I am looking at purchasing an HVLP sprayer and have seen spray guns going for $29 to $290 or more. Has anyone used a Vaper or Titan brand of gun? They run about $80-90 for a two gun kit whereas an entry level Devilbliss runs about $99 for the same? I want a good quality gun but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars if I can get a reasonable gun for priming, suspension and part painting. I'm going to leave the final body painting to a pro.

Thanks for any feedback or recommendations.

Autobody101

Sharpe platinum is a discontinued gun, not an air hog... but still available.


or Finex 300

or there are some new guns out LVLP if you are compressor challenged

Sata. They are THE standard in HVLP.

Small: $270
Large: $470

If you're going to do it, do it right.

I have a Astro gun ($60 or so) for primer and a high dollar Devilbiss one for base/clear. But I plan on painting the whole car.

Well for that type of painting id use a cheep gun. Goto harbor freight, I got a good hvlp gun for around 40. Somtimes its on sale cheeper.

Never shoot primer with a good gun.

Don't bother with HVLP. Not worth the grief. Doesn't lay down worth a crap. Poor atomization, etc. For primer only buy a primer gun, it will have a larger air cap and needle. You really can't do top coat and primer well with one gun. You also can't really do a good job without a small detail gun, but I digress.

Sata is the best, period.
For the weekend warrior/ onetimer, I would go with DeVillbiss. They have one of the better products out there.

QUOTE (Brett W @ Nov 29 2005, 08:18 PM)

You also can't really do a good job without a small detail gun, but I digress.

What do you mean? For door jambs, or what?

I use a Sata NR2000 and I like it alot. You can spend less, and get a good gun for doing parts. I would buy the best I could afford.

Yes a detail gun, (jamb gun, etc) is very useful for:
A: small parts and small part runs, no need to mix up a bunch of clear or basecoat.
B: Getting into tight areas, where a bigger gun would be unmanagable
C: more precision work on small areas or even custom work on bigger areas
D: Not as clumsy as a bigger gun with a full cup (at least on gravity feeds.)

I have not used the Vaper or Titan, but I'd expect them to be similar to the Chinese-made guns you'd find at Harbor Freight. Probably OK for shooting primer, but if I were you I'd at least go with the low-end Finishline guns. That way you know you can get replacement parts if necessary. I use a Finishline for primer/surfacers and it works fine. It has a 1.8mm tip which is a little larger than the Vaper or Titan's 1.7mm for primers. Also I recommend upgrading to a 32oz cup because the 20oz is too small and requires filling it too often.

QUOTE (Brett W @ Nov 29 2005, 09:18 PM)

Don't bother with HVLP. Not worth the grief. Doesn't lay down worth a crap. Poor atomization, etc.

Am I missing something? Show me any real pro in the last ten years who doesn't use HVLP daily.

Huh?

I agree with Joe...

HVLP guns use specially designed nozzles to reduce turbulence as it sprays. Reduced turbulence results in much less swirling of the air and paint droplets and reduces dreaded overspray (partially dried paint droplets)

A coupla old hot rodders taught me about HVLP. They showed me what it did and how hard it was to get a run. They hadda work at it to get one.

With mine, the best way to describe the spray is like breathing on a mirror... it just fogs up the surface...

Ken

I have a $99 Devilbiss from Eastwood(I think) It works just fine for the blind squirel who occasionally finds a nut!

I got a Devilbiss Finishline 3. from here:

http://www.spraygundepot.com/scripts/depot...nsdepotgate.bbx


Its good enough for me. Not sure what that says about me....

You could spend hundreds more, but what good is a Steinway if all you can play is Chopsticks?

I just got done reworking the deer mark on my MV...used a cheap HVLP gun on the primer...used the Devillbiss on the color and clear...

I will be clear...the better the gun, the easier to paint. I can't swing a $400 gun now..did just fine with the 99 special..

Another tip, crank up the air pressure... the more the better....later

HVLP was mandated by the EPA for the industry to lower harmful emmissions. As were water based paints. I am sure modern HVLP guns are much better than the early ones, but I still don't feel they atomize the paint as well. I have a hard enough time trying to get rid of mottling as is. From what I have seen unless they are controlled by law the guys I know will shoot standard High pressure guns. Gravity feed is the way to go though, whether it be HVLP or standard guns.

Ive always liked the Graco guns

QUOTE (Diesel_mp5 @ Nov 29 2005, 09:13 PM)

Never shoot primer with a good gun.

Can you elaborate ? Is it just a waste of money to use a nice tool on a less demanding job ? Does the primer mess up the gun ?

On a related note, are used guns a viable option ? Or do they get trashed ?

I'm in the same boat as the original poster : think I'll (maybe) do primer myself, then hand it off to the pros.

QUOTE (jsteele22 @ Nov 30 2005, 03:59 PM)

QUOTE (Diesel_mp5 @ Nov 29 2005, 09:13 PM) Never shoot primer with a good gun. Can you elaborate ? Is it just a waste of money to use a nice tool on a less demanding job ? Does the primer mess up the gun ? On a related note, are used guns a viable option ? Or do they get trashed ? I'm in the same boat as the original poster : think I'll (maybe) do primer myself, then hand it off to the pros.

If I may....

You don't "need" to use a good gun for primer.

You "can" ruin your tip if you don't clean it well. But that goes for paint too.

If you do shoot primer and paint with the same gun, get different tips. The primer tip will be bigger than the paint tip.

I wouldn't F with a used gun you didn't know the history of.

QUOTE (914RS @ Nov 29 2005, 09:02 PM)

QUOTE (Brett W @ Nov 29 2005, 09:18 PM) Don't bother with HVLP.  Not worth the grief.  Doesn't lay down worth a crap.  Poor atomization, etc. Am I missing something? Show me any real pro in the last ten years who doesn't use HVLP daily.

I agree; that is one of the most assinine statements yet. I paint damn near every day, either primer, or spray poly and use nothing but HVLP. Even my spray poly gun is a HVLP. Is a Sata wereth the money? Yes if you plan to do more than 2 cars. No for just one car. In my opinion. I use Sata for everything but my clear coat. For that I use an Iwata. If there is ANYTHING that atomizes better then the Sata, it is that. I also have a Devilbiss OMX which I use alot for any quick werk. Really good gun but you can't buy it anymore Basically get a 1.7 tip for surfacer sealer, and a 1.3-1.4 for base clear and if you want to cheap out use it for your etch prime too. I have a rack of 8 guns at werk. A little overkill, specially since 3 of them never get used, oh yeah they are Titans. Bought out of curiosity, cat died.

HVLP all the way. Actually, mine is not technically HVLP, it is kinda a hybrid, nut if you want superior finishes, folks swear by it...

The Paint Gun I Use

Hey, why no "paint spraying smilies"?

Hey thomasrotten,

Thanks for that link. Seeing the kind of results a noob can produce is extremely helpful. Nice job, btw. Starting out w/ metallic is pretty gutsy.