. Main concern is whether or not it will accept a 3M PPS 2.0 adapter or not.

An Iwata LPH-80 would be my choice.

Great little guns.

TechnoToad wrote:What do you think of the Astro EUROHVT1 with a 1mm nozzle?

Astro is (mainly) rebranded Star. Made in Taiwan the quality is excellent and they last forever. I have some that are over 20 years old. But, gun technology has advanced a long way in 20 years where I'm not sure that Star have.

More of an industrial gun manufacturer than automotive although some models lent themselves to automotive use. The EUROHVT1 series and its' Star equivalent was an attempt to create a range of guns that would be their big breakthrough and rattle the "Big 3". It didn't quite work. Atomisation wasn't quite fine enough, fans weren't quite wide enough and still had some slightly rough edges. The Star V3 4000 series were better.

There are better alternatives to this range.

NFT5 wrote:

TechnoToad wrote:What do you think of the Astro EUROHVT1 with a 1mm nozzle?

There are better alternatives to this range.

Price range? Or size range?

OldFatBald wrote:An Iwata LPH-80 would be my choice.

Great little guns.

Yeah, and Iwata is very proud of them. A used one on eBay is $165 w/o cup. Brand-new prices run around $250 or more.

TechnoToad wrote:

NFT5 wrote:

TechnoToad wrote:What do you think of the Astro EUROHVT1 with a 1mm nozzle?

There are better alternatives to this range.

Price range? Or size range?

Neither. I meant the range of guns that Star makes for Astro and the ones (the same, plus more varieties) that they market under their own name. Generally if it has a fan control on the side then it's not much chop. I bought one like the one you linked a few years ago and eventually just gave it away, replaced with ANI and then Iwata.

The Star RP guns though, are quite good and I have a few of those which have specific purposes. For example, I have a 4000 series full size gun that is better than my Pro Lites with the economy direct gloss that is part of my paint system. It's awful with clear though.

Star guns are well enough made and some have some invaluable features. They're light and comfortable to use but I have this feeling that their aircap design team need to be sacked and a new team appointed who can utilise current technologies and develop new designs. What were excellent guns 20 years ago just don't stack up against today's competition. Even a couple of the Chinese manufacturers now have designs that are right up there with the best. Unfortunately their metallurgy isn't at the same level and parts ans service backup is non-existent, so not guns I'd buy to keep.

Stick with Iwata or Devilbiss. In the long term you'll be much happier.

NFT5 wrote:

TechnoToad wrote:

NFT5 wrote:

TechnoToad wrote:What do you think of the Astro EUROHVT1 with a 1mm nozzle?

There are better alternatives to this range.

Price range? Or size range?

Stick with Iwata or Devilbiss. In the long term you'll be much happier.

What's an affordable Devilbiss that'd be decent for painting tubes up to 7.5" diameter? (I'll get another gun if I ever need to paint a 12" diameter rocket. Or, I'll just go back to the AZ3.)

Hunting around on Amazon, found these:
https://www.amazon.com/Iwata-Lph-Spray- ... c47c48c32f

https://www.amazon.com/Paasche-Airbrush ... tdGY&psc=1

LPH-50 seems to fit the bill, but don't know about the quality of the Paasche. Paasche is usually a good choice in airbrushes, but I'm not familiar with their larger stuff.