[dataway]

Using a FinishLine, gravity feed HVLP gun ... any pointers on tip size, pressure etc.?

I'm painting the shell of my five foot snow thrower unit for the tractor ... as practice for the GTO. Should I use a decent gun like FinishLine (decent to me) or will a cheaper primer quality gun do the job?

Thanks,

[Greg Reid]

This is one of the most helpful things I've found on painting with anything. The patterns shown near the bottom of the page will save you a lot of grief.
http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/set-up-hvlp.html
I have one of those $150 Starting Line sets with the touch up gun, full size gun, cleaning brushes and a couple of different tips, 1.3 and the 1.8.
The 1.3 has worked well for epoxy and the 1.8 has worked with the high build surfacing primer...Primer is not real demanding skillwise.
I like to practice the patterns on a piece of cardstock or whatever you have around. When you get it right, spray.

[irgoatmike]

The Finish line gun will do a good job if set properly and pattern is good. I'd say a 1.3 needle/nozzle combination will do the best job on most basecoat/clear coat packages,. Your paint supplier should have data sheets and recommendations for you to follow. Irgoatmike

[GOAT WHORE]

Use SPI epoxy primer. Cheaper then PPG DP epoxy and sprays better, sands better. Don't be afraid to put on wet coats, good wet coats and it flows out killer. No need to reduce like you have to with DP either flows out great without.

[dataway]

Thanks much for the information!

[Tempest]

Shooting primer for practice is great, as the primer gets sanded anyways.

You will learn to adjust the spray pattern and air pressure that you feel comfortable with,, how fast to move the gun, how far to hold the gun from the surface, how much overlap to get good coverage, and how much paint will make a run, and how little paint will cause poor coverage.

As a complete novice, I find shooting primer very forgiving, just get good coverage, as for painting color, again, get good coverage. When it is time to spray clear, that is when you really need to concentrate and watch your pattern..

Shooting primer can be done with any gun, but you may want to use your better gun before you spray any color, just to get the feel of it.

[First Bird]

Use the FL gun to spray primer. Doing this will give you practice setting, spraying and cleaning this gun. I sprayed PPG Epoxy Primer with a Finishline 3 gun and a 1.5 tip. Get an inlet pressure of 23 psi and this gets you 10 psi at the tip.
Then, to get the right settings on your gun, tape paper to a wall and spray some test patterns. There are some good examples online. This will help you get the right distance from surface and speed of each pass. Helps ensure you are putting down enough paint without running.

I primered my car with epoxy primer many months before spraying a color coat. This required me to scuff the entire body first. What a PITA! Epoxy primer gets hard if you wait too long. - something to consider in your planning.

[GOAT WHORE]

Originally Posted by First Bird

I primered my car with epoxy primer many months before spraying a color coat. This required me to scuff the entire body first. What a PITA! Epoxy primer gets hard if you wait too long. - something to consider in your planning.

This is one reason I recommend SPI epoxy it sands great. By the way, you want that epoxy to get hard so it doesn't clog your paper.

[6t7goat]

Make sure you get the gun cleaned good and don't let that epoxy dry in the gun it is a lot tougher to clean up than regular primer if it dries in the gun.

[dataway]

Thanks again for the information and advice. First step well be to get my guns in order, see what tips I have etc.

When I used to paint a few things, I preferred to keep a gun setup for each product (never shot epoxy). With the price of a decent gun seeming to run around $200 these days, it's affordable to have dedicate guns.

I'll shoot the epoxy primer and then top coat with some gloss enamel tractor paint ... the snow thrower has just about enough large flats and curves that I might get a feel for the gun works.

BTW ... my last full auto paint job was Imron ... back in like 1978 .... didn't turn out great ... but was incredibly durable

[GTOLiam]

I've had great luck using a cheap DeVilbiss FLG5 ($130 shipped) 1.4mm tip and SPI Epoxy Primer

[dataway]

Just checked my guns and nozzles. Besides some cheapo guns I have a Finish Line FLG 3 (the newer model with anodized blue body) with a 1.3 tip. And a starting line detail gun which appears to have a 1.0 tip and no other options available (wondered why it didn't spray unthinned Rustoleum very well ).

Just ordered a 1.8 tip for the Finish Line gun. Which should still work with the #3 HVLP air cap.

Anyone else use all the disposable cups, filters etc. ? Forgot what brand but I've got full sets of all that stuff with the adapters where the cups/bags/tops etc just snap on to the gun ... freakin great stuff. Makes clean up a breeze.

[Greg Reid]

Well, I definitely use the filters...nothing ruins your day like a stopped up nozzle right in the middle of a spraying job.

[dataway]

Now I remember ... 3M PPS system. Makes painting so much more pleasant. And you can get every last drop of paint out of a cup/liner. Every disposable cap has a fresh filter in it, no clogged or leaking vents because the liner contracts as you use the paint, just all kinds of advantages that make life easier for a novice like myself.

[nytrainer]

Johnny the Devilbiss cup liners are less than a buck a piece. https://www.zoro.com/devilbiss-dispo...mOwRoCGlHw_wcB
After purging the liner you can spray upside down with these too. Makes gun cleanup a snap. Those 3M cups are expensive and if you have different guns you need to buy adapters for each. No thanks.

[dataway]

Hehehe ... well, I've already got a couple hundred of the liners, caps etc. for the various guns I have, plus all the adapters installed. The cups themselves aren't cheap, but they are reusable many times, the liners/caps/filters are cheap though. Converted all my stuff over a few years ago. I use them for painting just about anything that needs to be sprayed around here.
I've come to like that fact that you can pop them off the gun, take them inside and refill the cup, and put them back on the gun with almost no spillage. I've only got like two cups for each size gun, but probably a hundred liners and caps that fit the cups. After painting I throw away everything except the cup.
I think I even threw out the cups that came with the guns.

Now they are making guns where the whole spray head is disposable. Just paint and chuck the whole fluid nozzle, air cap etc. 3M makes them I think for industrial painting.