I put this in the "Other" forum and received no replies. I am interested in getting a spray gun set up to start doing my own paint work. I’m not looking at doing anything to exotic to start just basic one color schemes. I would like to purchase a spray gun set and wanted a little input on what to go with. I don’t want to spend un godly amounts of money on this, but I don’t want junk either. I already have a 35gal 165PSI compressor, bead blaster cabinet, and a place to set up a little booth. Any advice on guns and other setup would be awesome.

 

If you are looking for a cheaper spray gun set I would go on ebay and get a devilbiss set.You can get 3 guns for like $150 they are pretty decent guns. Compressor wise 35gal will be alright for awhile if your just gonna do motorcycle parts but I would recommend a 60gal compressor to be safe

 

35 is PLENTY to shoot paint! exp on motorcycle tins, if you where shooting a car ya would would watn more but on smaller items you will be fine! use alum oxide when you are blasting... they type of gun is going to depend on the type of paint you are going to want to shoot... if you are not going to be a pro.. you can use harbor freight guns and get some great results! you are going to need a HVLP gun (high volume low pressure) 99% of paint is in the prep and sanding and very little in the guns more the tips you use while shooting it... you need to make sure that you have a good moisture catch as well, (on sale for 20 bucks at harbor freight right now)
you will be fine... i used this site when i first started to shoot paint i think in 05'
http://stovebolt.com/techtips/hvlp_paintgun_basics.htm

great help there... let me know if you have any ?s but there are some good painters on here man! for real! look to ventura chop and the fella that just shot the green flames he did some killer work!

if all else fails let me know an i will point you in the direction of some chopper painters that helped me get rolling a few years ago... like i said it is all prep and getting your temps right for cure time... if it is still 10 degrees where you are at the paint will never work right! got to get it at least into the 60's in there... from my exp, i could be wrong... let me know if you need any help

also a great site when you first get rolling!

http://www.purplesagetradingpost.com...Pspraygun.html

 

Thanks for all the help. I will be hitting you up for help as I get things rolling. How about this for the gun set up? http://http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94572

I have some old parts laying around that are no good. I was planning using them for practice. One of the main things I want to do is blackout my headlight housing. A few of the parts I was planing on trying first are chrome as well. I was planing on just bead blasting them for prep. What do you think of this vs sanding?

 

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your reply. Even if I didn't post the question, I appreciate all the information.

 

nothing came up bud... you can get a great paint job using
Harbor Freight HVLP gun #43430 as listed in that link... works good just needs a new tip depending on what your shooting... they are like 20 bucks

 

This size gun is great fo painting smaller stuff. It requires less paint and has a bit smaller fan. Cleaning it is also a snap. ( pay no attention to the outside,all the guys in the shop use it , the inside is like new : ) ) CLEANING THE GUN AFTER USING USE IS EVERYTHING IN PAINTING !! and ALWAYS strain the paint when putting it into the gun.

this one is a cheaper model made by Sharpe.. it came in a set with a fullsize gun ...I think I got it on special from a local jobber for 149.00 for the kit. For me the big gun is used to spray primers, but frankly most of the budget spray guns I buy spray pretty well and could be used for Base or Clear just fine. That 3 gun budget Devilbiss kit on ebay is a good deal , if you are only buying one full size gun get a 1.2-1.3 tip

I think your compressor should be fine but it wouldn't be a bad Idea to mount a water separator on the wall and run an air line from the compressor to it then have a coupler on the output of the Gauge/separator and attach your hose to that .

 

Since I own a paint shop, I can shed a little light on this if you want something very good, but reasonably priced. An Iwata LVLP, will work best with a small compressor like you have, the size of the tank is less important than the CFM, I 'm guessing you have between 6 and 7 at 40psi. This will easily run an LVLP, very little overspray and good transfer efficiency. You'll want either gravity feed or pressure feed, for small jobs I'd by gravity feed, easier to clean too. Iwata is Japanese and very reasonably priced for the outstanding quality you get. LVLP will work much better than an HVLP with a compressor like you have.

 

You will also need a large hammer and red helmet to complete the job correctly.....

 

Madden, good call on the cfm. Most people don't understand that cfm is the most critical on spray guns. When I used to sell paint supplies I heard numerous times " my $80 spray gun does as good a job as the $400 Binks (or whatever brand) gun". No sh*t einstein, it's because you have a $200 Campbell Hausfeld compressor made for airing up bicycle tires that maybe puts out 7 cfm and that HVLP gun uses around 15 cfm.
I would look for a paint gun set with regulator, primer gun and base/clear gun. You can find them at paint supply stores for $100-$125 and they will do as a starter set. Get a centrifugal water separator and make sure you have 10' plus of hose between your compressor and the water trap. If the air coming out of your hose/paint gun is warmer than the ambient air you will get condensation. Physics is a bitch!
WEAR A CHARCOAL RESPIRATOR!! KEEP IT IN THE ZIPLOC BAG IT COMES IN WHEN NOT IN USE!! Good luck and feel free to PM me if you have any questions as I will be glad to help.