Spray gun

[boatmoggie]

I'm going to spray my Traveller in a couple of months time(just finishing off the welding!) Can anyone recomend a spray gun which they have used a had good results with? Will one gun do both the primer coat and the top coat?

[bmcecosse]

I use an air tank and normal spray gun with cellulose paint -always outdoors. DO NOT attempt to home spray 2 pack paint - it WILL kill you..............

[boatmoggie]

Cheers, it's OK wasn't going to use 2K, I've read how bad it is. What make of spray gun do you have. I wuld like one that will do a decent job...........but don't want to spend too much!!

Steve

[chickenjohn]

Glad you're using Cellulose! The Minor looks much nicer in cellulose, 2K is fine for modern cars, but on the Minor it looks "plasticky", as well as the severe health/ death risk from 2k.

I've used a few spray guns. You can use a cheap £10 gun for primer, as primer will be flatted anyway. For thew top coat, the best gun I've used is a gravity fed Devillbiss JGA at college- lovely, possible to get a great gun finish with no flatting or polishing at all! However, you can use a cheaper (£40 or £50) Devilbiss JGA copy. I have one that I purchased from Shiremore compressors. It gives a reasonable finish (provided your skills are up to it! ) and with a wet flat and polish you can get a very nice finish.

Best to use 5 or 6 coats though to make sure you have plenty of film build to allow for wet sanding and polishing. It all depends how shiny a finish you want!

[chickenjohn]

Oh, some of the panels visible on my two signature cars were sprayed by both types of gun- the Devilbiss being used on the removable panels of the convertible at college. I also did a few panels from the Traveller at college and got a great finish.

[bmcecosse]

I have two guns - each was an ebay 'buy' - only £10/15 or so - and both do a great job IF the paint is thinned correctly. Only spray in dry/warm weather - so not for a month or two yet!

[boatmoggie]

Cheers, thats really helpful. Won't be doing for couple of month till the warmer weather come as I've got quite a bit of welding to do yet..............

Many Thanks,

Steve

[kennatt]

buy the best you can afford,it'l serve you well for years,Can always sell it on if you don't need it again,cheap guns can be ok but you don't see pro refinishers using them

[Matt]

I got mine from machine mart - If I remember correctly it was about £50 and I have had some very good finishes from it (even before flatting)

[ratrodmog]

I'm using a DeVilbiss Finishline FLG with a 1.4mm needle but I have the 2.0mm needle also. This gun is great for lamping on filler primer and applying the topcoat and clear. It is around £70 but will last forever with all the parts being replaceable. It's hooked up to an 3hp 100litre compressor which keeps the gun going really well and is pretty quiet as well.

[MarkyB]

How do you decide if the paint is thinned the right amount?
I seem to recall using a special funnel type thing but it was messy and another thing that needed cleaning at the end of the day.

[ratrodmog]

They way I do it (probably not that proffesional but it works) is to get the paint the consistance of milk. This is 'about 1 part paint to 2 parts thinners. It also depends on what type of paint you are using. If I'm using a high build primer them I put in on very thick (about 1:1 paint and thinners) or even thicker sometimes.

[pegasus]

How do you decide if the paint is thinned the right amount?
I seem to recall using a special funnel type thing but it was messy and another thing that needed cleaning at the end of the day.

When you get the paint ask them for some mixing cups. They arnt expensive just look like a mcDonalds drink cup, but they have the measurements on the side. This way every time you mix paint it will be exactly the same.
I use a binks bullows gravity feed gun but it is really old now and the parts arnt available anymore. When i finally get around to replacing it i am going for an hvlp gun.
Mark

[MarkyB]

Thanks for the tip, I tried some spraying a while ago and there seemed to be a lot of variables as I recall.
Knowing the paint is right means one less thing to worry about.