any suggestions on a spray gun to use for primer that won't cost an arm or a leg

 

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Used this one a few times, worked fine.

 

Try Eastwood . You don't need a high end gon for primer but you do need one with the correct tip size 1.8 mm will generaly do . As por price it depends on what an arm and a leg is to you .

 

I use the 3M Accuspray gun with the PPS cup system. The gun works great and clean up is a breeze. I am not sure what price you put on an "arm and a leg" but after buying many other spray guns I feel that this setup is a bargain for my application.

 

Did you know that a number of paint manufacturers recommend applying primer with a foam roller? Unless you are doing the entire truck it's faster, doesn't need a booth or protection from overspray or mask and protective gear. Cleanup is a breeze just throw the inexpensive roller away, much cheaper than the solvent needed to clean a gun. You can apply the equivalent of several sprayed coats in one application (only thin if necessary). You're going to block it anyhow, so any orange peel or overlaps aren't a problem.
I'm using a direct to metal primer that has 2 different catalysts: one for roller or spray application, second thickens it so it can be applied with a squeegie instead of applying surfacer putty and primer.

 

thanks for the advice folks it has helped a bunch

 

Very interesting.

 

For primer I use the cheapy harbor freight guns. Catch them on sale for about $10-12. They do a decent job of spraying primer, will work in a pinch for top coats. I buy the throw away cups to simplify clean up.

 

I purchased a husky set from Home depot, one of the guns standard, I used for primer and the second HVLP I used for color and it worked great, the set was around 70 bucks. the only issue I had was my clear coat was a bit think, so thined just a bit and it worked great. I used PPG.

 

There is an interesting article in this month's Rod and Custom about painting with PPG's latest generation of water born paint. Since it showed the paint demonstrated and quoted by Charlie Hutton, I paid close attention to it.
For those who have been living under a rock and don't know who Charlie is: Charlie was the head body man and painter for Boyd Coddington during the American Hot Rod TV series, and left to go to work for Chip Foose where he painted Chip's Riddler winners and the secret surprise build of Chip's own 56 F100 on Overhaulin'. Charlie is considered by most in the business to be THE best painter out there.
Charlie has converted his entire painting operation over to the water based system for all his base coats except candy colors and some special effects pigments. He says the paint is so easy to use that a complete novice can spray it. The paint goes on in 3 very thin coats (4 for metallics) That won't run unless applied much too thick. It's goof proof tho, should you somehow mess up a panel, before the paint dries you can spray it with water and wipe it off with a damp cloth, ready to try again. It dries to the touch and can be dry sanded and/or recoated in 15 minutes (wet sanding is not recommended) and is tape dry in 5 minutes! Since the paint goes on so thin the tape won't lift the next color nor will there be a raised edge to need sanding. It can be applied over your favorite solvent based primer and finished with your favorite clearcoat, or PPG has recently released a water based primer. Since the solvent (water) doesn't "bite" into the under coats like solvent paints, retouching and repairs can be blended in without getting the dreaded "halo" effect around the edges of repairs. The only negative, if you can call it that, is the thin coats will not fill even relatively fine sanding scratches, so it is recommended that the primer be block sanded to 600 grit or finer. Any flaws in the primer that can be seen or felt will show even more in the finished paint.
Since the solvent is water, there are no solvent fumes to deal with and a very minimal amount of overspray. Charlie is shown spraying it in a T shirt and pants and a simple dust mask rather than the typical full tyvek suit, gloves, and supplied air solvent rated mask worn with solvent based paints.
Oh one more thing, the pigment uses nano technology to make it non settling, so you only need to give it a shake, no more shaker rigs for mixing or adding marbles to the paint cup and continuously shaking the gun to keep the pigments from settling and/or changing color as you paint.
I'll definitely be trying it out for my next painting project!

 

A quick question about applying primer with a roller....what about the nooks and crannies? Inside corners? Best practice to spray the tight spots where the roller won't go, and roll the larger "open" sections?

 

Very interesting on the water bour paints. Here is a question, related to the gun topic. I just bought a Develbiss system, 3 guns, from Eastwood. Can you use both types of paint in these guns or do you have to have a water bourn gun. I saw guns for sale that were water bourn and then guns that were solvent based.
JimG 1098

 

Gun is the same, the tip size needs to be matched to what is being applied. Gun cleaning would sure be easier and cheaper with water born.
The roller application is primarily for spot work like collision repair. The collision business is a much bigger market than full repaints, and time is money. Think of all the money that can be saved not having to tape off a repair, no booth required, anyone that can paint a wall can do it, cleanup is a couple minutes, no cleaning solvents to dispose of.
collision shops are usually working on/painting exterior panels of late model vehicles, they seldom need to concern themselves with painting seams or interior areas. I brought it up primarily as an alternative for people that are doing patch panels, dent removal, etc. as a way to spot prime their work without having to rig a spray booth, deal with the fumes, drag out a lot of equipment, to prime a small area. I wouldn't use it to do an entire truck.