PAINT: Spray guns, tips, links to supplies...

[jingalls007]

I don't know a thing about spray guns but most seem to say they are the way to go. If anyone has tips, links to favored sites that sell spray guns, what's involved, what's needed, types of paint etc. I think this would be a great point of reference for those of us toying with the idea of trying our hand with a spray gun. thanks

[Brushless55]

and subscribed..!

[6sHyper]

As for the paint supplies itself i would suggest anyone to call around to some of there local auto parts stores and ask who sells paint, for rc boats i would suggest using a solvent based basecoat system, something fairly cheap like ppg's Omni line or duponts Nason line. Prices will be different depending where you live and of course what kind of discount you get or can talk the sales person in to giving you! trust me when i tell you the mark up to a regular customer is very high!! I myself working in a high production bodyshop get a really good deal on supplies whenever i do sidejobs or whatnot. for example i pay roughly $85/quart for top dollar ppg envirobase waterborne basecoat and can buy a gallon of ec700 clear with hardner for 200( i could clear 50x 32" catamaran hulls with that) Of course you can also buy clear in quarts, all brands are differently priced but they all also have there cheaper lines, which this day in age are all more than quality enough to do an rc boat, the real difference in high dollar clears and cheaper ones is longevity to the elements, which your not gonna be dealing with in an rc boat.

Again if your just looking to do hobby work and not turn in to the next Rhino Templeton, lol a cheap $40 gun will do you just fine, and a cheap small compressor will give you enough air to do small jobs the size of our boats, obvioucly you would need a bigger compressor if you wanted to get around a car.

If you dont mind spending a bit of money but still dont want to bust the bank too hard i would recommend something like a devilbiss finishline, all metal parts so as long as you clean it properly it will last forever. Another option and possibly a better one would be to watch ebay and your local classifieds craigslist or whatever and see if you can find a high quality gun for a good price, something like a devilbiss Plus is a great gun for beginners and can spary any product to its full potential guaranteed, in fact this is my gun of choice for clearcoat and what i use everyday for clear. I would stay clear of satas, there warranty is crap, there just like mercedez cars "crappy and expensive" lol

My personal guns and uses:

Devilbiss finishline flg3- Primer
Devilbiss GTI-Sealer/solvent basecoat/single stage
Devilbiss CVI-waterborne basecoat
Tekna(bydevilbiss)-waterborne basecoat (my preferred gun for tough handling silver metallics)
Iwata w400-waterborne basecoat
Devilbiss Plus-Clearcoat

[H2OCamel]

Good stuff to know!

[egneg]

There are forums that deal only in paint. Airbrush.com is one, Mike Learn and Craig Fraser also have sites. They cover everything from prep, primer, base coat, art work, and clear coat with a variety of systems. This is something that you will not learn over night! There are many obstacles and problems that pop up and dealing with them is a big part of the learning process.

This is a brain bucket I did a while back.

Edit: I used HOK and Horizon - no buffing.

Edit2: Prep, prime, base coat, artwork, and clear coat. I used a Richpen 113c for the art and a gravity feed detail gun from Harbor Freight for the primer, base, and clear.

[dana]

ppg waterbourne is good stuff. i spray it with a iwata gun. mainly you need to be concerened with fluid tip size. basecoat should be between 1.3 and 1.4 tip. same for clear. i also use binks m-1 gun for clear. good all around gun

[G1ST]

Perfect timing
I'm ready to spray a hull and was going to have a local auto parts stores that sells paint make up a couple of rattle cans for me.
Turns out they can't do them anymore.
I guess I'm in the market for a spray gun
I'll be watching this thread

[dana]

Perfect timing
I'm ready to spray a hull and was going to have a local auto parts stores that sells paint make up a couple of rattle cans for me.
Turns out they can't do them anymore.
I guess I'm in the market for a spray gun
I'll be watching this thread

Find a ppg dealer, have them make you waterborne in a can

[G1ST]

Thanks
Good tip
Pretty much everything is illegal paint wise in the 9 bay area counties.
I'll give it a go

[dana]

Waterbourne is extremely low VOC. You shouldn't have a problem getting them, granted the supplier has the capability to do so

[6sHyper]

ppg's omni line has a voc compliant solvent basecoat i would highly recomend using it instead of the waterborne. its way cheaper easier to use in a backyard/garage application and will dry quick waterborne is better suited for a more air controlled environment and more experienced painters IMO.

[G1ST]

Thanks Guys
You've saved me a ton of grief
I'll search out PPG waterbourne or Omni if I can get it
Greg

[NativePaul]

Can anyone recommend a small touch-up gun? I've been thinking of getting one for a while but have no idea what will give decent results and what isn't worth the money, I currently use rattle cans for primer basecoat and clear with an airbrush for any fancywork but generally I only use 2 main colours, I need a bigger spray pattern than I can get out of my airbrush, but have no plans for any really big boats and I think a full size spraygun would be very wasteful on overspray with a spray pattern big enough to cover a car easily and my little boats.

As well as a better quality of finish, economy is another reason for me to switch, I must spend about $100 a year on rattle cans and while my airbrush compressor wouldn't be up to even a touch up gun and I would need a new one, over time I think it would save a fair bit of money.

[dana]

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=mini+hvlp&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=9682769390076323644&sa=X&ei=ya7XTcCaCoLHgAeKtuFY&ved=0CDAQ8wIwAQ&biw=1593&bih=792#ps-sellers

[NativePaul]

Would I need anything special for a compressor to run a HVLP gun? I guess it would need a big reservoir tank.

That is a good looking gun but is there anything similar by a worldwide company, the Sharpe only seems to be available in the states and once I factor in shipping, tax and postal costs this end it looks like about $240 to my door, if I can get something similar from a bigger brand locally it would work out less than half price. In that sort of price range I could get a Fiac Merlin or UPOL maximum mini, anyone used either of these?

edit: ouch I just found that HVLP guns run on turbines not compressors, the cheapest used turbine on ebay is $400 as opposed to $160 for a compressor, and I'm guessing you cant run air tools or pump your tires up with a turbine so it lacks the versatility and cost sharing of a compressor. Is HVLP definitely the way to go? It would take me a very long time if ever to break even with rattle cans at that price.