Dip my toe in the painting game

[dodj]

I've always thought about trying my hand at a bit of painting. Maybe with enough practice to eventually repaint the Challenger someday. Last year I picked up an old Jeep TJ for trekking through the bush etc. It needs a bit of rust repair and paint touch up. Figure this will be the vehicle I practice on for now. And now that I'm retired...maybe I'll find some time to do it.
Can any of you recommend a spray gun for a beginner like me? Would something in the $200-$400 price range get me good enough equipment to get started? 

[Rich G.]

I've painted my car with the Eastwood Concourse gun and was very happy with it.

[74-5.7]

I second the Eastwood concourse spray gun.

[chargerdon]

Oh my.   I look at it differently...  I assume you want to do your own painting to save money..   If that's the case starting off by spending $350 for a professional grade spray gun that you will use once or twice ...is a waste of money !!!

First thing you need is a DECENT air compressor, one that will provide a minimum of 5.1 CFM with 20 gal tank.   AND make sure it has a water trap/filter on it, and another right at the gun.   HVLP guns don't need a great air supply, but i f your compressor is running 75 of the time it will make condensation and one drop of water out of the gun will ruin a great paint job. . 

Next thing you need is patience...not even a great painter can obtain good results without NEAR perfect preparation...even the smallest defect in your sanding will create imperfections in the paint job.   

Next, watch several videos on the net for preparation, and painting techniques !!

Lastly,  buy yourself a couple of el cheapo HVLP paint guns like those sold at harbour freight...   NOTE:  These guns usually work very well the first couple of times and then wear out....thats ok...buy a couple and throw them away when done...even between the primer coats and the color...and the clearcoat coats.    HECK...   i always hated cleaning guns anyway and if your not going to be doing this regularly...then buy the cheapos and throw away instead of cleaning...cleaning fluid can be expensive.   

Oh...and one last suggestion...go to a salvage yard and pick up a used fender for $10 and practice on it...   

[Blowout]

With good enough practice you can make a harbor freight gun work pretty good in your shoes.  I nice gun does make a difference but maybe start with something cheap like that and see where it goes. 

[dodj]

Love your post Don.  . Main reason is actually interest in learning how to paint. Heck...I might just paint flames on garbage cans...lol. But if I get good enough I might try painting the Challenger.

I have a 5hp 60 gal air compressor so 15cfm @ 90psi so I'm good there...I think

[dodj]

I'll take a look at the Eastwood gun..Thanks guys.

[Rich G.]

I painted this in my garage with the Eastwood gun. I always wonder what the difference would be with a very expensive gun.

[Rdchallenger]

I'll throw in my hat for the Harbor Freight Black Widow gun then add on the 3m PPS system for having mixed paint on hand during your spraying as well as easier mixing and clean up. I painted my Challenger and had never painted a vehicle before. A few spots I need to fix on my trunk lid which had nothing to do with spraying it was color sanding after that I messed up on and burnt through one of two places.

This is one thing Harbor Freight sells that they offer replacement parts to it as well such as different tip sizes, needles, rebuild kits etc.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-professional-hte-compliant-gravity-feed-air-spray-gun-56153.html

[Mr Lee]

I didnt paint a whole car with this but i was quite happy with this set from Husky / Home Depot for $100. Adjustable spray patterns and a nice case that holds everything.  I've used it a few times.








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[chargerdon]

Have fun...   I have done painting successfully and have also had failures.   Trouble is that the price of quality paint is too expensive to do much experimenting.    On my 74 Challenger i did ALL of the prep work myself and had the guy i chose to paint it for me look it over twice to insure the prep was ask close to perfect as i could get it.   

That included my doing the spraying of the PPG brand primer paint (two coats) and then doing the block sanding down with finish sanding using 500 grit sandpaper...   I spent many days doing the sanding.

My painter bought the FC7 Plum Crazy paint and clears from Sherwin Williams which was his preferred brand.   He then gave me some of it with the mixer and i painted the engine bay, the door jams, underside of hood and the underside of the trunk lid myself.   Then brought the car to him to put on the color and clear on the body of the car.   Car was completely ready to paint with everything removed...front windshield rear windshield out.   All chrome including bumpers off and interior of car completely out.    So all my professional painter had to do was the two coats of color and two coats of clear.    It came out beautiful, not necessarily Mecum Auctions perfect but certainly local car show great.     He charged me a total of $1500 including the paint.    This was a great deal...the guy had worked at a local classic car restoration shop that went out of business and he was just starting up his own shop so i got a great deal. 

PS...   ONE BIG DIFFERENCE in painting is that the professional has a air closed paint booth so that no dust floats onto it ...doing it at home in your garage or driveway has this problem.   

[tparker]

I painted my Challenger a few years ago. I bought a couple cheap Summit guns and wasn't happy with how they worked. I am NOT a painter so I wasn't sure what was wrong or that their was even a problem. I ended up getting a Devilbiss Finishline and it worked so much better. A professional might not like the gun but I thought it was great. I would stay away from the cheaper summit ones. The devilbiss finishline also included 3 nozzels.

The gun and air compressor and other supplies might cost a lot, but no where near $20k. Of course my paint doesn't look like a $20K paint job and I am OK with that. It is a 50 year old car and I am ok with those imperfections. My main tip is take your time. Prep work is the key. I painted outside and created a "paint booth" with a couple old pop up tents we had and then wrapped it with plastic painter drop cloths from Home Depo. I used a blower to try and provide positive ventialtion to push the dust out. Not sure that actually worked and if the booth was worth it. I also painted white primer which was a pain when sanding outside in the sun because I got "snow blindness". I ended up missing a spot where the paint ran a little bit. I was also in a hurry at that point. Again, take your time is the name of the game. It also took me a lot longer to do the painting than I thought. One silly part was painting the rocker panels. I attached a pressure gauge and an inline water filter, so the bottom of the gun was pretty long. I had a hard time getting the gun that low. I had to tilt it slightly and angle it slightly to get down low, which is where I got the paint runs.

[CudaA39]

Going down this path soon, no way I'm using HF junk and trusting they'll work.  Good guns are more user-friendly, are familiar to professional painters that you can research settings etc.  $400-500 on a good gun is a cheap investment, considering paint jobs are $20k+.  I've never bought a high dollar tool and regretted it.  I can't see the logic in buying throw away tools.

"A good painter can use any gun and make it work"..maybe but I need all the help I can get and if it's gonna turn out just "ok" I don't want it to be from the paint I bought or my equipment.

[RzeroB]

Probably not too much discernible difference between guns in the moderate price range. The quality of the paint that you are shooting will have a bigger impact on the outcome of the job. Even with that, the biggest difference maker by far is the technique of the person doing the shooting. Our founding father Cody posted some good "how to" videos on the site here:  https://www.e-bodies.org/videos/

[dodj]

I've painted my car with the Eastwood Concourse gun and was very happy with it.

Are replacement parts and tips easy to get? And a variety of tips?