TomP

Okay, so, this is the last day of eastwood company's 10% off sale, and I totally forgot about it- I want to get a Devilbiss Gravity-feed "Finishline" paint gun. The HVLP is twice the cost of the normal gun.... and here's my question.

I'm not going to be a "pro" painter; in the future, if I start mass-painting cars out of my garage, I'd think I'd buy a better gun. Would the conventional gun be okay for me? I mean, people used 'em years before HVLP came out, right? I'm planning on painting my car, and maybe my dad's car, and that'll probably be it for a couple years. Seems to make more sense to me to just get the regular gun for $95. Just want another opinion, that's all! I know the overspray is less, and the spraying is easier with the HVLP, but... it's twice as much! For a gun I'll use twice, and might not use again for years, I think the conventional gun is my ticket.

If you go to http://www.eastwoodcompany.com , you can see the guns. At the top for item search, put in 34124 for the HVLP, and 34122 for the conventional pressure gun. (Click on the picture of the gun to read about it.) And here's the specs off the Devilbiss website, remember I want the "gravity feed" gun: http://www.devilbiss.com/Finshline.html

Thanks!! Any/all opinons are welcome, I've gotta order this thing as soon as possible.

ATOMonkey

Gravity feeds are ok. They are good for tight spots where a big HVLP won't fit, like in the engine bay and underneath stuff. You'll end up using more paint with the grav gun because you'll have to sand a lot to get it flat. Paint is about $30-45 a quart for single stage too, so a better gun just might almost justify the cost.

TomP

Damn, that is expensive. Hm. Any idea of how many quarts it usually takes to paint a car? Oh and does that price include the reducers/hardeners/etc?

ATOMonkey

Well, it cost me $120 for two quarts of paint, reducer, hardener, primer. That was for 3 coats on the hood, fenders, and bumper cover. It came out a little thin in spots after I sanded and rubbed it. I should have done at least 5 coats. That's not even getting into the sand paper, buffer, buffing wheel covers, different polishing/rubbing compounds, waxes, etc. An extra $50 is a drop in the bucket for a whole car. A cheap at home job is going to run $500 more or less. I used my car for practice. I'm going to have to take the whole thing down to metal because I'm starting to see rust coming up on the quarters and decklid. Probably end up spending at least $500 on that one. $1000 is probably more realistic.

TomP

Ah, shoot... well said. Maybe I should go with the HVLP. Bit of a problem though, my compressor is a Campell Hausfeld, 5 HP, 20 Gallon, and is rated for 8.1 SCFM @ 40 PSI, 6.3 SCFM @ 90 PSI. The conventional gun asks for 9.9 CFM @ 40, I'll be cutting it a bit under, but I don't see a problem with it. But the HVLP asks for 11.4 CFM @ 23 PSI! I don't have any rating on my compressor for 23 PSI! Think I'll have that 11.4?

And one more thing- is there a website that sells paint online? I'm usually good with internet searches, and have been to dupont, 3m, and ppg- but can't find regular paint for sale! I find primer, sealer, pearls and candies, but not just regular paint. What am I missing??

Plus I don't know if I'll just go with lacquer (quick dry for paint mist) or enamel... I hear the enamel is very slow drying, and I could wind up covering the whole garage in wet paint mist instead of dry paint dust. Any recommendations on a paint? (And where I can find it online, just to get an idea of cost?)

ATOMonkey

That's the same compressor I used, and it worked just fine. As far as online paint. I dunno. I got mine at a local store. I don't know how hard candy colors are to paint, but I've heard that metallics are difficult. I bought plastic sheets from home depot $5 for 10' x 30' sheet. I covered my whole garage for $30. Then I got a $15 wal-mart window fan and taped it to the hole in the plastic and viola, instant paint booth. If you blow air in make sure you put a filter on the suction side so you don't get bugs and dust and such on it. AC filters work great. I don't know about enamel paint either. Laquer paint is real shiny, but it chips easy and doesn't flex at all. It can be prone to spider webs if you leave it in the sun. I used an acrylic uerathane base. Not super shiny, but it gets the job done. I kind of gave up buffing after a couple of days too.

Z28ricer

iTrader: (2)

Hey Tom I've got a HVLP gravity feed Sharpe Cobalt I just bought but im going to let my neighbors shop spray my car, i'll let it go for a LOT less than I paid for it if your interested.

deadbird

Having an underrated compressor keeps the paint from atomizing as well which just makes it a bit more 'orangepeely' and, makes it harder on the compressor to keep up with the air consumption then, starts making heat (in the tank) which makes condensation which makes water shoot out the gun with the paint (whew!). Invest in a descent-good water seperator. I cheat to compensate for lack of cfm (which I know I shouldn't really but.. ) by mixing the paint a amout thinner than recommended.

I have the Sharpe grav feed HVLP too, bought it new for $120, quite a nice little paint gun for the price. It's just cfm hungry and makes my buds craftsman compressor work it's **** off too.

TomP

Yeah, Z28, that's why I'll have to say no to your offer, but thanks anyway, I appreciate it! Originally, I was looking at the Sharpe Cobalt in the eastwood catalog; it was less money, but still a good name. Then I saw it wanted 13.9 CFM @ 50 PSI- and no way could my compressor stand it.

