R

resto_d1

Well-Known Member
Apologies as I know it’s done to death but I have searched, googled etc and just need a person in the know to be honest!!
I have just bought a 2.5hp 60 litre compressor. It’s marked up at circa 10cfm and max is 10 bar.
First thing I noticed is back of gauge is letting out a little air but I’m getting a new one tomorrow.
I wanted 100 litre but my workshop is my pickup right now - have one project at home and one elsewhere.
I don’t mind if panel by panel, but I’d like to spray my disco then the defender.
I’d like to do my disco in original colour really. I’m not new to prepping etc but never used a spray gun. From what I gather it would be best using cellulose?
I’m now after a gun. In the setup right now I have:
Tank pressure gauge to aux gauge and tap, then an inline water collector with another pressure controller on then to gun. I have to get couplers tomorrow at machine mart.

ive been looking at devilbiss guns on fitters recommendation but know my machine is a bit less than ideal for painting.
Could anyone advise on a gun or method that I’ll be able to pull off panel by panel please?

thank you
 
Just to add, I’ve checked air filters and they’re like brand new, oil level is decent on sight gauge and I’ll clean oil filter.
1972A72A-D9F6-4E27-900E-96CBED664255.jpeg
 
Disco1BFG said:
DeVilbiss are undoubtedly the King of sprayguns - but you'll get decent results with a machine mart gravity feed gun unless you need to spray metallics ( which I avoid like the flamin plague ) ....

I have this one:-

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/pgf14-gravity-fed-pro-spray-gun/

Panel by panel is a good call with a small tank....
Click to expand...
Thank you. I assumed I wouldn’t have enough oomph to fire up a gravity fed one? What spec do you run that with? I was going to go conventional as less cfm demand?
 
Successfully sprayed a 110 panel at a time with gravity fed gun and a 50 litre compressor. Used 2 pack
 
Stick with a gravity gun when using a small compressor, the vac guns need much more air to work properly - hence gravity cup guns can come in high volume low pressure (HVLP) configurations. You can get good results with even the nastiest chinesium gun, but from experience I'd spend a bit more and get one of the low end Anest-iwata guns, they can be had for 80-100 quid and you can easily get spares, different sized nozzles / air caps / cups / filters etc and the build quality is miles apart from the mystery china factory output, the cheap ones are made in Italy under license by air gunsa.

Also I'd avoid cellulose if you're going to put the effort in to repaint the whole thing, it's archaic rubbish and doesn't last. Spend the extra on a high PU (polyurethane) content 2 part PU paint and it'll stand the test of time.
 
^^^What Goc3k says.

Your compressor is capable of handling the demands of a full size spraygun.
I suggest you go for gravity fed HVLP guns as they use a lot less air than the old suction guns & at lower pressure. More paint goes on the panel & less overspray.
I use Iwata LPH80 guns for smart repair - £200+ each, but you do get what you pay for.
I have one of the cheapie miniguns (1.0 fluid tip) which I use for primer but it's capable of doing colour coats & clear, just need a bit more care & experience.
(This size of gun is not suitable for bonnets, roofs etc as the fan is too small.)

I would suggest a full size gun for you. Iwata, Devilbiss, Sata are all high quality & worth the money but you don't need to go mad. Be careful of used kit as it may be knackered.

Use a full bore airline - not the curly small bore type - and fit a gauge to the bottom of the gun as you need to be able to set the pressure at the gun, not yards away at the compressor due to the pressure drop in the hose if you have the gauge at the compressor. Something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-1-4-...942884?hash=item469d5ebee4:g:Ex4AAOSwBTJdgKSu (Note that you will need the correct connector to match your hose connector)

Be careful using 2k it does need appropriate breathing protection. It does NOT contain cyanide. It can cause occupational asthma. Breathing any spray mist is not a good idea.
Worth a read: http://www.hse.gov.uk/mvr/bodyshop/myths/index.htm

Get the Technical Data Sheets (TDS) for any paint you intend to use. Should be able to get them from your paint supplier or online. They contain full instructions for that particular paint.
As an example this is Lesonal Topcoat - (solid colours only & shiny from the gun, doesn't need clearcoat over) : https://c8456abee61daa469d58-5bf1bd...ackcdn.com/l1.03.03_topcoat_hs_420_uk_eng.pdf
 
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resto_d1 said:
Thank you. I assumed I wouldn’t have enough oomph to fire up a gravity fed one? What spec do you run that with? I was going to go conventional as less cfm demand?
Click to expand...

