Ok so I have been searching and reading and reading some more. I am trying to find a good CHEAP gun set. My dad has been doing body work since he was 15 (now 54) and has a lot of opinions on why I should NOT be doing any work on anything older then 5 years old. So his wisdom is lost in the negativity that is nature. So I am looking at a few sites

Northern tools
Eastwood
Spraygun world.

I see a lot of different items that seem similar but being a novice am not sure. So I am looking for advice here. Just so you know my compressor does 7.5 CFM @ 40psi so air pressure is not an issue. From what I am seeing I really want a master set with a couple of guns. Once I get them set up I do not want to be changing things all the time. Example...changing tips when I go from Primer to base to clear. I would rather have a primer gun and a base/clear gun. Lastly I know the high end ones that I cannot afford....Iwata, sata, Tekina. So what are you using now thoughts and pro and cons would be great.

 

Not to be rude but I've painted several cars and there is no such thing as a "cheap gun set", please if you do one thing dont go cheap on your painting tools/supplies. Also you need to think about what your doing with your paint job. If you plan on a straight color then you will only need 2 nozels 1 for paint 1 for clear. If you plan on using a paint with metal flake in it you will need a nozel for the size of flake thats in it. You can have all the nicest newest parts in the world, everything on your truck is brand new and pristine and then you put a coat of paint on with a cheap gun and youll regret it. Now I'm not saying any of those places are bad to buy from, Ive gotten alot of paint guns, powder coating equipment from eastwood but I've also spent the cash on the good stuff. Here are a couple pics of the last 3 cars I painted just so please dont think I'm talking out my a$$ or anything like that. I just hate to see someone go through and fix stuff up just to mess it up with a bad paint job...

This is what it looked like the day I brought it home..





In the middle of the bodywork, new Z3 fenders new R34 front nose piece..



And the final results after painting...



And I added 4 oz of blue pearl to the clear so at night she really popped...



heres an old camaro I got and redid it, the pics are small but you will get the idea..



ts hard to see butthis car had 7 differant colors on it when I got it...



After a new nose, rims and alot of hard work she didnt turn out to bad...



Heres a side view of her, also notice the silver Eclipse in the background of these last 2 pictures, I painted it also...



heres the last couple pics, these are of my buddies eclipse. It was Silver but he wanted it blue with the huge metal flake in the clear with all kinds of crazy stuff painted on it (hey it was his car...lol)

 

I will have to check out the pics later today...My work PC does not allow them through. I understand the need for a good set of paint sprayers. I just dont have a ton of money to toss down on them. I will be spraying a single color base/clear. My main objective at this point is to be able to sand, weld and then fill and prime so that I do not have rust creeping back into my project. As I may waiting some time between panels and such. So right now a primer gun is really what I need. And no I don't feel that you are being rude. So what gun are you shooting paint mainly with?

 

Better yet here is what I am leaning toward. Give me some opinions on this setup.

Sharpe Finex SHP248757 - 1.5 HVLP Spray Gun

 

Thats actually not a bad kit, that actually covers all of your needs and will work for metal flake and pearls if you decide to go that route...

 

When I paint I normally use a 1.4 for primer and clear unless there is metal flake in it, then I use the 1.6 or in this kit it would be the 1.8 or if you get the all-in-1 paint that has the base and clear in it use the bigger nozzel. For the base I use a 1.0-1.2. When you buy your paint it should tell you which nozzle to use so always follow those directions untill your good enuff to mess around and find your own set-up. I love to paint cars and honestly thats why I work on them because at the end comes the coolest part of the job. I cant wait untill I get my 55 done, I have so many ideas floating around in my head its not even funny but I have narrowed it down abit. Right now I'm leaning towards a 2 tone with a metallic candyapple blackcherry (a dark candyapple red) with either a cream (from the 55 time frame) or a metallic gunmetal, I just havent quite figured out where to put the line at to divide her up...

Oh yea,also find out what the cfm is on the guns you get and make sure the compressor you get will handle them or get guns to match your compressor, its a pain in the a$$ if every 5 minutes your compressor kicks on to refill...

 

You might want to Google that Sharpe gun number. I think that is about a $100 gun.
I seldom use a small gun so the extra small gun in the "kit" is not something I would use.. The kits most of the time include stuff you will seldom or never use but are paying for.
About any gun will shoot primer well enough for what your wanting. I use a devilbiss that I have had for 12 years to do base/clear and have a couple old guns I use for primer. I rebuild totaled cars so shoot quite a bit of paint, usually a car a month or so, and several pieces (fenders doors etc.) in between
I would suggest you might go to some local body shops and talk to some of the guys and touch and hold some different guns and see what feels good to you. A really good painter can shoot paint that will look good with a cheap gun. If you don't know how to paint, a expensive gun will not make the job look good. No reason to spend big bucks ($500 or more) for a gun to learn on or use once a year. I have a touch up gun I might use 3 or 4 times a year so I wouldn't spend much for one just because it is in a kit.
Good luck what ever you decide.
Larry

 

Just bought the Devilbiss (Starting Line) gun kit from Summit Racing ($129). Two guns. They are decent guns and not that expensive.
As Tardster mentioned I would sure check your compressor. Don't short yourself on constant air pressure.

