What paint guns are you using?

Cherokee Driver · Post by **Cherokee Driver** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:42 am

Greetings all,

I could not find a thread on this topic. I am thinking of picking up an HVLV spray system at OSH this year. I am wondering what the group is using and what successes you have had with different manufacturers. I am currentlying priming the few parts I have completed with rattle cans of Marhyde. I do not think I will be happy with that as time goes on and parts get bigger. Not that I want to throw money away, but I am a big believer in the "buy the best and cry once" philosophy so I am interested in quality tools that will work well over time.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

CD

Wicked Stick · Post by **Wicked Stick** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 9:42 am

I chose a HVLP Devilbuss gun for painting the big parts. It's a top can gravity feed unit, but it also came with a bag kit, so that I can spray at any angle with it when using them. That came in very handy when painting the inside of the fuselage interior.

I got it for a pretty decent price (New/never used) on E-bay and probably saved about a 100 bucks over the retail price.

Only thing to remember about HVLP is you want a large diameter hose, so you can get the volume intended for the gun, without having to crank up the pressure.

ptrotter · Post by **ptrotter** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:06 am

I've got an Apollo 800 HVLP system with a pressurized top feed gun. It works pretty good, however I wish I had a slightly higher capacity turbine. Some of the thicker primers take a bit of pressure to atomize properly. My only recommendation is don't undersize your system. Make sure you can shoot the heavier stuff we use on airplanes.

Post by **Spike** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:02 am

I picked up an el cheapo $20 HVLP gun at Harbor Freight. There is no way Id shoot a real paint job with this thing, but it is more than fine for shooting primer for the internals of the plane.

tmbg · Post by **tmbg** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:25 am

I second the cheap HVLP gravity feed gun from harbor freight for primer.

For real paint, I have a Finex HVLP gravity gun that I bought from a paint supply store for about $100 that works quite well.

Brantel · Post by **Brantel** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:33 am

I know a guy that shot a 3 time all show winner hot rod with a cheap HF HVLP gun.

98% prep work, environment, and paint mixing as well as skill in setting up the gun and shooting, 2% gun

RV7Factory · Post by **RV7Factory** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 12:30 pm

My big, and only complaint, about the HF guns is that replacement parts aren't available. The seals on the HF guns are fiber and they disintegrate if you try to remove them (to thoroughly clean the gun), and without replacement seals you are left to replace entire the gun.

I picked up a Sharpe Finex FX300 brand new on eBay for only a few bucks more than the HF gun I had been using... while I it hasn't made me any better at spraying, the fit, finish and instructions for the gun are far superior than that of the HF guns. Replacement parts are readily available as well.

Post by **bullojm1** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:18 pm

When it came to buying a spraygun, I didn't know diddly. I decided to burn $40 on a on-sale HVLP from harbor freight. The first attempt wasn't pretty (can you say too thick?), but since then I have used it about 10-15 times to prime through to center section fuselage and the thing keeps going strong. I have no doubt that it will make it through the interior paint.

So far, my only issue has been some clogging, but that turned out to be a a hair getting jammed into the nozzle. Other that that, it takes 60 seconds to clean up (run acetone through it) and it is ready for the next time.

Yes, it is cheaply made, but it works great for priming. If I had to, I wouldn't mind buying two of these for the entire length of the project. It has been the best thing I have bought from harbor freight. If I bought a pricier gun, I am sure I would expose myself longer to dangerous chemicals while cleaning it because I would care more about it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=43430

jim_geo · Post by **jim_geo** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:08 pm

It's not only the gun you use, it's the air system also. I found myself in the unfortunate position of having to spray a finish on with a too small air supply. Continuously having to wait for the pressure to recover was very frustrating and increased the time the job took from what would have been only a short half hour to well over four hours. This is of course an extreme example but still very worth thinking about. I use a variety of LVHP spray guns but am thinking of making the switch to a De Vilbiss HVLP.

Wicked Stick · Post by **Wicked Stick** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:40 pm

jim_geo wrote:It's not only the gun you use, it's the air system also. I found myself in the unfortunate position of having to spray a finish on with a too small air supply. Continuously having to wait for the pressure to recover was very frustrating and increased the time the job took from what would have been only a short half hour to well over four hours. This is of course an extreme example but still very worth thinking about. I use a variety of LVHP spray guns but am thinking of making the switch to a De Vilbiss HVLP.

I concur Jim, the air supply, volume of air, and SIZE of hose make a difference when it comes to HVLP guns. Primers are fairly easy to do right with just about any gun. But paint is another story...