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Whole vehicle, quarter panels, cages, fenders... whatever!
Let's share some knowledge for those interested (This includes ME, because I am certainly no pro!).
I have painted to date about 25 vehicles with a variety of paints (though I am really partial to single stage urethanes/ enamels for older restorations) and have learned quite a bit over the years, but always love to learn more.
So let's get into the tools!
Air compressors~
Air~ Air~ AIR! My compressor/s set up are pretty modest as painting goes... I have 2, 33 gallon compressors run in tandem. Both are off the shelf older Huskies that have managed to keep up with me for quite a while. For most painting applications that are sizable, like a whole vehicle you need VOLUME! The more the better. For most whole vehicle sprays you need 60 gallons of clean, dry air. And did I mention volume? Getting the most volume to the gun is more than important. I run only 3/8" or bigger hoses for paint. My hard lines are 1/2" black pipe, and each compressor piped in to a separate line that tee into a main one. WHY? It's best to run at most a 25' 3/8" air line with 3/8" fittings for paint... to much constriction = poor volume = poor atomization through your gun.
So some basics for air requirements... most guns are going to require 9cfm or so to atomize correctly. And, they require a significant volume of air to roll through a whole car in a pass. Obviously this isn't true for just a panel or a repair of smaller area, and sometimes it's best to do the vehicle in pieces (pending on some factors). It boils down to this: 60 gallons or so in a single tank or combination of tanks with a minimum cfm of around 8-12cfm. They do sell some guns that require lower cfm's I have tried and have done a pretty decent job ~
Eastwood comes to mind Eastwood Concours 2 - Single HVLP Paint Gun Kit in Aluminum Case
On that note...
Paint guns~
I have tried about 6 or 7 guns that have gotten the job done well, and a couple that just plain sucked. Ya don't have to spend huge money for a decent gun either. There's tons of opinions and a million reviews out there to sift through. My experience with higher dollar guns has been both good and meh. Believe it or not I really like the Spectrum HTE from harbor freight. I just shot some single stage through one on a friends ride and the results were as good as a devilbiss or sata. GREAT gun for the money! Basically a SATA knock off that's pretty well made. As a bonus some of the SATA internals will work with it.
www.harborfreight.com
Even the black widow is a pretty decent gun for the money...
www.harborfreight.com
For base coat clear coat you will be looking at a 1.3-1.4 tip (cap and needle). Primers are gonna get a 1.7 to a 2.0 tip (pending on type of primer, self etch, epoxy, poly surfacer, 2k surfacer. filler and etc.).
It isn't necessary to have a dedicated gun for primer and one for paint... provided you have a set up that will accept different tips. I do prefer a gun for both however just for ease of maintenance. My current set up for priming is an eastwood concours pro or sharpes fx3000 (the fx3000 is also a workhorse for single stage paints or base/ clear with the ability to accept different tips!).
www.eastwood.com
Larger tip for the finex3k
As for painting I use the Spectrum mentioned above or a couple of other guns I have... the fx3000 and an old sata that is getting close to retirement. Whatever gun you opt for just make sure it's A) in your budget, B) capable of laying a fairly decent finish. My experience is that high dollar doesn't always mean quality finish. Like mentioned I have a better run with the Spectrum thus far than many other higher dollar guns. Again though, I am no pro... but have definitely laid some paint and am always willing to learn more!
I did pick up a HF purple gun several years back just for kicks... at 15 bucks, why not? At least just to get some practice.
I gotta say... it isn't the worst gun I have tried. For quickie small jobs it works, but it makes you work sooooo much harder for decent results. To hard. For wheels, or some smaller pieces (bumpers, roll bars and whatnot), what the heck- why not?
