Purple Guns Galore

[lavron]

Mailman brought me a package today, a couple more HF purple guns, they were on sale for $10 so I ordered a couple more, a month or two ago I was in HF and bought one there for $10 so now I have the original one (that I can't get the tip off of) and three more plus a couple of silver guns (set) I bought at Tractor Supply last summer (still in the package) I guess I should be set for HVLP paint sprayers now (this doesn't count the old fashioned guns out in the shed, there are a couple of my dads out there from when he owned the body shop)

No excuse for not painting my Comet myself now

Question, does anyone know if there is any different tips to fit the purple guns? Maybe bigger ones for thicker stuff. I am asking before going and looking myself thought someone might have experience with that.

See Ya,
Mike

[vicegrip]

Don't really know what to say,Mike. You work on your car for years and you're going to spray it with a $10 gun?? Those HF guns work OK for some things.....About 10 yrs ago,I took out a loan to buy a $600 Sata for ONE high dollar car.The thing is almost error proof. Instead of selling it after the 1st car,have painted a bunch of cars since. I'm not saying you need to spend 600 bucks but IMO,the better the gun,the better the job if you're an amateur like me.

[lavron]

You work on your car for years and you're going to spray it with a $10 gun??

Perfect paint is not a priority, I am going to drive the car so it probably won't stay perfect for very long Maybe someday if I feel the need I will completely strip the car and do better paint and body work.

My biggest concerns with the body is getting the rear quarter rust repaired and getting some paint on to protect the rest of the metal, it is actually a very straight old car.

See Ya,
Mike

[bigdan]

I see both yours and vicegrips points.

Case in point - for years I've used almost exclusively Miller welders at work, and a Lincoln mig at home. When I decided I needed tig capabilities here at home (DC only) i shopped for a Miller. I couldn't see paying Miller prices, though, and picked up a 220 Klutch stick/tig and a plasma cutter at Northern to give them a shot. I'm proud to say I've definitely put them both through their paces, and they perform just as well as the stuff i'm used to at work. But, for a home hobbyist, they're perfect, at a fraction of the cost.

Now the other side of the coin - I used an inexpensive HVLP to shoot my 65 initially. Epoxy and high build went down great. I fought color (with metalflake, of course) for a gallon and couldn't get it right for the life of me. Tiger stripes, heavy peel, you name it. I even brought a buddy over that knew what he was doing, same result. In the end, it went to his shop for color and clear, out of his SATA.

All things equal, do what you want! If you can get Taylor you're happy with, that's all that matters.

Now paint that thing already!

Dan

[Lou's Comet]

I found no source for tips or any other parts for harbor freight spray guns. I have asked at the store, looked in the manuals for part numbers, etc. no luck.

Few years ago I dropped my primer/general purpose gun and it broke Since then I have tried many cheap guns for primers, surfacer, and epoxies. Because? I am a little cheap on some things

I have bought the tractor supply guns, JUNK! Took them back within a day. They gave me another set to try, and also JUNK! Got mad and threw them in the garbage. The leaked, sputtered, and pretty much useless.

Then bought some Harbor Freight guns. They work ok,ish for spraying thinner stuff, like a solid color base, no good for metallic or Clears. And definitely doesn't do well with the thicker stuff like primers, Plus they seem to require a lot of air. And when you have problems with the gun there are no replacement parts. Ended up tossing most of those, think I still have one Left if I need a sacrificial gun.

I agree with Vicegrip! Get a better gun, I know you are not looking for show paint on your car. But a better gun will give you a better result with same effort, and more importantly a better gun will make the experience a much more enjoyable experience, you will become more confident quicker with a better gun.

You don't need to spend $600+ for a decent gun, $150-$225 you should be able to get a nice gun with multiple tips, a decent regulator, and the ability to paint anything from base to epoxies and heavier primer/surfacer's.

I ended up buying another devilbiss gun, their finshline series, FLG-4. It comes with three fluid tips, 1.3, 1.5, and 1.8 and a nice small air regulator with gauge. Right around $200. Very happy with it, with the larger tip sprays primer well and with the 1.5 tip it does very well spraying solid color, metallic if you have it set right and take your time. Though I still go to my good gun when spraying metallic on the more important jobs.

Agree with vicegrip 100%,,, better the gun better the job, especially for amateur, (although I don't think he is a amateur )

Lou

[popscomet]

OLD paint and body man,,and I mean from a long time ago...told me to drop 5 small ball bearings in the cup when spraying metal flake,,as I spray always keep those balls on the move every so often,,,I tried it,,reckon it worked,,....pop

[afx1964]

I’ll have to agree that there is a big difference between a high end paint gun and those from Harbor Freight. I own a production collision shop and have quite a few Sata and Iwata guns. Each has its own particular application. I also have a series of Devilbiss TEKNA Premium guns that I believe are pretty good. That said, I wouldn’t particularly suggest that anyone doing a paint job as a hobbyist needs that type of gun. I’ve seen some pretty good “home” sprays with ATD guns that cost considerably less than SATA. Devilbiss and Sharpe also make entry level guns that can be bought for a couple hundred dollars. Those would definitely do what you are looking for and the ATD might too.