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I have a 1952 truck which has a pretty nice fire department paint job which I intend to keep. I bought some Eastwood wheel spray paint for the rims before I considered a spray gun, but I need to paint some winch bumpers and the LU-4 I just bought a gloss black paint. Does anyone have recommendations for a paint/primer combination or a recommendation for a spray gun? I am not looking to put down a nice coat of paint on large body panels at this time, just to paint smaller parts.

No one has paint and sprayer recommendations? My painting experience is rolling interiors of houses and spray can painting small items. I am leaning towards epoxy based primers, but I don't know anything about them, or etching primers. As far as the sprayer goes, what is a good value, and is it worth spending any money as a hack painter?

Hi ZG,

Well........you're treading into dangerous waters, so to speak, when it comes to painting in general and equipment and brands specifically. Everyone has opinions on what's the best paints, spray guns, compressors, etc. Cutting thru all the carp I'd say most of the stuff you can buy thru Eastwood, Summit, Jegs, etc., will get the job done. If you understand the concept behind what you're doing (in this case spray painting) you can make almost any spray rig work. If you don't understand what causes orange peel, fisheyes, unintentional matt finishes, or how to prep the surfaces and apply the proper paint thickness per coat, and on and on you'll get a crappy paint job with the best equipment in the world. Although you've probably heard it and read it a million times...........the key is practice. Practice, practice, practice. There's a learning curve to everything......spray painting is no different. I can usually figure my way around different spray rigs, but I've got a friend who's a professional auto painter. He can get a spray can of Rustoleum to look like a professional paint job.......because he knows what he's doing. I could use his spray rig and most expensive spray gun and at best lay down only decent paint. 'Nuff said.........I'm sure you get my point.

Now on to specifics........first pic a paint system that you can afford and get readily. It's best to make friends with a local distributor of the paint products you want to use. Those guys are a wealth of knowledge and want you to get good results..........they can recommend the primer/reducer/hardener, etc for what you're trying to accomplish. As far as equipment goes you need to start with a good air source. For painting small things almost any compressor will work.........the key is getting the air dry. I've got both a 12hp gas engine two-stage compressor that I use for sandblasting primarily and a turbine HVLP machine for more serious painting. The gas engine compressor makes enough air to paint anything, but getting the air dry is very difficult. The turbine produces dry air so no issues there, but it will only work with a HVLP gun........it doesn't have pressure to power a normal spray gun. As for guns......the real difference between cheap and expensive guns is whether you can find replacement parts or not. Pretty much every paint gun is patterned after the Binks 7 gun. The difference is you can still buy rebuild kits for just about every Binks gun ever made. Not so for the Chinese copies of the Binks. If you're only painting a few parts or maybe one car and then you don't plan on ever painting again..........then a cheap gun is the way to go. Got a feeling you'll be painting more things in the future............then invest in a decent (not the most expensive) but a decent gun from a quality manufacturer.

I realize I didn't answer your question with specific recommendations for a gun and paint........sorry about that. I haven't bought a paint gun since I got my HLVP rig, which I got from TP Tools when they were partnered with Eastwood. They've since split off.............http://www.tptools.com/TP-Tools-HVLP-Tu ... stems.html
You might also be surprised at how good the finish can be with Rustoleum Gloss Black over their etching primer. I did a set of wheels a few years back......blasted them to bare metal, put on a coat of Black POR-15, then Gloss Gray Rustoleum from spray cans. They still look nice today.

I'm sure others will chime in now that I broke the ice.

regards,
bob

Thanks for the thoughtful answer Bob. I have a 120v Makita compressor. Not sure of the hp rating, but I could probably add on some air drying parts. I am looking to paint some wheels, bumpers, winch and other small parts. I am looking to get some spray painting equipment, since the durability of and thickness of spray can paints has been obvious after painting small parts such as shackles and my spare wheel three armed clamp. I mixed some Eastwood epoxy primer and rolled it on my gas tank after having it repaired, and was impressed by its toughness.

ZG. Which ever gun you buy make sure it matched the CFM of your compressor. The CFM rating should be on the data plate of the compressor and on the gun. To give you some idea my compressor is rated at 8.6 cfm @40 psi and 6.4 cfm @ 90 psi . The 2 guns I use are Harbor Freight and there rated at 6 cfm @ 40 psi and 3 cfm @50 psi. I know HF stuff is Cheesy but I found they work for me with Gellespie paints. I did my truck and a 101 with them and I'm doing a 416 trailer now with the same type of guns. I also use a disposable filter on the air line of the gun, that keeps out water and any oil that come from the compressor.


Sal

I bought a small touch up gun from Harbor Freight to use when I have a small job to do and don't want to use the big gun (expensive). It was around $15.00 and I was very impressed with it. When I do several large parts or a whole vehicle I use a high quality gun,paint is too expensive to have to redo a job.