Hey guys, some of you know, I will be painting my car here in the near future. One of the reasons I am doing this is cost effectiveness.

I already have access to a couple HVLP paint guns with the tip sizes I need (1.3 and 1.8) but they are both knockoff/not name brand guns. I would rather not find out the hard way that these guns are inadequate, so I am considering something like the Devilbiss finishline 3 gun to do the job. First though, I wanted to check and see if anybody has something like this that I could borrow before dropping the cash on one.

Anybody have something like this?

 

Sherwin Williams or a place like ABC Rentals might have a gun you rent. Might be a better option to rent a gun instead of buying one

 

what color are you painting it

 

I am keeping it the same color.....just fixing all the imperfections. I dont have the time, or the patience to do a good color change.

 

If your not an experienced painter then even a great gun still wont help you. What color is your G?

 

Its laser red. I am not an experienced painter, but what I am good at is body work, which makes up the largest part of a good paint job. I am just hoping all my research on painting prep and technique can be put into practice. Good thing is I will be starting small and shooting an extra bumper I have. Hopefully that will help me out with technique.

 

If your car is a solid color you should be fine with the knock off guns. If it were metallic Id be worried about if the cheap gun could break up and atomize the paint properly.

A few tips

*Even if the peel looks really dry you can always let the basecoat sit for a half hour then 1000 or 800 dry sand it in one direction. Then finish it off with one more wet coat.

*If your painting over primer spots be careful. Red is very transparent and when you think its covered sometimes its not. Check coverage with a bright light or 3m Sun gun if you have access.

*Dont be a hero when you clear it, just get the material on and then wet sand and buff it. My 2 coats may be your 3 material wise so put on 3 and don't worry about peel cause its gonna be there no matter who does it.

If you got a paint question pm me bro. I have been in the autobody trade for 12 years . I could advise you if your not sure on something.

 

Thanks a ton for the advice. The thing that concerns me most is definitely shooting the clear. I have a feeling I will be doing a bit of wetsanding as you mentioned. I will probably make a thread to update progress of the project. I am looking forward to learning a lot and hopefully coming out with a good looking result.

 

I ended up picking up a Devilbiss Finishline 3 with and aluminum cup, 1.3, 1.5, and 1.8 tips, with a regulator. The gun I was going to use for primer had a 2.5 tip which was waay to big. It should be here friday so I hope to shoot primer some time next week.

 

I have my GTI which I bought in 2000, Devilbiss makes good guns. You will be fine with that.