As you'll have realised by now - you have this the wrong way round :) - the suction guns are a PITA for using air.... at the time I bought this gun I had a 3HP 160 ltr compressor.... and the suction guns were still a PITA....

I also suggest a proper breathing mask - preferably medical grade (£30) , and medical grade filters (£20) - your lungs will thank you for it ;)
 
Thank you very much all. That’s answered my needs. Will update when I get going.

thanks again - much appreciated
 
Think I’m there now with all the little fittings required. I may get good gun in future but think I’ll go with Clarke as vat free on Sunday. At the moment it’s set up without the regulator tap after the tank gauge. Manual shows it setup with tap immediately from gauge which I’ll do. I guess this is so you can disconnect line without full pressure shooting out. Assume I should empty tank end of each time I use? Tap would also aid that.

proposed setup is:

compressor-1/4 to 1/8 reducer- regulator control tap - 1/8 to 1/4 reducer - regulator with water and oil trap - airline - mini regulator - union - gravity fed gun.

FED59E11-EF28-4F91-9F6B-61DCF599AD72.jpeg
 
If you can get rid of that little red gauge do as they are very restricted internally which will cut down the amount of air getting to the tool - same as turning down the tap on a water hosepipe.
Air tools require both pressure AND quantity at the tool, which is one of the reasons why impact wrenches don't work well with small bore curly hoses.
Put a female connector on the 'out' side of the trap & that automatically stops air passage when you unplug the hose.
I have a lever ball valve in mine before the trap.
If you can fit a ball type tap into the bottom of the compressor tank it will make periodic water draining easier than the usual thing with a screw-in centre type tap. Surprising how much water will build up in the tank - nothing to worry about as it's normal & also why you need a water trap but you do need to remember to drain it.

Just realised I also have one of the MM guns as in Disco1BFG's post but the PGF14 as the 1.8 tip with the other one is a bit on the big side!
Cheap & cheerful & certainly not up to the capability of the more expensive guns but it should do the job - I sprayed the bonnet of my RRC with it.
If you're going to stay with the MM guns I'd be inclined to look at the AP16GF (which bears a remarkable resemblance to my Sata Minijet3 !) or the AP14GF
Get one of their cleaning kits too.
Bear in mind if you use 2k materials you MUST clean the gun thoroughly before the material hardens!
 
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Thank you very much. I did think reducing straight out the tank was a stupid idea but manual showed it.
I’ll go with that gun - thanks.
The paint has got me so confused. I did look for pu etc.
The original paint is metallic so I’m going to go for imola red. All I want is a decent paint that I can spray without an air fed mask and best diy result possible?
 
For prep and spraying tips have a look at retrorestore on youtube. He's sprayed cars on his drive as diy. His son now does it for a living with propper setup.
 
resto_d1 said:
All I want is a decent paint that I can spray without an air fed mask and best diy result possible?
Click to expand...

You can't spray PU 2k without a proper air fed mask, safely. Might need some looking into what the best iso-cyanate free alternative is
 
Thank you both. Jawal (sp) has cyanide free 2k. It says it dries like oil based and treat it similarly.... they also do a heavy duty tractor paint - don’t know if anyone’s seen them?
 
A lot of modern 2k is cyanide free, some is even formaldehyde free, all PU 2k has isocyanates in as far as i am aware, though.

You can get basic respirators for fairly little money, or a proper bit of kit second hand for £50-60. Very good investment!

I've not used jawal before but being in wiltshire you have (reasonably close off of the top of my head), Express paints in portsmouth, Redwood and HMG near there, Movac in reading. A few more I can't remember the names of nearby, most are quite helpful and deliver though
 
2 pack unless its metallic then basecoat and lacquer.

Cellulose is crap unless your prep is 110% and theres a dozen coats.

2pack hides a lot of flaws, a mist coat with a decent coat on top...done and it'll have a shine. Not all 2 pack is equal though, better with decent stuff. Like said before...don't breath it in. Though I know folk that have for years and they seem fine :)

Cheap PU stuff like speedcoat works if its nothing fancy but takes hours to dry...plenty time for some beast to land on it and walk all over it :)

Spray gun....can you paint? No well an expensive spray gun wont make you a painter :) Ok if you have a nice warm spray booth and can paint but outside or even in a garage you will not have ideal conditions. Ive painted many things with a cheap £14 half plastic gravity fed gun, some have came out ok, good even....some have not but i wouldn't blame the gun.
 
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