 

I am not worried about the compressor as my big one <---LOL is a 33 gallon craftsman that does 6.5CFM @ 40psi and my small one 6 gallon does 5.5 CFM @ 40psi (rated) so I figured I would chain them together. That should be enough for one of the guns I am looking at. Thanks for all the info so far.

 

Ah, another one of the "I want the Best and pay nothing for it" stories. We get a lot of those here.

Here's a link to some people who are probably best qualified to help you with that:

The Walt Disney Studios

You can be a smart shopper, but remember you usually you get what you pay for.

 

OK so for the first time in my life on any of the boards I have ever frequented...I am offended.

No I am NOT looking for the best and pay nothing for it. I am looking for a compromise. Something in between. I do not want to toss 400 at a spray gun I would prefer to pay around 200 for one or a set. If some one told me "the spray gun that actually works and lays paint correctly is X but cost 400" then that is what I would get. But the fact is I have looked at a number of them all over the web and talked to my buddy that paints and it seems a lot of it is cost vs value vs skill. Yeah I can go to harbor and get one and with some skill probably shoot a nice paint job. I prefer a little quality in my tools. I typically only get things at Harbor and places like it that I know are going to be disposable. After I had to weld an engine stand back together, that was the last time I bought anything from harbor I was going to use with any regularity. So thanks but frankly I feel your comment was unwarranted and rude.I am just trying to stretch my dollar further that is all.

 

This is the gun I use:
FinishLine HVLP StartingLine Kit and Starter Kit

Granite if you're going to be doing a lot of painting, say more than once a year, you may look into spending more money, but for $200 its a great set.

I used it to paint my Mustang, worked out beautifully, I put down expoxy primer, sealer, black paint base coat, cobalt candy base and clear with the same gun. Granite had I have had 5 of them it would have been easier than cleaning as I went, but it's not like you put down primer the same day you paint. Also, it's a good idea to remember to put the needle back in after cleaning before putting paint back in the top, it sorta pours out the tip if you don't, lol :|

(For the record, this is why I can't picture myself ever painting anything thats not a candy again)





I did my first truck with a gun that wasn't HPLV, and had a horrible hose line and everything else, got a lot of orange peal, just ment a lot more sanding. Which for the record I don't even know why they call it painting a car, I spent one night painting and months just sanding, before and after... Course I can't tell you if the first paint job lasted cause the truck was totalled 13 days later by someone making a blind left hand turn in front of me All I can say is HPLV made a HUGE difference in how easy and fun it was to paint. Make sure you have a good sized air line too

 

Are we talking the actual size of the line? Like if you have a line that 3/8 IDia. then it should not be longer then X.

Oh and I LOVE the blue you sprayed your mustang with. That is really really nice. Did you have any trouble laying down the kandy evenly?

 

f100newbe

Actually I wouldn't be afraid of using a harbour freight gun to shoot primer. Keep in mind your wanting something that can put on a very heavy primer to sand it mostly off. It's not like it really has to lay down a perfect pattern. I use a primer gun almost daily and the one I use the most is a craftsman I have had for 10 or 12 years. Not a great gun, but holds primer and sprays it where and when I need it. It was about a 40 dollar gun years ago. Don't get caught up in thinking the primer gun needs to be something special, it just needs to work.
Your painting gun need to be fairly good and HVLP guns are the way to go. It will save you money in material sprayed in the air and wasted. They use a LOT of air and even big compressors run a lot is spraying much with one. You will also need large diam. hose to get the most from a HVLP gun as well as large connecting hardware. My painting gun was $600 many years ago and good guns can be $1000 pretty easy. Just settle for a gun you like and one you can get parts for, learn to use it and you will be fine with what ever gun you get. Base/clear is hard to paint even in a well lit paint booth so don't expect perfect show car paint in your garage or outside.
I have a old buddy that primes with a old binks #7 gun washes it out and shoots base , cleans it up and shoots clear and his paint looks pretty good. That's the only paint gun he has ever used so is comfortable with it. Not something I would recommend but shows any paint gun will spray paint, it's the guy holding the gun that makes a huge difference.
If EPA and other agency's keep regulating, no individual will be buying paint or painting in the near future as most paint will be waterborne and not available to the general public.
Good luck
Larry

 

Jeez! Lighten up!

With 40 years of Body and Paint experience your father sounds like a fantastic resource for this information. Perhaps the "Negativity that is Nature" is something that is actually natural in YOU. Maybe developing a Sense of Humor might help ease your oversensativities and help you both here and dealing with your dad.

Food for thought.