Im seriously considering on painting the 89 iroc myself. I have a compressor, but will need to buy a paint gun.

I've seen the HVLP guns on e-bay for $20.00 which claim to be professional grade. The same thing at Home Depot.

I Know that you can spend several hundreds of $$$ for a high quality gun. I will probbably use the gun to paint the car once and that's it. I hate to make that investment but at the same time I dont want a shi**y paint job.

Can I get good results from an inexpensive gun??? Can anyone recommend an affordable gun that will give me great results!!

 

Anyone????

 

I've used a couple different guns. From binks, to sata, to the cheapy on the wall at the parts store. If the gun has the appropriate tip and cap size you need for what your doing i'd say a cheaper one will be okay (around 75ish). I know sharpe has a 'cheap' line that seems to do really good. Might want to check that out. Especially if your not going to use it again, or at least don't think you are. Hope this helped a little.

 

I have about 7 different guns, ranging in price from $70 up to $800, and you bet i can tell a difference between each gun. my Iwata is the best investment i have ever made, it lays the material on flat, and its efficency is amazing, as well as the size of its spray patern.

 

Well, I too have been eye-ballin those HVLP guns on EBay. Half tempted to get one to tell you the truth. I'm not looking for show quality, just something that looks better than the flaking. (I've seen some half-way decent garage jobs, but the key was the final wet sand and buff.) I like the top feed functionality as well. I've played around with your standard Craftsman guns and you kinda have to watch them for drips etc.

On a side note, how are you prepping your car? Lets say any and all body work is complete, what will your steps be? Have you had a chance to price out paint and supplies?

 

devilbiss finishline3 isnt too bad. runs about $100

 

My neighbor works for a body shop and he's already painted a beretta gtz in my garage and it turned out super.

The 89 iroc has little rust, she had some front end damage that requires a red iroc front nose, a black fender, yellow iroc hood. The car is stock "bright blue" and will require my neighbor's help once again. my problem is he's working on another project and has little time to help..

I'm pondering single stage for the front clip and do the two stage this winter. I hate like hell to do this because of all the time that is going into the prep. So probbably a sanding, primer, sealer, base, clearcoat..

Get this he does not wet or color sand.. After he puts three coats of clear, he lets it cure for a few days and then he da sands the whole car with ??? grit paper, polishes and buff, looks like glass. He claimes wet sanding is old school. My paintjob looks awesome. Saves a lotof time..

 

Sata Digital RP is what I like!

 

assuming all body work is straight and you have your final coat of primer unsaded, here is what should be done:

DEGREASE ENTIRE CAR.
next step is to either use a Dual Action sander with atleast 320 grit or wet sand by hand with atleast 500 grit(any thing less and you WILL see sand scratches in the final color) Keep your sanding tool FLAT, or you will get ripples or waves.
Guess what? DEGREASE IT AGAIN.
mask off all area's you don't want paint on,
shoot your sealer, let it flash dry and dry to the touch
take a tack rag and wipe the entire car off
spray first coat of color
tack car off after first coat dry's(usually about 10-20 minutes)
spray second coat of color
tack car off after dry
if needed spray third coat of color
tack again.
Spray first coat of clear,(this is where a GREAT gun is key) the goal here is to spray it as wet as possible without runs. but if it does run, do not worry, a run is better than dry spray.
let it dry until it gets to the point where if you touch it it leaves an imprent(on your masking paper, not on teh car itself) but if you drag your finter across it it does not leavea mark.
Spray second coat of clear, same as first.
if you plan to sand and buff the clear to a show car smoothness, put a third coat of clear on. if all youhave to do is spot sand and buff(i.e. for runs or dirt) there is no need for the third coat. let it cure for a few days or if you have the luxury of a heated booth, bake it for 30 minutes at 140-160 degrees then let it set over night and do your sanding and buffing
if you are going to do any sanding and buffing, try to do it as soon as the clear is cured, the longe ryou wait the harder it will be and longer it will take to buff.

 

I am still yet to paint my car, so anything I say is secondhand knowledge, but I did a lot of reading and buying. People like Finishline IIII and it's a very good gun for the price, but especially when it comes to guns, you get what you pay for. More expensive guns can paint faster, they are easier to control, have more predictable spray and higher efficiency. Efficiency means few things: 1) you useless paint, save money. 2) less spraying means less chance at poisoning neighbors with fumes. 3) They use less air. At what my compressor is rated, it would have trouble keeping up with Finishline and it is a 7HP, oiled, 240V 60 Gal.

The gun I ended up buying was around $320. I figured I have to spend at least $100, but for $200 more I can get something that uses air that my compressor can continuouly provide and considering it would be my first time, a gun that is easier to use is always a plus. Plus when you consider the price of everything else you put into the car, spending this $200 to buy a great tool that will last a lifetime doesn't sound so bad.