ATO, cool, that's what I was thinking of doing (with the plastic). Never thought of using a fan, though- good idea! What gun did you use? Is it the same one I'm talking about? Just curious to know what your gun's CFM/PSI requirement was. And yeah, I know that about the lacquers... don't really want to use them... did you like the acrylic urethane? Did it dry fast, did you need a special respirator? (Sorry for all the questions!) Final one; ever get the paint to shine up well?

Dead, thanks for the tip! And yeah, I have a $15 air filter, I suppose I'll have to buy a more expensive one. Funny though how the $30-up units are all 3/8" NPT inlet/outlet. I'm going to need to rig some adapters... oh well.

Anyone hear of toolparadise.com? They want $125 for the HVLP version of the Finishline gun! http://www.spraygunworld.com/ They want $90 for the regular version. Hm.... that HVLP version is looking more and more like the better deal!

[edit] Gee, seems like their return policy is pretty strict (bottom of the main page), 10% restocking fee? Well, I guess I won't be ordering the gun, deciding I don't like it, and sending it back. I think the only way I'd send the gun back is if it's defective. Hm. Decisions, decisions.

ATOMonkey

My gun is a syphone feed craftsman. It just said to regulate to about 30 psi. My compressor (5 horse) kept up just fine. I was doing a small amount of work, so It wasn't a big load. Doing the whole car might have been a different story. It would kick on after I got done spraying a fender and about half the hood. The tank press was around 80 psi and I regulted the line down to 30. The only time I've ever been limited by my compressor is when I do a lot of grinding. I got my respirator/filter from the depot, or Ace can't remember. It was about $30, but it's a pretty nice one without being a freshair. You don't need anything special for the acrylic, and it flahses within 30 mins, so pretty quick. When I was spraying around my scoop I got some really dusty spots on the underside, because is was drying about the same time it hit.

TomP

Cool, then my compressor should be happy. And haha, I know what you mean; I was doing some grinding on my exhaust manifolds (v6 = nobody makes headers), and the compressor kept kicking in every other minute. After a half hour, the breaker finally gave up. Funny how the compressor handles all my "early" air tools with ease, but it craps out on the specialty tools!

30 minutes, that's it? Damn, I think I will use that paint!! That would beat waiting a day or two for enamel to dry. Do you wait 30 mins between coats, or did you have to re-coat while the paint was still wet? I'd be hoping to spray half the car, let that side dry, and then move on to another half. I'd have to mask half the car each time, so it'd be a bit of a pain.

Thanks for the info on the respirator, I've seen one at Home Depot, probably the same one!

ATOMonkey

I sprayed every 30 mins. If I was going to do it right, I'd spray one coat, wait an hour, sand it, spray another coat etc. Drying time also depends alot on the amount of activator you use. Why are you only spraying half the car at a time? I don't recomend taping a fresh coat of paint. It a good way to ruin it. It takes a couple of days to fully cure. Single stage is hard to screw up. I think you can put it on however you feel. Just be dust free and moisture free and you'll be fine.

I see you have one of those great jobs where you don't have to do anything all day too.

TomP

Haha, LOL, actually, I do have a ton of sht to do, but it's too damn nice out, and my thoughts keep going back to "work on the car, work on the car." If it was raining, I'd be doing what I'm supposed to!

I figured 1/2 the car because I thought paint spray would settle on the other 1/2, and I'd have to tack rag it off. No? Oh well I guess if the other 1/2 of the car is still "wet", it wouldn't matter about the paint spray. Well hell if I could do the whole car at once then I will! Do you remember who made the paint you used? Maybe I'll make some phone calls and find out some prices.

ATOMonkey

I'd have to go home and look up who manufactured my paint. The air from my gun sprayed off all the dust so it wasn't a big deal. This was the first car I ever did. It came out OK, but I don't consider myself professional or expert by a looooong shot.

TomP

The way I see it, I can't make my car look worse by attempting a paint job. Even if my paint comes out like crap, it won't matter- not that I want it to come out crappy! The Maaco paint on the car now lasted a while, until I stopped washing/waxing it for a few years, now it's faded beyond repair. Wetsanding won't even do it. The sides of the car can still be polished, but the hood/roof/bumpers are gone. And I've still gotta weld that 1/4 panel on (I'll be buying an auto-dim helmet soon, http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldit/...-1/safety1.htm ), and replace the passenger door. Not only are the hinges shot to sht, but the bottom of the door, where the outer skin crimps to the inner skin, is rusted to hell. And then I can paint the car.

Hey did you paint your bumper? If you did, did you have to use a flex additive with the acrylic urethane? If you think of it, let me know about the paint maker. Thanks again, I appreciate it!

My paint book (yellow one from Summit) talked about pressure drop, and 1/4" vs 5/16" vs 3/8" hose. Bummer how my compressor's output fitting is 1/4". So I think I'll buy 3/8" PVC hose (never saw 5/16" for sale), maybe bright orange , and get a 1/4-to-3/8" adapter. Plus all the fancy water separators are 3/8" NPT, too.