94blownz281

iTrader: (12)

Well acouple months ago i repainted my engine bay with rattle cans. came out pretty good. but would look alot better with a spray gun. i have never used a spray gun before and wanted to know if i could do this myself or is it hard to paint with a gun?

also what is the smallest air compressor hp wise i could get away with powering the gun?

what are someethings i need to know about doing this? i plan to do it in my garage. with the rattle can i just scuffed up the area's and wiped them down with soapy water.

this time i will sand pretty mush all the paint off and use paint thiner to clean up before painting.

Beyond Static

iTrader: (5)

First question, what kind of budget are you looking at? An Iwata or Sata can easily run you $400+, or you can get a decent Devilbiss in the low $100's. A tip between 1.3 and 1.5mm is ideal for spraying. The compressor ideally would need to pump 10cfm or more, but for doing small jobs such as an engine bay, a few cfm less would work. 25+ gallons of air will also be required. After you get all that down, then you have to deal with the paint. Mixing ratios, flash times, temperatures. It's a little more involved than most think.
Here's a lower priced Devilbiss which I think would be good for a beginner. http://www.tcpglobal.com/spraygundep...EV+FLG-653G-13 Harborfreight also has cheap guns($20-60), but I'd only use them for primers.

94blownz281

iTrader: (12)

I guess i would be better off paying someone to do it then. haha thanks

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

yeah guns are expensive like for mine i have 4 sata 3000's. 2 witha 1.3 and 2 with a 1.4 tip. 1 sata polyester filler gun with a 2.5 tip a sata klc-b primer gun with a 1.7 tip and a sata mini jet with a 1.0 tip. let me tell u those sata 3000's cost about 600 a piece with the digital micrometers that i added. and before anyone says anything didnt buy the digital version because i can remove my micrometers for cleaning.

Beyond Static

iTrader: (5)

How are you liking the 3000's? I'm an Iwata guy (w400 and lph400LVB), but a while back I was considering the 3000 and couldnt find anyone with first hand experience.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

i love them to death. i like iwatas also but more or so for water based paints. from what i learned at standox iwatas atomize twice. once before the paint exits the gun in the cap and also once when the paint exits the cap giving it a really fine atomization which is ideal for waterbourne paint. the sata 3000 has a little bit wider fan and softer spray then the 2000 but i still like it. like i said all my 3000's i bought were not the digital versions because its rumored that after so long u can ruin the air micrometer after putting them in the gun wash. ive heard its also not true but i dont wanna take any chances. my primer guns have standard regulators but my 3000's have satas "a.d.a.m" all it is, is a digital air micrometer that replaces the **** where you adjust the air pressure slighty. i have a regulator on it without a gauge since i get more accurate readings using digital gauges. another plus about it is, that you can remove it before cleaning.

Beyond Static

iTrader: (5)

I've seen the digital screens go bad from being in the gun washer, but it's a pretty cool design if you're careful with how you clean with thinner. I sprayed Standox for 2 years, and spray ChromaBase now. Nothing compares to standox IMO.

steelhorses

iTrader: (2)

YOU SIR, are the man! 4 3000's??? awesome. I've only got one. But i was advised to pick up the WSB tip (1.25), with the digital readout. i love that thing. it is awesome for spraying base and clear. my instructor at school would occasionally ask if somebody else could spray with my gun when they wanted it to come out really nice .
I've also got the Chip Foose minijet and airbrush. Those are awesome too.

alright, i'm done

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

I have a Sata 3000 digital and i have used it a couple of times but its all hype. They waist so much more paint than a Iwata and you have to use it going a hundred miles an hour. Not my style. I like to see what i'm doing istead of mopping the car with a Sata. Iwata is the way to go. I have yet to try the 3M guns, but i have heard they are really good. The Sata has a production job tempo to it, it mean to go fast and productive. Defenately not something i would want for my hobbies. I guarantee someone that is a beginer will run the paint.

steelhorses

iTrader: (2)

you NEVER ran the paint when you were a beginner? i find that hard to believe. unless all the paint jobs you did turned out extremely dry... i'll admit it, i'm no expert, but i'm to the point now where very rarely do put a run in the paint or clear. it's all about technique, not which style or brand of gun you've got. i could run the paint just as much with a $40 gun from harbor freight as i could with my $600 sata 3000. you've just gotta learn and become comfortable with the guns you use.

as for the speed thing, i don't know, it doesn't seem very fast to me. i bought the gun pretty early on in my training, so i'm used to it. i've tried one or two iwata guns, and they didn't feel any different - meaning i didn't notice that i was able to move slower with the gun.
i don't believe it's a hype thing at all. i've used a couple iwatas and sata's before i bought my 3000 and my 3000 blows all the other ones away. hands down.

