Compressors and paint guns

[jack_davey]

I want to get a proper spraying set up as I'm tired of the orange peel result I get on my basecoats from aerosol cans.

What should I go for in terms of spec/brands etc?
I also want a quality respirator.

 

[nathanH]

spend your money on a decent gravity fed gun, a compressor needs to have a good cfm rating, with a water trap, all my kit I have cost £500 and ive sprayed 7 cars and loads of little jobs with it too. I have a 1.5 and a 2.0 nossle.

machine mart is pretty good for compressors, mines a £300 jobbie.

 

[jack_davey]

do you run a respirator from your compressor too? What brand is your compressor/gun?
What cfm rating does it have? I was thinking like 12cfm?

What was the finish like on the bits you painted?

 

[nathanH]

nah i just had a duel filter mask... or held my breath if it was a small job.
My compressor is a 3 year old Airmaster 12cfm, 50ltr, 2hp

My gun is a DeVilbiss GTIW.

takes alot of practice to get a smooth finish from the gun, but most of my work I flat and polish afterwards.

 

[jack_davey]

what do the different sized nozzles do?
What would be a good all rounder in terms of size of nozzle?

 

[nathanH]

smaller nozzle for smaller work, larger one for large areas. I started off with a 1.8 but it doesnt make too much difference.

 

[mx1_champ]

the nozzle sizes let more fluid flow out of the tip at once and use as nathan says . what kind of work you thinking of doin as that will effect what gun you will need . best to have a few really . have one for primer with a larger tip . approx a 1.3 for waterbased although most are fine . and because lacquer is thicker a larger tip is ideally needed so something like a 1.8 will be fine . all the above will be sufficient to paint a full car , or a door, bonet wing etc .
i have a few different gun setups and a good all rounder for doin small repairs or painting trims is a UPOL hvlp ( high volume low pressure ) gun with a 1.0mm tip this is a small gun but is very capable . it big enough to easily paint wings with etc .
have a look around a read reviews on each gun and understand what each gun does .
you say your after a orange peel'less paint finish and first your work will probs have more peel in it dry spots runs etc . but once you get used to how it all reacts and what signs to look for when painting you will soon get the hang of it all . and doing jobs for people will pay your kit of in no time at all .
Matt

 

[jack_davey]

Hi, sorry to dig this one back up!
I really want to get a compressor and a gun now, just recently got my front bumper painted and while it's not a bad job, it's by no means excellent!
My girlfriends car has been hit by a deer and the door needs filling and painting, with the amount of paintwork that needs doing amoung my family and frie only bodyshop I trust planning to close down within the next 2 months, I might aswell do my own stuff.

So would a 2hp 50 litre compressor, and a gun with a 1.8 and 1.3 nozzle be ok?

What about mixing paint, do you need to add activator or hardener to colour and laquer? any good books out there on doing bodywork.
I can prep a panel and my painting technique is pretty good, but I've only used aersols so my knowledge when it comes to compressor painting is limited!