Here's a quickie... Whats a good sprayer to use not too expensive. My air compressor is nothing spectacular either.... Getting geared up to prime and paint some panels soon.

I would get a pressure pot spray gun for priming. I use a HVLP gravity feed for painting. I'm not sure on what brand to tell you to get, but I would deffinitly get a water trap for your compressor if you don't already have one.

Sharpe has a good gun at autobodystore.com It doesn't use to much airand it isn't too expensive.

Your compressor will limit gun choices. Any idea what the CFM specs is rated @ 90psi with your compressor?

Sharpe makes the Platinum LV 3013 and 2015 models for CFM Challenged air compressors with a listed 7.5cfm @ 50psi requirement. These Platinum guns are around $220 brand new with several included accessories at Spray Gun World. This is the cheapest price that I've found:
http://www.spraygunworld.com/products/Sharpe/index.htm

You can get specific help about using this Platinum LV gun from several hobbyist and a professional or two at this Forum website:

http://pub26.ezboard.com/fpaintucationfrm1

Or you can go directly to Sharpe's Forum website:

http://www.sharpe1.com/cgi-bin/ubb/Ultimate.cgi?action=intro

Good Luck

Im not home right now, I know it goes up to 100 PSI, its pretty compact. I painted an old blazer a couple years ago I had a really nice compressor I rented and borrowed a good gun, I dont know much about these water traps. But when I painted before there was water coming out into my paint and left these little bubbles. I'll post more info on my little compressor. I know I want some kind of gravity feed gun, something under a $100 would be nice. :D

It's a Campbell Hausfeld 1/2 HP 8.5 amps 0-100 PSI. The "Power Pal" graemlins/thumbsup.gif This is what Im planning on using.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430

HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?

I bought a "Husky" brand HVLP gun at Home Depot last week for $79 and sprayed both primer and PPG basecoat/clearcoat in Cortez Silver. Turned out really nice. graemlins/thumbsup.gif They also had one that was basically the same design and brand for $59.

I may have a problem with the air regulator on my compressor though. I also bought a particle/water filter for the compressor at the same time and it took minutes to install. I believe it is a Campbell Hausfeld accessory. graemlins/waving.gif

Originally posted by pnutkemist:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430

HOW ABOUT THIS ONE? I am painting my car myself and will be racing it on weekends and cruisins. If you are restoring for show and going for a top quality professional paint job, then let the pros paint your car, otherwise I say spend the $39 bucks and put a nice base coat clear coat on the car yourself. :D

I paid $160 for my gun, I don't know the brand off hand, but it sprays AWESOME, I'm sure there are guns that spray better, but I like mine. I would deffinitly invest in a water trap, it keeps water from going through the gun (like you said above) and ruining your paint job.

Hello pnutkemist,

I think you will find that particular HF 43430 HVLP gun sprays rather nice for the money. I own one. The only problem is that gun is an air hog and requires a rather big compressor to keep from getting a pressure drop while using it. I have tried it with a 110 volt 33 gallon Craftsman compressor and it won't pass the muster test for supplying air. The same goes for the new Finishline 3 HVLP gun from DeVilbiss. The more your compressor runs trying to keep up then the more water it will produce.

As you run out of air will find that the guns will not atomize the paints correctly and you will probably have peel in places and runs in others. Water will also be more of a problem as the compressor heats up from running so much.

For the bad news don't think the Platinum LV even with its' low air requirements will work with your compressor. Depending on the tank volum you MIGHT be able to do panel painting. You can't stop in the middle of a panel to let the compressor catch up. :(

Drop by Home Depot or Lowes and take a look at their 220 volt 60-80 gallon compressors. The Husky brand is Made and Maintained by Campbell Hausfeld. As you mentioned at least one or more quality filters will be needed to get rid of water. The correct hard piping will help too.

There is a test that you can do to maybe establish what you compressor can or can not do after getting a paint gun:

Compressor Test Web Site Link (http://www.sharpe1.com/compress-test.htm)

Few more recommendations:

The Astro HVLP gun will work with a 33 gallon 110 volt compressor for no pressure drop and is priced $75 and can also order extra tips for doing the primer - ~$100 total. This Astro gun is of better quality then the HF 43430 gun.
http://www.spraygunworld.com/products/Astro/index.htm

The Nesco LVLP NP868 model is very air miserly for a primer gun - only recommended for polyester primers with the 1.8mm tip setup. Under $75 from a Platinum PPG Jobber. It'll work with a 110 volt 33 gallon Craftsman compressor supplying a listed 8.6 cfm @ 40 psi.