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

Dude where the did you get all that out of what i said? You must make good asumptions. I never said i did not run the paint. And even as a beginer with a wal mart spray gund did i rarely run the paint.What i am saying is that the 3000 is less forgiving than the iwata. the iwatas have a slower tempo than the 3000 and are easier to use. If i was a beginer i would not want to use the 3000 because of the style. The atomazation of the iwata makes easier to use because it is slower strides. I have also used so many guns and i can say that the Iwata is top of the line. As a custom painter people want show quality. The iwata gets you there faster. If you want proof come look at my paintjobs.

steelhorses

iTrader: (2)

First off, i'm not trying to argue with you man.

you said "I guarantee someone that is a beginner will run the paint." I just said that it doesn't matter what gun you have, or how much experience, you can still run the paint.
You also said "They waist so much more paint than a Iwata and you have to use it going a hundred miles an hour." I just stated that i didn't agree with you and that it didn't seem to me that you had to move very quickly with it.

as for iwata being the top of the line, i won't argue with you - not necessarily because i agree - but because i have not sprayed with their guns very often, or any other brands, including sata very often. i'm guessing you paint a lot. and i would love to come see your paint jobs, but texas is a little far to go for that. I love painting, so all i was trying to do was say that Iwata doesn't have to be "the way to go."

if you want to post up some pictures of some of the paint jobs you've done i'd love to look at them. and i'm not being an *** either. i like looking at other people's work and seeing what i need to improve on, or what i would have done differently. i'll even post up some pictures of some of the stuff i've done in a custom painting class.

like i said, wasn't trying to argue with you or be a pain in the ***. sorry if it came across that way.

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

When i first got my Sata i thought something was wrong with it. It blows your hand back with all the air it shoots out. I really thought something was wrong. As i started using it i noticed it was waisting alot of paint. So i called my paint rep who is known around here in houston. He came to the shop and adjusted the gun and said that it was almost to his settings. After that i saw the way he had to spray and i could not believe it. Its a fast and close pace. I can do it with no problem but if you stop or make a wrong move it just seems like you will run into more mistakes. I was not trying to be a dick neither. I do paint alot and have lots of expirience with many guns. In my opinion the Iwata is easier to adapt to. Because like you said its the style you have to get used to.

steelhorses

iTrader: (2)

Phoenix, i saw in one of your other threads when you were building your T/A, how it's got the real fire. did you spray those? those look good. many, many cars that i've seen with real fire the fire just doesn't seem to POP out at you. but yours looks really good, i like it. i took two custom painting classes from a guy nearby who does a lot of stuff with real fire. i did some real fire with the blue flames, and then another panel with woodgrain...






This thread has now been x10 lol

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

^^ Thats looks good man. The wood grain looks sweet! yeah i sprayed all the grafix on my T/A i know the flames look good but i know Mike Lavallee is keeping some step secret. Since i did my car i have been experimenting with the true fire to get it as real as possible i think the key to the true fire has to be the misting step in the begining stages.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

all i can honestly say is every painter has their own preference and their own style. i love the iwatas as well but i still prefer them for waterbourne paint. when i went to standox and spies and hekker in detroit i got to use all the sata and iwata guns. idealy i love the iwata for waterbourne just because of how fine the atomization has to be. i mean sata makes a gun for waterbourne but it doesnt compare to the iwata but its not a horrible gun either. i still like my satas for solvent paint over the iwata but like i said every painter is different and has their own techniques. oh and by the way guys sick job on the true fire. i hope to be getting into custom airbrushing soon to add to my knowledge.

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

Man how much difference is there from spraying solvent vs waterbourne? I have never shot waterbourne because i have heard its terrible with grafix and layering.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

to be honest with u its a joke. say you have your sealer down and everything. as soon as it flashes off you lay one light coat down barely covering the sealer or primer just to get some color down. immidiately after laying that coat down come back with one closed wetsoat to get complete coverage and then immidiatly right after that come back with a drop coat to ensure coverage. then turn the fans or dryers on and wait about 10 to 20 minutes depending on your system for the basecoat to flash completely off because clearing or if you go to clear to soon you'll blow the paint right off. water boure sucks because you have to have a cleaner booth, a booth thats setup for waterbourne which could cost a hell of a lot of money, and extremely clean panels or bumpers otherwise if the paint gets any sort of contamination you have to whipe it all off and start completely over. its not forgiving like solvent where you can just go back with a dry coat to cover a fish eye or something or even bury it. also whats even more rediculous about it is you still using solvent clear coats and sealers so why even bother with the basecoat? has far as doing airbrushing goes i think waterborne would suck because of what i said earlier on how to apply basecoat.

Pheonix

iTrader: (16)

^^ Damn! That sounds horrible.. Why are yall using that sort of paint? Like you said if yall are still using solvent paint and a bad *** booth to filter the solvents venting? Makes no sense. I tried those waterbourne airbrush paints and they just rub right off if you dont innercoat it between layers so i said screw that i'm sticking with HOK. Man its almost impossible to get something completely clean or even worse once you spray that nothing gets on it. So waterbourne does not sound good.

Fast_94_Z

iTrader: (12)

we dont use waterbourne paint in my shop we are still a solvent paint based shop thank god. we use spies and hekker and where i use to work used standox. those are my 2 favorite lines. anyways i went for certification through standox for tinting and some other coarses and a lot of people had raised questions about their standohyd(standoxs water based paints) line. well they gave us a chance to spray our front end with solvent the first time through and then sand it all down and then try water based. also we got to use all their different clears. my favorites from both companys are standox's plantium clear and spies and hekkers diamond clear. both are scratch resistant clears and lay down with no orange peel. amazing stuff. thats what i liek going for re-certification because u get up to date on all the new products and you get to play around with them while your in school for a few days.