It sounds like consensus is to prime. does anyone know of a thread that covers priming for newbies like myself. What kind of gun and set up do you need? I have a pretty good air compressor and have a reel in the garage. Dryers??? Lots of questions.
Thank you for your help
Jeff
Big thing is your air compressor. HVLP guns like to use a lot of air. A little "1 hp" job site compressor won't be up to the task. You can do most/all of the primer with something around 3hp with at least a 30 gal tank and something around 5+ CFM @ 90 psi. You'll have to wait at times for it to catch up but it'll do what you need.
The gun? $10 HF "purple" gun. Don't buy a nice gun. Buy a couple of the purple guns and throw them away if you get tired of cleaning. If you want to conserve a bit of primer for the smaller stuff, grab a touch up gun as well. They use a lot less air but are more like an oversized air brush than a spray gun.
You will need mixing cups and filters and stir sticks. And (real!) MEK for cleanup.
Drying the air? Really depends on your set up and your environment. I have an inline air trap that works well enough but we have relatively low humidity here.
PPE? Really depends on where you are spraying and what your comfort level is. A minimum for spraying outdoors is an organic-rated respirator, nitrile gloves, and goggles. Tyvek suits are cheap and are well worth it if you are going to be in an enclosed space or want to be extra cautious. The chemicals in epoxy coatings are pretty nasty.
You also need to decide on prep for the primer (assuming the Azko): scrub w/ bon ami, scrub w/ alumi prep, or alodine.
Optional but nice? Swap out the standard pot for the 3M PPS system (or do the whole PPS gun if you have the cash to spend) and get rid of the need for mixing pots and filters.
The azko is pretty forgiving to spray. Do a light coat at about 8" off the work to get a consistent opaque green and you will be to spec (2 mil dry film IIRC). It'll flow out as long as you aren't too far away. You want a slightly compressed fan so you don't get a ton of dry overspray and do about 1/4-1/3 overlap.