Can add a gun filter for the down and dirty on just panel painting.

I bit the bullet a few years ago and bought a big CH Quadzilla Compressor. It was the best money I've spent so far. In a lot of cases you'll find the cheaper air powered tools generally require a good deal of air in the form of CFM. With exception noted for the paint guns above being affordable and good with air.

You might consider renting a compressor again.

Yeah Im not going for some showroom immaculate paint job, who knows maybe it will come out that way you never know! I bought the one on my link it looks like a good buy, medium range gun, not a cheapie and not top of the line. I think I will be happy with it, when i painted my old blazer before I used a good compressor but the gun wasnt a gravity feed and it was kind of a cheapie now that I think about it. And it still didnt come out too bad. I also Bought a good respirator breather, a must have.

About the compressor I have, It is a rinky little thing. Has some power though. I am definately not painting the entire car in one sitting, Im going to do the front end and fenders first, then my doors, then the rest... roof, rear fenders, etc. so a 3 parter. So these water traps attach to the hose line I would guess?
Thanks for all the info so far you guys rock :D

If you bought the HF 43430 gun then you might want to look over this linked website for setting it up.
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/techinfo/HVLPspraygun.html

Found that 30-35 psi for base coat and 35-40 psi worked well for clear with the 43430 gun.

Good Luck

Hey! That site you made is great, Im feeling pretty motivated now smile.gif I still have so many questions about techniques and paint choice too, I still havent decided what color to go with. It's a midnight blue now, people say it's nice around town but it's a pretty crappy paint job It can be alot nicer. I dont want to take it down to bare metal, so I would just prime over my paint now right? And also what I never realized before was with different color primers can change the outcome of the paintjob ? Is 1 coat of base usually enough? From alot of posts Ive read it sounds like people use 1 base coat (if it comes out right) and 2-3 clear coat finish.

Now I remember. I am painting it panel by panel not all at once so it doesnt really matter, but im curious. Why with lower rating compressors can you only do minimal spraying? What will happen? Or what happens...

I don't think it would be a good idea to paint panel by panel, if you don't give each panel an even coat, the color may not match from panel to panel. It wouldn't be to drastic, but it may be there, I am not positive. If you use a compressor that is under rated for your gun, you may get a pressure drop in the line, causing the paint to atomize incorrectly, which may cause the paint to peel later on, or run while you are painting. That and the compressor will be running almost non-stop during the job. To answer another one of your questions, you can't prime directly over your paint... without sanding it at least. I would at least try and get most of the primer under the your last paint job to show before I applied new primer. I have no clue on how many different colors your car has been painted, but for the better results (and not taking it to bare metal) I would try to get down to the original primer. For example, the driver's side door of my 71 was replaced after an old lady sideswiped it back in 93... Well when I got around to doing body work on my car there was 11 DIFFERENT COLORS on my door. Some paints had no primer between others... I'm STILL sanding the paint off...

D71, I think you answered a question I had regarding my paint setup. I sprayed primer and PPG cortez silver base/clear last week on my firewall and the underside of my deck lid (3 coats each) and noticed that the underside of the deck lid appeared to have that orange peel look and the firewall was like glass. It still looks good but I know it should not differ like that. I have a 33 gal Craftsman compressor
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?vertical=TOOL&pid=00916556000&bidsite=&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes and a "Husky" gravity feed gun from Home Depot. I noticed that my air pressure at the compressor had dropped to 20 psi at one point. Could this gun/compressor combo be the cause of my orange peel problem and would buying a new gun for my compressor fix this situation ? Should I look at one of the guns mentioned above and if so, which would you suggest ? Thanks for the great info graemlins/waving.gif

Check into needle sizes as well. You are better off spraying primer with a different needle size than the actual basecoat/ clearcoat!
I have seen two gun kits at NAPA for $149 with stainless cups.. 1 primer gun and 1 paint gun. I would look into the in line filters at NAPA or any where else too. They are 2 for like $10 and are made by Sharpe. graemlins/beers.gif

Does PPG have a website? I have no idea what color im going with. And I guess the more I read the more I will probbaly taking it down to bare metal. I may have someone do that part for me and blast it all off. Whats the best way to go about this part of the project? The begining basically...