calling all spray painting gurus!

[tickford2001]

i will be buying a spray gun this week and im just looking for some advice from anyone that is cluey with spray painting and the like

any tips and hints on what features to look out for and what to avoid would be much appreciated, also which sort of feed is the go?

it will be for spraying acrylic primarily

cheers,
dave

[Skooter]

not realy that sure with the gun but ask your local vehicle paint supplier they will know.not sure what you mean by feed, but if you mean air compressor a good number is about a 17cfm i just bought one getting it on staurday to respray my car and wil eventualy get a new gun so if the question isnt answered by then i will let you know.

[The Dok]

Originally Posted by tickford2001

i will be buying a spray gun this week and im just looking for some advice from anyone that is cluey with spray painting and the like

any tips and hints on what features to look out for and what to avoid would be much appreciated, also which sort of feed is the go?

it will be for spraying acrylic primarily

cheers,
dave

My preference is for suction feed, minimum 10 cfm compressor with a moisture trap/regulator & an excellent "budget priced" (under @$100) gun would be an IWATA (Star), I have 4 of these (7 guns all up) & have never had a problem with them. Beware though, spraypainting is NOT anywhere as easy as most people think, I've painted @200 cars over @25 years & each one presents different problems/solutions, so PREPERATION IS PARAMOUNT, you can save yourself a lot of unessesary work by having lots & lots of practice. Best of luck! :

[coyote]

Gravity feed is the most reliable, but the worst for picking up lumps in your paint (always strain)

I use the Iwata W400 for all my work, ideal for tricky bits as it can be turned down very easily (depending on the needle/cap size) i use a 1.3 for colour and 1.4 for clear.

Just as important as the gun is the filter and regulator setup, the easist way to stuff a good paint job is to entrap moisture i am in QLD humidity is not a friend.
www.onspotpaint.com Chris

[ronwest]

...one of the easiest and most cost efficient ways for the home spray painter to minimise moisture is to run a 25m length of airline (coiled) in a 60L drum of water.

Cooler air = less moisture.

[chief]

Had a look at the link you posted coyote. Looks informative but one question who would do this in their right mind?

[apolloxbgt]

Originally Posted by ronwest

...one of the easiest and most cost efficient ways for the home spray painter to minimise moisture is to run a 25m length of airline (coiled) in a 60L drum of water.

Cooler air = less moisture.

Is that for real or what?I've never heard that before,sounds plausable though.

[ronwest]

Originally Posted by apolloxbgt

Is that for real or what?I've never heard that before,sounds plausable though.

yep, it's real alright.

Been using it for years and the bloke who told me had been using it for years as well. If you research how refrigerated driers work, it's the same principle.

I'm not a prof painter by any stretch but my setup at home is 15cfm comp -> 350L tank -> coil in water -> filter/reg - > spraygun.

The first cooling is the hot air from the compressor to the big tank (auto water trap), the second cooling is from the water cooled coil.

Had a few problems because I'm impatient and the prep work was sloppy but never had a problem with moisture

[tickford2001]

thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated

i wasnt going to get the water trap, didnt think it would be too bad down here in melb, but from what youre all saying it sounds like something i should be looking into - although i like the hose in the bucket idea!

any more input on the needle size? i had read somewhere on the net that 2mm was recommended, seemed a bit big to me (maybe ok for some industrial paint or something thick like that i thought) and coyote recommended 1.3-1.4, anyone else got any feedback on that?

at the end of the day its going to be a learning experience, and it doesnt have to be a mint job, its just for respraying repaired raceday damage to my racecar, so anything i do will most likely be damaged again next raceday anyway!

thanks once again for the help

dave

[Dave_b]

I have been looking for a 10+ cfm compressor, around the $500 mark in Melbourne, anyone got any good spots?

[tickford2001]

you should be able to get a 10cfm for around that sort of money

try total tools, i noticed in their catalogue they have a special at the moment for 599 (maybe 699 cant remember) that included the belt drive compressor, hoses, regulators, spray gun, rattle gun, air chisel and some other bits. Seemed like a reasonable sort of package albeit a little more than you wanted to spend

[Dave_b]

Thanks

[coyote]

Originally Posted by chief

Had a look at the link you posted coyote. Looks informative but one question who would do this in their right mind?

First of all nobody who knows me has ever accused me of being in a right mind. Sanity is over rated.

Secondly the reason for the pink grill is two fold
1 to get as much attention as possible (it worked)
2 Because with the signwriting on the side any other colour would have taken away from the concept.

I have tamed down a little if you look in the Show us your utes or do a search for my posts you will find my current work ute a BA with even more graphics than the AU (hopefully not as offensive LOL)

[coyote]

Originally Posted by ronwest

...one of the easiest and most cost efficient ways for the home spray painter to minimise moisture is to run a 25m length of airline (coiled) in a 60L drum of water.

Cooler air = less moisture.

Whilst you ar correct with the process this only works if the hose after run through the cool water is connected to a filter/Trap, the lower temperature changes the dew point (not the actual amount of water) - lower temp less water that can be held in solution (moisture in air) therefore the water should condence and form droplets that can be removed far easier than at higher temps. but without a trap the droplets will just come out with the paint.