Paint~
There are literally gobs of vendors to pick from. Single stage, two stage, three stage systems... there are a lot of opinions on the brands, types and etc. I have gone through 6-700 dollar set ups and down to 120 bucks for a gallon of stuff. Base / clears tend to cost more, especially once you get into the metallics, candies and custom mixes.... And vendors for these are EVERYWHERE. Some good, some ok and some harder to spray right than others. I tend to shoot a lot of older vehicles, so I typically find myself using single stages more often. House of Kolors, PPG, Dupont, Custom shops, Eastwood and even the TCP global brands. All have worked pretty decent to be honest. All paint systems come with a tech/ spec sheet with instructions and it's pretty hard to get mixing ratios screwed up if you are going by the tech sheet/ instructions. Most even give a gun guidance that explains cap pressures and tip sizes recommended. The important thing is to stay within your budget and recognize what needs to go where. For a restoration job that's a bit higher end I tend to stick with a known brand that works for me over the years. The lower end or budget beaters? Like that toy or old pickem up you are just gonna scrape on everything? Rattle can it and just send it. Or, get the lower cost brand like TCP or something- these types of mix can be had for 125-170 bucks for a gallon and some hardener. Not to shabby!
That's all I got for paint... Though I am sure we could kick this around a bunch more.
Lastly...
PPE~
Personal protection when painting is a must. Especially with the urethanes! Isocyanates will definitely ruin your day... and these are found in 2k primers, clears, and any urethane base product. At a minimum when I paint I have a tyvek suit and a full face respy with organic vapor cartridges. Like so:
Even when I spray acrylics/ enamels I still use the respirator and suit, it's just habit.
It isn't necessary to have a full face, but I wear glasses and it sucks having to clean paint off em after I shoot. A half mask is fine too, and somewhat cheaper. I use mine enough that I just invested in the full face.
Ventilation! I have three good size fans for my home brew garage paint booth set up. It's pretty much what I consider the bare minimum for painting inside. I have sprayed in a rented booth, my home shop and outdoors under the right circumstances (more bugs and dust nibs!)
At the very least, have good airflow AWAY from your project. I can't stress this enough, even though it's a pretty common sense thing. Nobody needs a build up of flammable vapor taking them out via kaboom or inhaling it.
Should we add body work to this train wreck?
Jump in and add some! Tips, tricks, lessons! Or whatever I missed.
Bring it~
Let's share some knowledge for those interested (This includes ME, because I am certainly no pro!).
I have painted to date about 25 vehicles with a variety of paints (though I am really partial to single stage urethanes/ enamels for older restorations) and have learned quite a bit over the years, but always love to learn more.
So let's get into the tools!
Air compressors~
Air~ Air~ AIR! My compressor/s set up are pretty modest as painting goes... I have 2, 33 gallon compressors run in tandem. Both are off the shelf older Huskies that have managed to keep up with me for quite a while. For most painting applications that are sizable, like a whole vehicle you need VOLUME! The more the better. For most whole vehicle sprays you need 60 gallons of clean, dry air. And did I mention volume? Getting the most volume to the gun is more than important. I run only 3/8" or bigger hoses for paint. My hard lines are 1/2" black pipe, and each compressor piped in to a separate line that tee into a main one. WHY? It's best to run at most a 25' 3/8" air line with 3/8" fittings for paint... to much constriction = poor volume = poor atomization through your gun.
So some basics for air requirements... most guns are going to require 9cfm or so to atomize correctly. And, they require a significant volume of air to roll through a whole car in a pass. Obviously this isn't true for just a panel or a repair of smaller area, and sometimes it's best to do the vehicle in pieces (pending on some factors). It boils down to this: 60 gallons or so in a single tank or combination of tanks with a minimum cfm of around 8-12cfm. They do sell some guns that require lower cfm's I have tried and have done a pretty decent job ~
Eastwood comes to mind Eastwood Concours 2 - Single HVLP Paint Gun Kit in Aluminum Case
On that note...
Paint guns~
I have tried about 6 or 7 guns that have gotten the job done well, and a couple that just plain sucked. Ya don't have to spend huge money for a decent gun either. There's tons of opinions and a million reviews out there to sift through. My experience with higher dollar guns has been both good and meh. Believe it or not I really like the Spectrum HTE from harbor freight. I just shot some single stage through one on a friends ride and the results were as good as a devilbiss or sata. GREAT gun for the money! Basically a SATA knock off that's pretty well made. As a bonus some of the SATA internals will work with it.
Premium HTE Gravity-Feed Air Spray Gun with Side Fan Control
Amazing deals on this Premium Hte Spray Gun, Fan Control at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
Even the black widow is a pretty decent gun for the money...
