Help: need spray gun education and recommendations

[Gary B.]

Can someone recommend a manufacturer and a model number for an airbrush/spray gun for someone with access to compressed air who wants to spray chassis and engine parts? For the most part I buy paint in spray cans, but that's not always possible. I don't want to buy a high end spray gun and I'm not interested in spraying fiberglass or clear coat. I'll leave that stuff to the pros. Should I consider an HVLP gun or is a conventional gun better for the hobby person? What about nozzle sizes? Is there a optimal nozzle size for spraying, say an a-arm or trailing arm? Can one buy different size nozzles for a given gun to spray paint having different consistencies? Is a gravity feed gun better than a siphon feed unit?

Thanks,

Gary

[John M.]

Re: Help: need spray gun education and recommendat

Gary, Sounds to me like all you need is an inexpensive Cambell Hausfield gun from Home Depot. This gun will give acceptable quality at a price of less than $75. You will find a gun like this will be usable for primer and a number of other uses such as painting of frame and suspension components but will not give a level of finish that would be acceptable for a finish coat , for that you would probably be looking for something like a Binks #7 in a convetional or a Sata or a Sharpe in an HVLP. If you are an occasional painter I would stick with a conventional high pressure gun as most HVLP guns are a little touchy and harder to get a fine finish if you are not using the gun on a regular basis, also a top quality HVLP gun is more expensive than a top quality high pressure gun and can only be justified in the savings in material due to better material transfer.

[Jerry Clark]

Re: Help: need spray gun education and recommendat

Hi Gary:

I couldn't agree with John more. I spent some serious $$$ for a Binks HVLP and to say it is touchy is an understatement, stick with a simple gun for relatively simple job.

jerry

[George Daina]

Agree with John & Jerry...

I got used an el cheapo $29.95 gun to spray the frame, brackets, suspension components. Worked great. For the finish work, I was willed an old timer, Simco, made in the land of King Reiner and Princess Grace. A high volume, high pressure gun. Big bucks back when it was new, but does it ever lay a coat of paint, AND NO OVERSPRAY, even at 70 lbs of air. This gun lays an equivalent of two coats of paint in one pass.

[Ed Jennings]

Re: Help: need spray gun education and recommendat

Consider one of the small "touch up" guns available at Home Depot/Lowes in the C-H brand for about $25 or in better known brands such a Binks for less than $100. They can be adjusted down to a small pattern for painting small parts without a lot of overspray. I have used one of these a lot. They are also usefull for painting interior parts. You could paint a car with one of the better ones if you were careful and had a lot of patience. Wouldn't recommend it though.

[Gary Bosselman (2575)]

Thank you all for your advice

Gentlemen,

Thank you very much for your help and advice. I visited Home Depot this evening and saw the Cambell Hausfield detail gun for $33. I would have bought it on the spot, but I wanted to call C-H and ask about nozzle sizes first (the box didn't have much in the way of specs). I also saw a similar detail gun on the Harbor Freight web site for $18.99. Hard to believe you can get anything like this for under $20. I hate to think what they pay the people who actually make and assemble these things.

Gary

[George Daina]

Get the Harbor Freight gun........

I used that to spay the wheel well lips, all the edges, and some touch ups. Great little piece.