Van's Air Force
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HVLP Guns
- Thread starter JimP
- Start date
In the automotive industry, the trend seems to be High Pressure guns. Ive sprayed with both and can say that a top quality HP gun gives little overspray and excellent finish.
Personally I bought/use a SATA Jet 3000 RP 1.3mm gun for everything.
I also have a imitation knock off and it doesnt come close.
Just my 2cents
Personally I bought/use a SATA Jet 3000 RP 1.3mm gun for everything.
I also have a imitation knock off and it doesnt come close.
Just my 2cents
Just finished painting the cockpit three days ago... with guess what.. el chepo Harbor Freight gun, not an HVLP, just a plain old gun. Result, one run, no drips, no problem. The run buffed out in about 20 minutes with 600, 1500 and then rubbing coumpound. We used PPG Omni paint (PPG's cheap line auto paint, exterior will be better stuff).
Used very low pressure for a standard gun, Omni is extremely thin stuff. Be prepared, when spraying in a box (cockpit) with this method the overspray is overwelming!
I'm sure there are better guns, but that's what we used.
Larry
Used very low pressure for a standard gun, Omni is extremely thin stuff. Be prepared, when spraying in a box (cockpit) with this method the overspray is overwelming!
I'm sure there are better guns, but that's what we used.
Larry
Last edited:
gmcjetpilot
Well Known Member
Brian Vickers
Well Known Member
Over the years I have aquired three different guns for priming my RV project, auto restoration and furniture finishing. For the last few years I have enjoyed my Anest Iwata, model IPH-400. It's a gravity feed gun with the hopper on top. It does a nice job. It still comes down to skill and adjustment.
I thin the DP50 primer I use down the max allowed in the spec sheet. It flows out much better and doesn't leave a slightly pebbled surface. For that I use an Accuspray. The paint hopper hangs down like a typical syphon gun but it's actually HVLP. For some reason I'm able to get a better dot pattern with this gun with the thinned primer. For a period of time I was using Sherwin Williams P60 G 2 with the Accusprapy and had good results. P60 is very thin and tends to run easily.
I can't get along without my Sata Minijet, HVLP /3. It's a very small HVLP touch up gun. I can adjust it to put down a 1 inch pattern. I use this gun for priming the small parts. It is very easy for us ametuer painters to adjust and get a nice flat result on the metal. It's almost like an air brush. The Sata Minijet is very small and enables you to get in to tight places like the cockpit. Again, it's very forgiving. I put an airline swivel on it and that further increases mobility. The gun cost about $250 several years ago. I loaned it to my brother and he became so attached that he finally purchased one.
Spray painting is mostly gun adjustment and skill. They say a good painter can make a less expensive gun do a good job. At my auto paint supply place they always have a table of bargin paint they are trying to sell for cheap. Probably paint that was mixed wrong or didn't match. They negociate on these orphans. When I'm getting ready to paint a large project I purchase a quart and use it to sharpen and hone my rusty ametuer skills. It really helps to build your confidence before the real project begins. Sort of like hitting a bucket of balls before you begin your round of golf. Don't practice on carboard. It soaks up the paint too quickly and makes you look good. Use a hard surface material. I was at the dump several weeks ago and a construction company was throwing away some plasitic laminate (like Formica). I took some of it home to use for paint practice before I paint my RV next year. Make sure you practice shooting on a vertical surface and also flat on a bench.
Finally, write down your gun adjustment preferences after your practice session.
I thin the DP50 primer I use down the max allowed in the spec sheet. It flows out much better and doesn't leave a slightly pebbled surface. For that I use an Accuspray. The paint hopper hangs down like a typical syphon gun but it's actually HVLP. For some reason I'm able to get a better dot pattern with this gun with the thinned primer. For a period of time I was using Sherwin Williams P60 G 2 with the Accusprapy and had good results. P60 is very thin and tends to run easily.
I can't get along without my Sata Minijet, HVLP /3. It's a very small HVLP touch up gun. I can adjust it to put down a 1 inch pattern. I use this gun for priming the small parts. It is very easy for us ametuer painters to adjust and get a nice flat result on the metal. It's almost like an air brush. The Sata Minijet is very small and enables you to get in to tight places like the cockpit. Again, it's very forgiving. I put an airline swivel on it and that further increases mobility. The gun cost about $250 several years ago. I loaned it to my brother and he became so attached that he finally purchased one.
Spray painting is mostly gun adjustment and skill. They say a good painter can make a less expensive gun do a good job. At my auto paint supply place they always have a table of bargin paint they are trying to sell for cheap. Probably paint that was mixed wrong or didn't match. They negociate on these orphans. When I'm getting ready to paint a large project I purchase a quart and use it to sharpen and hone my rusty ametuer skills. It really helps to build your confidence before the real project begins. Sort of like hitting a bucket of balls before you begin your round of golf. Don't practice on carboard. It soaks up the paint too quickly and makes you look good. Use a hard surface material. I was at the dump several weeks ago and a construction company was throwing away some plasitic laminate (like Formica). I took some of it home to use for paint practice before I paint my RV next year. Make sure you practice shooting on a vertical surface and also flat on a bench.
Finally, write down your gun adjustment preferences after your practice session.
RV7Factory
Chief Obfuscation Officer
At the recommendation of the local paint store (Finishmaster), I purchased a Sharpe Finex FX300 HVLP gun. They said it was a great gun for a great price (they wanted $125 on sale), however I was able to pick up a brand new one on eBay for about $70 delivered. I haven't used it yet, so I can't say anything about its spray qualities, but the construction quality of the gun is far superior to the HF gun I was using, and unlike the HF guns, replacement parts are available.