Professional HTE Gravity Feed Spray Gun with Side Fan Control
Amazing deals on this Professional Hte Air Spray Gun, Side Fan at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
For base coat clear coat you will be looking at a 1.3-1.4 tip (cap and needle). Primers are gonna get a 1.7 to a 2.0 tip (pending on type of primer, self etch, epoxy, poly surfacer, 2k surfacer. filler and etc.).
It isn't necessary to have a dedicated gun for primer and one for paint... provided you have a set up that will accept different tips. I do prefer a gun for both however just for ease of maintenance. My current set up for priming is an eastwood concours pro or sharpes fx3000 (the fx3000 is also a workhorse for single stage paints or base/ clear with the ability to accept different tips!).
Eastwood Concours PRO HVLP Spray Paint Gun 1.3mm
Professional quality full size HVLP paint gun, without the professional price
Amazon.com: Sharpe - Fx3000 1.8 Hvlp Noz Air Kt (289300) : Automotive
Buy Sharpe - Fx3000 1.8 Hvlp Noz Air Kt (289300): Spray Guns & Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
As for painting I use the Spectrum mentioned above or a couple of other guns I have... the fx3000 and an old sata that is getting close to retirement. Whatever gun you opt for just make sure it's A) in your budget, B) capable of laying a fairly decent finish. My experience is that high dollar doesn't always mean quality finish. Like mentioned I have a better run with the Spectrum thus far than many other higher dollar guns. Again though, I am no pro... but have definitely laid some paint and am always willing to learn more!
I did pick up a HF purple gun several years back just for kicks... at 15 bucks, why not? At least just to get some practice.
I gotta say... it isn't the worst gun I have tried. For quickie small jobs it works, but it makes you work sooooo much harder for decent results. To hard. For wheels, or some smaller pieces (bumpers, roll bars and whatnot), what the heck- why not?Paint~
There are literally gobs of vendors to pick from. Single stage, two stage, three stage systems... there are a lot of opinions on the brands, types and etc. I have gone through 6-700 dollar set ups and down to 120 bucks for a gallon of stuff. Base / clears tend to cost more, especially once you get into the metallics, candies and custom mixes.... And vendors for these are EVERYWHERE. Some good, some ok and some harder to spray right than others. I tend to shoot a lot of older vehicles, so I typically find myself using single stages more often. House of Kolors, PPG, Dupont, Custom shops, Eastwood and even the TCP global brands. All have worked pretty decent to be honest. All paint systems come with a tech/ spec sheet with instructions and it's pretty hard to get mixing ratios screwed up if you are going by the tech sheet/ instructions. Most even give a gun guidance that explains cap pressures and tip sizes recommended. The important thing is to stay within your budget and recognize what needs to go where. For a restoration job that's a bit higher end I tend to stick with a known brand that works for me over the years. The lower end or budget beaters? Like that toy or old pickem up you are just gonna scrape on everything? Rattle can it and just send it.
Or, get the lower cost brand like TCP or something- these types of mix can be had for 125-170 bucks for a gallon and some hardener. Not to shabby!That's all I got for paint... Though I am sure we could kick this around a bunch more.
Lastly...
PPE~
Personal protection when painting is a must. Especially with the urethanes! Isocyanates will definitely ruin your day... and these are found in 2k primers, clears, and any urethane base product. At a minimum when I paint I have a tyvek suit and a full face respy with organic vapor cartridges. Like so:
Even when I spray acrylics/ enamels I still use the respirator and suit, it's just habit.
It isn't necessary to have a full face, but I wear glasses and it sucks having to clean paint off em after I shoot. A half mask is fine too, and somewhat cheaper. I use mine enough that I just invested in the full face.
Ventilation! I have three good size fans for my home brew garage paint booth set up. It's pretty much what I consider the bare minimum for painting inside. I have sprayed in a rented booth, my home shop and outdoors under the right circumstances (more bugs and dust nibs!
)At the very least, have good airflow AWAY from your project. I can't stress this enough, even though it's a pretty common sense thing. Nobody needs a build up of flammable vapor taking them out via kaboom or inhaling it.
Should we add body work to this train wreck?
Jump in and add some! Tips, tricks, lessons! Or whatever I missed.
Bring it~
Last edited by a moderator:
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