Paint gun recomendations.

Hey guys, I know this has been discussed a few times but I was wondering if I could get some paint gun recommendations? I have used a cheap a$$ harbor freight gun for a couple paint jobs and it worked, but it had a ton of orange peel and I wet sanded and buffed forever to get it to look nice. I don't need show quality but I would like to upgrade my gun. I am looking to spend $200-$300. Air consumption is not a problem at all, I have an 80 gal. ingersol rand compressor with a dryer.

The couple of guns I have been looking at, I have read mixed reviews on. So I am asking some of you professional fellas on here for your opinions.

The first I looked at was the Eastwood Concours HVLP gun. Heres the link to the info....... http://www.eastwood.com/ew-concours-paint-gun-w-3-tips-plasticandmetal-cup.html

The next gun is the Devilbiss Finishline 4 solvent based. Heres the link to the info........ http://www.eastwood.com/devilbiss-finishline-4-solvent-based-kit.html

Also looked at the devilbiss plus gun. Heres the link..... http://www.eastwood.com/devilbiss-eastwood-plus-paint-gun-303742.html

I will be shooting mainly basecoat/clearcoat. If you guys know of any other decent guns that come with a couple size tips, please let me know. Any input, positive or negative will be great. THANKS!!!

I personally would go devilbiss over the first Eastwood gun.ive used they're primer guns with decent luck.i work at a shop that does mainly restoration work and a bit of insurance and car lot repair.i might paint 3 To 4 times a week.i use a Satajet.my coworker also has a iwata supernova ls400 that sprays excellent I've used it numerous times.anything iwata or sata is gonna be top notch but probably out of the price range you've listed.if you've got a connection with any body shops I would personally try to buy one of those used before any of the ones you've listed.if not I would take my chance on the devilbiss.any reason you need different tip sizes?we build a lot of high end restos and use the same size tip for base and clear and never have a problem.hopefully that helps

iwata and sata guns would be the way to fly if you were going to shoot a lot. I have painted several cars with my Sharpe cobalt with a 1.4 tip which will shoot bases and clears. They are about 300 which would fit your budget. my only complaint with the gun is the air cap screws onto the tip not the gun so if you tighten the air cap too tight it will cause air to bleed back into the cup. Has not really been that big of a deal for me. Only reason you might need a bigger tip would be if you got into some thick high build primers.

The gun you choose is based on budget.

Devilibiss plus is good for medium budget.

Sata and walcom for high end.

I have all three but moved up as budget allows.

A good gun is only a small part of a good paint job.

Good prep and a clean paint booth are more important.

Thanks for the input guys. I don't paint that often. Only couple times a year?? But I would like to be able to get a little more consistent and nicer looking job out of it. The trouble I was having with the harbor freight gun was with the atomization , I think. It seemed like it sprayed everything kinda chunky and with lots of orange peel. But for the money I paid for the 2 guns it worked great I thought. I am by NO means a painter. But I do ALOT of metal work and everyone always asks, "Hey can you shoot that too???" Mostly friends and family but I would like to give a quality paint job. I figured a little better gun would atomize better and lay down a little smoother with less wet sanding and buffing in the end. Does that sound right?? And I would like to do it without braking the bank on a 500-1000 high end gun.

Also on tips, I though I would need different ones for clear and different one for base?? I will probably just use my harbor freight gun for the primers now and keep my new gun for paint and clear. So the Devilbiss Finish line 4 Or plus ?? gun looks like a decent middle of the road gun?? Im sure a little better than my harbor freight??? LOL Again thanks for all input and replies gentlemen!!!

Heres a couple pics of what the harbor Freight gun did, which I didn't think turned out too bad. Now mind you these were the first things I ever painted!!! LOL And ALOT of wet sanding!!

Nephews 74 Mustang



My buddy's jeep.



Another jeep that I just shot a quarter panel and tailgate on and gave a quick buff.

yes that devilbiss is a middle of the road and will defiantly give you better results than a HF gun. Shooting in a booth will also keep down on the wet sanding. make sure you run material through a strainer before going into the gun to help keep down on the chunks. bases and clears can be shot with the same tip they are fairly runny it the primers that can be thick especially high build. Do you have an air regulator at the gun? with a HVLP you only need to have about 12-13lbs at the gun, most of the paint I shoot recommends around 10psi at the cap. Maybe up the air pressure or lower it some to get the clear to lay down flat.

yes that devilbiss is a middle of the road and will defiantly give you better results than a HF gun. Shooting in a booth will also keep down on the wet sanding. make sure you run material through a strainer before going into the gun to help keep down on the chunks. bases and clears can be shot with the same tip they are fairly runny it the primers that can be thick especially high build. Do you have an air regulator at the gun? with a HVLP you only need to have about 12-13lbs at the gun, most of the paint I shoot recommends around 10psi at the cap. Maybe up the air pressure or lower it some to get the clear to lay down flat.

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Thanks. After talking to a few people and looking online at some reviews, I think im going to get a Sharpe gun. Its right in my budget and only heard good things about it! SO here we go! Got a door to shoot next week for my buddy's chevy HHR. I will test it out then. Heres a pic from last night. had a few dings in it anda bunch of chips and dings on bottom. But overall nice shape.

Hey just some comments. I am not a painter but have done several cars, trucks and vans over the years. The paint today I have absolutely no experience with but a local restoration is going to let me come and be in booth to learn the new materials. I only shot two part paints from PPG and DuPont in the past. I did on 1965 fastback t-5 for a friend in 1974 I think. He wanted pearl paint with what was then new Flip Flop from Metalflake. It changed from white to blue to gold depending on the direction of the light. It was painted and all body work done in his basement garage. The car was painted apart so everything was painted. He took it to a ISCA show when finished. That might be wrong name I think International Show Car Association. They use to tour the country and have custom car shows in civic centers. Anyway he won first place in his class which was mild custom. I was there with him and the car and people would stop and study the paint and would ask who painted it and what gun was used. It was funny I was called a liar so many times those three days. I used a Sears portable air compressor with air ran through a coil of copper tubing in a bucket of ice water to dry it. I used the free paint gun that came with the compressor. Yes is was lacquer back then and it is forgiving for sure. I did all the body work and let the car sit for several weeks to allow everything to shrink and solvents to get out. The day we painted it we started about 7:00 am with the epoxy primer sealer. Then you painted it with just white lacquer. Then you put the pearl on then you misted the Flip Flop on and then the many many coats of clear lacquer. I think there were 37 coats of clear to fill in all the little beads of pearl. Finished up at like 2:00 am the next morning. The paint did look like it was water and you could reach into it. His son still has the car and the paint is cracking with so much being on there.

My point is you can do a great job with not so great equipment. I also know someone who has one of the highest awards with AACA and he painted his car with cases of rattle cans of lacquer and wet sanded and polished. It was black and like a mirror.

David

Hi David,

thanks for the feedback. Yes, there's an old saying in my paint trade -

You can give a average gun to a top pro painter, and he'll turn out a top job, and you can also give a top quality gun to an average painter and the job will turn out average in the end.

Greg.