I know, I know....you get what you pay for. But what's the difference? I've done the search and found some say it's the painter not the gun and some say a $300 gun is the only way to go....and then there's the roll on/wagner paint sprayer method but that's another story. What gives? Can I expect good results from the Harbor Freight guns I purchased if I use them correctly? Amazon has a few Devillbis guns for about $100 but I'm gonna practice with the HF gun I purchased on the hood I just removed. Any thoughts/comments? Thanks!

 

I agree, a good painter can work miracles with peanuts. However, if you are not expirienced or do not have access to someone with expirience I would not expect pro quality results the first time. If you are going to do it I recommend using PPG or Dupont paints and materials.

I buy a lot of HB tools, But I find the more complicated the tool the worse the quality. So stick with a decent paint gun. Go check out a local paint shop and do some more research and you will be rewarded with a wealth of knowledge.

 

I work for kelly moore paints and we sell high end hvlp's, if u want to do it cheap get the devilbiss gun, but don't get the harbor freight crap, ive diverted customers who didn't want to spend $350+ on a gun for one job to harbor freight, some worked out but most ruined the job, pay the extra money unless you wanna risk doing all that prep work again.

 

Nothing wrong withthe H/F gun. Alot of guys like em, they are great for a home painter.
http://www.purplesagetradingpost.com...Pspraygun.html

 

Depends how long you want to keep it around.. I've got a cheap gun I bought at Canadian tire for less than $50, and I have a Anest Iwata gun I paid over $500 for.. The Iwata is surgical stainless, and cleans up like a dream, the cheap one hardly even works anymore..
Now, for a cheap primer gun, the H/F one is alright... I wouldn't use it if you wanted to do a decent 10 foot paint job.

 

They are fine for home paint jobs, 90% of a paint job is preping the body , the rest is spray techniqe, if you don't understand how to properly spray with a paint gun, even the best gun will do you no good.

 

you cant diss the harbor freight gun. ya its not top notch but it works. the only difference ive found is that some of the more high end guns have an internal part that mixes the paint as it goes through. on matalic paints it makes a difference. the matalic flakes from a harbor freight gun look uneven unless u use a high end paint that has the flakes premixed. on some of the more expensive guns i added flakes to a cheep paint and the internal mixer kept it even.

but the HF gun works fine on paints with out flakes

i dont know the brand of the $400 gun i used but next time i go to my uncles shop ill check.

 

I have nothing against Harbor Freight and have not used their spraygun. I do buy a lot of HF stuff for things that I need but will not use often. As far as sprayguns go often times the higher quality guns will last longer and also atomize the paint better making it easier to get a good finish. I would recommend looking at the Sharpe Finex FX3000. I have the older FX300 and it is a very good quality gun for the money. It can usually be had for a little over $100. It may be a good idea to get the HF gun setup with a coarse tip for spraying primer and a Sharpe with a finer tip setup for your finish paints.

 

Are you going to paint one car and put it on the shelf, or continue to do paint work until you get good at it???? As others have said, your first paint job is not going to be perfect no matter what gun you use. Just the body mechanics of how to paint a car is something that takes years to perfect, definitely not a first time and perfect deal no matter how much advice and how many books you read!!! It takes practice, practice, practice to become an accomplished painter....

What gun you get depends on how much time you plan on putting in to the prep work on the car, how many "practice hoods" you want to paint, and how much money you want to invest..... Don't think you need to start with an Iwata, but I'd definitely go up a step or two in quality from what Harbor Freight sells under their own brand.... The middle-of-the-road DeVilbiss guns are decent, believe they are called "Finish Line"... If your'e going to keep at the painting thing decent quality guns are an investment, not an expense....just like any other tool...

 

If you take the air cap off the H/F gun and hold it up to light you can see if it has been machined all the way through, if not don't buy that one... My bodyshop teacher used the 9.99 coupon in one of the car magazines, bought 3 of the guns mix and matched until he got 1 good gun and brought the other 2 back. We've painted a few things with that gun and it's not too bad, I wouldn't spray Clear with it but it's ok for primer and base coats.

 

good thing I checked me threads cause I haven't received an email notification of these posts. Thanks for the replies though. I think I'll purchase the devilbiss or sharpe guns for paint/clear and use my HF guns for priming. Maybe a little practice on the hood I removed and my wife's minivan bumpers will do me some good.

 

Sounds like a good plan to me!!! Practice is still the only way to learn to be a painter.... Friend of mine has a 15 year old daughter who is both quite artistic and a gearhead.... We've hung an old hood and fender on a wall for her to shoot, she's actually getting quite good at it...and now has started playing with some thin line tape and laying out flame outlines with an airbrush.... Never know, maybe she's the next Chip Foose???? Sure is fun watching her learn, answering her questions, and sharing in the excitement!!!!

 

im glad i didn't go and get a HF gun to paint my camaro im 17 this will be my first time painting a car but ive painted many things with spray paint and have had good results lol now i know it wont be perfect but my plan is to do piece by piece and just focus on small panels first

 

i used two husky hvlp guns from home depot. They worked well for me. I used my brothers old one for primer and bought a new one for paint and clear.