inexpensive paint guns

[jonathon]

Anyone have any suggestions? I just need something to do small parts and springs with.. I'm going to clean the sharp edges up and have them blasted.

I'm going to paint the springs, shackle flip, shackles, and a few other things.. not doing anything bigger than the springs though.

 

[cybrfire]

Recently got some small cheapy paint guns from harbor freight. Small 4 oz gravity feed cup. Works good for small stuff. Something like $10 each.

Check harbor freight!

 

[ktmoutfront]

I paint for a living. If a show car finish is not needed and you are only using them a couple of times a year, HF is the way to go.

 

[rob h]

i few years ago i bought a harbor freight gravity fed ,but the large one ..also and used it to paint alot of small parts..it worked good for 20 bucks...

 

[ryoken]

yup, alot of 'under $50 gravity's" around these days.. most do a job fine... but be careful, some of these $20, 30 guns have plasic parts that DO NOT like thinner, if ya know what I mean... I've seen pattern knobs, etc that would melt when ya clean up the gun...

you can also get beginner line, quality brand guns for $75 to 150 if ya wanna step it up a bit... sharpe, devilbiss, binks, etc....

 

[Big Blzn]

So, to stay somewhat on topic, what works better for parts painting? The gravity feed or the HPLV guns and what is the benefits or downfalls of either?

 

[ryoken]

any gun you buy now pretty much is HVLP, thats the air cap design required by law.... a hanging cup style gun is just a siphon feed (conventional) , as opposed to the gravity feed.

you can run lower pressures from a siphon-feed than a gravity, but a gravity atomizes better.. most people prefer a gravity, but you'll still see some guys using siphons for primer guns and such...

 

[toomany]

I've had good success with my Craftsman HVLP. Think I spent $99 on it. Came with 3 differnt tip sizes too. I've painted 3 cars, 2 trucks, 2 motorcycles and tons of small parts with it. I couldn't be happier with it.

While I'm not going to argue about cheap vs. expensive guns, I will say that you can get a good quallity paint job with a cheaper gun. It's all in the prep work and how you control the gun. And the finishing (wet sand/buff) afterwards. I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to have a new Devilbliss though.

 

[ryoken]

yup, paint once, twice a year, etc, a $50 gun'll get ya by no prob.. they just need to be THOROUGHLY cleaned...

paint everyday? never hold up, vilby, binks, sata, etc are needed for durability, extra good atomization, pattern etc..

 

[dhcomp]

For once or twice a year, and the small parts you are talking about, is it worth getting a gun? I've started painting smaller parts way more often than that, and still just use a can with a handle/trigger gismo. Works fine, paint quality depends on what you buy, and no cleanup.

Somethign like this :

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/store/accessories/aerosol_trigger.aspx

I've never used a real spray setup, but this seems to work fine for me.

 

[chevyridinhigh79]

For once or twice a year, and the small parts you are talking about, is it worth getting a gun? I've started painting smaller parts way more often than that, and still just use a can with a handle/trigger gismo. Works fine, paint quality depends on what you buy, and no cleanup.

Somethign like this :

http://www.automotivetouchup.com/store/accessories/aerosol_trigger.aspx

I've never used a real spray setup, but this seems to work fine for me.

i agree, for painting small parts a gun is not needed. its just added work with clean up of the gun and you have to watch what primers you use with what basecoats because if they are not compatible it may start to delaminate. as said before if your prep work is done good you will have a good quality paint job, you don't need an iwata or a sata jet gun to get a quality finish. personally if i was going to buy a gun i would look for a gun that has a screw on lid simply because the shop i worked at had bad luck with the lids popping off the gun and spilling paint. the gun was an iwata btw, which is a top quality gun. i also prefer gravity feed guns better than siphon feed guns because as mentions before the paint atomizes better

 

[stoney126]

Hey guys, i just got my HF ad. There paint guns that are usually going for 24.99 are 10 bucks. I was going to get one but I was wondering about getting one for primer? Its a 20 oz gravity feed. any thoughts?

 

[chevyridinhigh79]

if you don't have a gun cleaner or you want the gun to last, get a primer gun, a basecoat gun, and a clearcoat gun and don't ever mix them. depends on how much your going to use it and what finish you want to achieve when your done. remember, the primer is your foundation, if its crap then everything on top of its going to be crap!