Sprayer Recommendation

David A. Smith · Aug 3, 2010

I'm working on my FIRST restoration (have posted quite a few questions in the last little while - thanks guys for all the good words). My wife gave me a Black & Decker power sprayer for Christmas a couple of years ago and I used it the other day to prime the rear rims on the H I'm working on. No matter how I adjusted the thing I got a number of very large droplets ... it didn't consistently give a nice even spray. I need a recommendation for an HVLP spray gun. I'm not a professional and am not looking to do museum quality work; just an easy-to-clean gun that gives satisfactory results. No plastic. Let me know. Thanks in advance.

mkirsch · Aug 3, 2010

The gun I used on my Super H was a $15 (on sale) Harbor Freight siphon cup type. Came out pretty good if I do say so myself. Only one run on the rear of the tank where nobody can see it.

My gun doesn't move a lot of paint volume but that helps when you're a beginner. You can work on your technique without a lot of risk of causing runs.

Anonymous-0 · Aug 3, 2010

Sounds like you may have been using an airless sprayer. I have painted off and on for about 30 years and have never paid more than $40 for an air type spray gun. Just could not justify it. I painted 3 vehicles with $40 Craftsman guns including two which had 10 coat lacquer paint jobs. Last tractor I painted I brushed the cast, and used rattle cans on the sheet metal and looked as good as most seen in shows. If I were going to paint for a living it would be different and I would spend the money on a good quality paint gun, but hard to justify to use once every year or less and sit on the shelf the rest of the time. Each to his own, but you can get a good quality paint job using inexpensive gun, and most of the quality is in the prep work anyhow.

Dave_Id · Aug 3, 2010

Do you have an air gauge and adjustment on your gun? Depending on what your are shooting, primer, base coat or clear coat, or single stage, you need to have the pressure set accordingly. I used PPG Omni line (their modestly priced brand), and with each product they have a sheet with the specifications. Including the correct air pressure to use for each product. I paid close to $100 for mine. I wouldn't waste my money on junk. I've been stung too many times buying inferior products.

rustyfarmall · Aug 3, 2010

(quoted from post at 05:12:15 08/03/10) I'm working on my FIRST restoration (have posted quite a few questions in the last little while - thanks guys for all the good words). My wife gave me a Black & Decker power sprayer for Christmas a couple of years ago and I used it the other day to prime the rear rims on the H I'm working on. No matter how I adjusted the thing I got a number of very large droplets ... it didn't consistently give a nice even spray. I need a recommendation for an HVLP spray gun. I'm not a professional and am not looking to do museum quality work; just an easy-to-clean gun that gives satisfactory results. No plastic. Let me know. Thanks in advance.

HVLP is only needed if you want to be environmentally friendly. They do not lay down a coat of paint any better than the old suction cup style of gun. I've got a Campbell-Hausfeld from Menards. Probably paid somewhere around $30 for it 20 years ago and after a bit of practice with some runs, drips, and errors, it layed down a very nice, even, and smooth coat of paint. I've even sprayed implement enamel with NO reducer and it did a very fine job. Just cranked up the air pressure.

MN Scott · Aug 3, 2010

I have a Campbell-Hausfeld siphon like Rusty has. I also bought a HVLP gun at an auction. With the HVLP you waste less paint but it is VERY easy to get runs. I rarely use the HVLP, just to hard to get a feel for it. What ever type you use make sure you have a water/oil filter in your air line. I run two in a series just to be safe.

glennster · Aug 3, 2010

for under a hundred, you can get some pretty decent spray guns from napa. they have some hvlp, and also some siphon guns in the 60-80 dollars range. the up side is if you need rebuild kits or different tips, napa can get them for you. inexpensive guns from home depot, and harbor freight are tough to get parts for, but, for the cost, its cheaper to replace the gun. the upside to the hvlp, is they use a lot less paint than the gravity guns, and there is far less over spray.

Haas · Aug 3, 2010

I got an Ingersol Rand HVLP gun at Lowes a few years back. It's worked well, and if you get the paint thinned right, not a problem with runs. A lot easier to get good coverage without runs than using aerosol cans. I think the gun cost around $80. Be aware that the HVLP guns take a fairly large air volume, so be sure you have enough compressor. You'll need a water trap in the air line and bleed the compressor tank frequently to let off the water. Especially in the summer when humidity is high, you will be surprised at the amount of water accumulation in the compressor.

Sprayer Recommendation

David A. Smith

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mkirsch

Well-known Member

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

Dave_Id

Well-known Member

rustyfarmall

Well-known Member

MN Scott

Well-known Member

glennster

Well-known Member

Haas

Well-known Member

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