Need a clear coat gun recommendation for $200~

C

CopperWulf

New Member
For reference, here's my thread on which clear to shoot, and what I'm shooting.

High temp clear for bare copper

I manufacture copper products, and sometimes I clear coat them. In the past I've had a local shop do the clear, but that's not an option anymore. I've done some painting over the years, and I'd like to clear coat these myself. I weld these things up, and then polish them to a mirror finish...
www.spiuserforum.com

Ideally I'd like a decent quality/price gun that I can shoot basecoat and clear for, but really I just need to shoot clear coat for my copper products. I'd rather not spend too much on a gun yet until I know if I'm going to keep shooting them myself.

I do have a truck I need to paint, but that's on the back burner.

I'm reading through the forums trying to pick a gun, and I keep seeing recommendations for the LPH 400, but it's a little more money than I'd like to spend right now. Is it possible to get a gun to do what I want for $200~ (USD)?
 
For copper, all you need is a 30 dollar 1.4 gravity-fed gun.
Home depot, lowes, harbor freight.
And don't think for a minute if you see an off wall gun for 25 and another for a 100 that it's better; it's probably the same inside.
 
The Chinese are very good at copying things you know.
The infamous Harbor Freight 'Purple' HVLP is well known for good results but don't expect any longevity from one. Plus running a higher gun psi than their recommendation to make compliance imo.
I have as an example, The Mini HF Purple gun and a Sata Minijet 3. Pretty much Identical except for the air holes in the cap air horns. 1 per side with HF vs. 2 per on the Sata. The full size Purple is a Sata knockoff akin to an RP which I had and was obvious.
The cheaper knockoff guns internal seals are the main failure problem.Not very solvent resistant and some internal machining is less than stellar or minute pieces of metal left inside but for a starter gun,are hard to beat. I've had many guns and even the mid price,DeVilbiss,Sharp,etc have been problematic over short time.Usually with seals and or packing.
IF you plan on an extended painting venture, Get the LPH400 now. otherwise your just wasting cash you could be spending on one now.
No,get a cheap anything and some clear and practice to find out if you even want to.
It will come down to You. Learning HOW. Just Experience with it is what makes it work. Nobody walks in lay'in glass to begin with.
We ALL been there.
 
Depends how close to your $200 limit your trying to get. Iwata kiwami is a quality gun for the $. Also a devilbiss finish line which comes with multiple tip sizes is a good bargain. Then even cheaper guns such as Astro, Eastwood, etc.
 
None of the cheap guns are a bargain IMO unless you are only planning to use them once or twice. In that case go with the cheapest you can find. A high quality gun will last for years of trouble free service. The value line guns from Devillbiss, Iwata etc won't. You'll end up spending more on cheap guns over the years than you would on one good high quality gun. Over the years I've wasted a lot of money on cheap/ cheapish primer guns, probably a couple of grand, when I should have bought a Sata and been done with it. I've had a Finishline crap out on me a few days after purchase, an Iwata Gunsa that didn't last three months, etc etc, If this is your business and how you make your living buy a high quality gun, with readily available service parts and be done with it.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
None of the cheap guns are a bargain IMO unless you are only planning to use them once or twice. In that case go with the cheapest you can find. A high quality gun will last for years of trouble free service. The value line guns from Devillbiss, Iwata etc won't. You'll end up spending more on cheap guns over the years than you would on one good high quality gun. Over the years I've wasted a lot of money on cheap/ cheapish primer guns, probably a couple of grand, when I should have bought a Sata and been done with it. I've had a Finishline crap out on me a few days after purchase, an Iwata Gunsa that didn't last three months, etc etc, If this is your business and how you make your living buy a high quality gun, with readily available service parts and be done with it.
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I have a Finishline that's had a lot of use since 2010. I think it is much more in how they are maintained than a blanket statement that you'll somehow lose money on them.
 
I'm just going from my experience over the years. I have still have two Sata 2000's that are pushing 20 years old. Used them day in day out for the better part of 15 years in my job. I have gone through a bunch of cheaper guns that I bought for primer purposes. I always cleaned and maintained them correctly. They just don't last. Astros, Finishline, Iwata Gunsas, Devillbiss PrimeTime, Owned all of those and they all wear prematurely. The little plastic gaskets on the Devilbiss"s always give out. Some of them I could get easily others not as easily. The needles and housing wear out, even with lube. I've gone through a lot of them.
If it's a once a year thing then a cheap gun is an alternative, but if the guy is making a living making these copper parts then a good gun is a good idea.
 
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The reason I brought up the cheap guns is he is learning and only doing small copper items.

The builders that spray house copper I steer towards Iwata's lph 400. Because of size.
 
Not gonna lie I still have a few beater finish lines kicking around and they’re the older ones. The newer ones are better. The starting lines I think are junk. But I’ve used them all and my go to guns are still iwata lph’s. Just personal preference. I do like the dv1 base coat gun for base and I have some Sagolas that spray nice as well. I’ve just never been let down by my lph’s. But everyone has different hands, different spraying speed, etc. I used my buddies iwata Kiwami and it is a quality gun that sprays nice and is $175-200. I might buy one actually just to have around for that money. I don’t even consider the air gunsa an iwata. Not even close to iwata quality.
 
Whitesnake said:
Not gonna lie I still have a few beater finish lines kicking around and they’re the older ones. The newer ones are better. The starting lines I think are junk. But I’ve used them all and my go to guns are still iwata lph’s. Just personal preference. I do like the dv1 base coat gun for base and I have some Sagolas that spray nice as well. I’ve just never been let down by my lph’s. But everyone has different hands, different spraying speed, etc. I used my buddies iwata Kiwami and it is a quality gun that sprays nice and is $175-200. I might buy one actually just to have around for that money. I don’t even consider the air gunsa an iwata. Not even close to iwata quality.
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How would you compare an lph400 to the Kiwami? I don't have any doubt that the lph 400 is better but how much better.
 
My experience was the fan was a touch tighter and I ran it at a higher pressure than I would a lph. From what I read it’s a replacement for the w400 bellaria which there should be quite a few reviews about on the net. If I remember right “paint society” did a review of the Kiwami on YouTube. But like I said everyone sprays different. But I could take any one of these guns and get a nice finish with it.
 
Almost as bad as picking a Medicare plan.:rolleyes:
Just so you know,
You are about to open an enormous can of Learning. Barry gave you the blueprint.
Just learning the Mechanics,Chemistry,Procedures is a bit daunting spraying Clear regardless the Gun.
Product,Air Supply,Environment,Safety,Consumables many variables to Know in order for the final outcome and not exactly cheap.
Besides the Product itself being reasonably Hazardous to your Health.
This ain't Plug n' Play. But is learn-able by most Anyone with the ability,want too,money to accomplish.
Like Roofing company's buying their own metal brake for making flashing. They know roofing but not bending sheet metal.
Most of the members here can express the same sentiment and learned how but it wasn't in a week or 2 and not for a few dollars.
Not here to discourage you at all but rather an insite as to what your getting into.
 
I say don’t overthink it. Your only clearing items. Must screw ups or issues are in other stages of the auto body process. Clear I think is fairly forgiving. You could even do a little sanding and polishing if you had a mini polisher to fix some flaws. But usually small items are easy to spray. Just make sure your using your product correctly and do a few test panels. You’ll get it down in no time.
 
Finex 1000 and 2000 are my daily use guns, good quality, parts available and spray well, less than 200. Satas for overalls and hairy jobs.
 
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