Hi Guys:

Just thought I'd post an informative thing here. Recently the local HF had
a parking lot sale and I picked up an HVLP gun - just because it was cheap
and I thought I'd see how it worked as a primer gun. Can't ever have too
many guns, ya know. This is the gun I picked up...

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8...gun-67181.html

I got it for $9 at the parking lot sale prices and figured I wouldn't go
broke if it did not perform well. Loaded it up with urethane primer today
and put it to use. It worked perfectly. I wouldn't expect more from a very
expensive gun. Now - it may not last all that long but time will tell that
story. For guys that paint on a far more occasional basis than I do, it
would be a great primer gun.

The cautionary reminder is these are CAS guns and no CAS gun is designed to
shoot latex like a turbine HVLP, so don't look for it to fulfill that
purpose. But - if you're shooting lacquer, urethane, etc., especially on an
occasional basis, it's a good buy - even if it's a throw away after 5 or 6
uses.

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote:
Hi Guys:

Just thought I'd post an informative thing here. Recently the local
HF had a parking lot sale and I picked up an HVLP gun - just because
it was cheap and I thought I'd see how it worked as a primer gun. Can't
ever have too many guns, ya know. This is the gun I picked
up...
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8...gun-67181.html

I got it for $9 at the parking lot sale prices and figured I wouldn't
go broke if it did not perform well. Loaded it up with urethane
primer today and put it to use. It worked perfectly. I wouldn't
expect more from a very expensive gun. Now - it may not last all
that long but time will tell that story. For guys that paint on a
far more occasional basis than I do, it would be a great primer gun.

The cautionary reminder is these are CAS guns and no CAS gun is
designed to shoot latex like a turbine HVLP, so don't look for it to
fulfill that purpose. But - if you're shooting lacquer, urethane,
etc., especially on an occasional basis, it's a good buy - even if
it's a throw away after 5 or 6 uses.

On 6/25/2015 9:44 PM, Mike Marlow wrote:
Hi Guys:

Just thought I'd post an informative thing here. Recently the local HF had
a parking lot sale and I picked up an HVLP gun - just because it was cheap
and I thought I'd see how it worked as a primer gun. Can't ever have too
many guns, ya know. This is the gun I picked up...

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8...gun-67181.html

I got it for $9 at the parking lot sale prices and figured I wouldn't go
broke if it did not perform well. Loaded it up with urethane primer today
and put it to use. It worked perfectly. I wouldn't expect more from a very
expensive gun. Now - it may not last all that long but time will tell that
story. For guys that paint on a far more occasional basis than I do, it
would be a great primer gun.

The cautionary reminder is these are CAS guns and no CAS gun is designed to
shoot latex like a turbine HVLP, so don't look for it to fulfill that
purpose. But - if you're shooting lacquer, urethane, etc., especially on an
occasional basis, it's a good buy - even if it's a throw away after 5 or 6
uses.


I have used them quite a bit. for 9 throw them away after a while.

I will recommend this gun over the $9. It's got a much finer spray. The
nozzle is so much more refined as far as air holes go.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-H...tor-69705.html

For $29.99 on sale or $24.99 on a coupon, it's a great buy.
I still use the $9 gun, but for stuff I really care about, I pull out
the more expensive conversion gun.

--
Jeff

In article ,
says...

Mike Marlow wrote:
Hi Guys:

Just thought I'd post an informative thing here. Recently the local
HF had a parking lot sale and I picked up an HVLP gun - just because
it was cheap and I thought I'd see how it worked as a primer gun. Can't
ever have too many guns, ya know. This is the gun I picked
up...
http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8...gun-67181.html

I got it for $9 at the parking lot sale prices and figured I wouldn't
go broke if it did not perform well. Loaded it up with urethane
primer today and put it to use. It worked perfectly. I wouldn't
expect more from a very expensive gun. Now - it may not last all
that long but time will tell that story. For guys that paint on a
far more occasional basis than I do, it would be a great primer gun.

The cautionary reminder is these are CAS guns and no CAS gun is
designed to shoot latex like a turbine HVLP, so don't look for it to
fulfill that purpose. But - if you're shooting lacquer, urethane,
etc., especially on an occasional basis, it's a good buy - even if
it's a throw away after 5 or 6 uses.

Actually it does fine with latex if you thin it and use some floetrol.
The catch though is that you need a bigger tip and that's hard to get
from HF.

A good source for cheap spray equipment (they have "good" too by the
way) is http://www.eastwood.com/. At one time their cheap guns were
the same as the Harbor Freight--whether that is still the case I have no
idea.

J. Clarke wrote:


Actually it does fine with latex if you thin it and use some floetrol.
The catch though is that you need a bigger tip and that's hard to get
from HF.


Yeah - tip selection is almost non-existent with these guns. Mine came with
a .14mm tip which works well for even high build primers, but I don't know
how it would work with latex.


A good source for cheap spray equipment (they have "good" too by the
way) is http://www.eastwood.com/. At one time their cheap guns were
the same as the Harbor Freight--whether that is still the case I have
no idea.

I haven't bought anything from Eastwood in a very long time, but you're
right - some of their product lines were exactly the same as the HF
offerings.

--

-Mike-

woodchucker wrote:


I have used them quite a bit. for 9 throw them away after a while.

I will recommend this gun over the $9. It's got a much finer spray.
The nozzle is so much more refined as far as air holes go.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-H...tor-69705.html

For $29.99 on sale or $24.99 on a coupon, it's a great buy.
I still use the $9 gun, but for stuff I really care about, I pull out
the more expensive conversion gun.

I saw that gun, but I've never used it. For my fine finishes, I use
professional grade guns. I just could not resist picking up this $9 gun the
other day, and as I say - for a primer gun, it really surprised me.

On 6/26/2015 8:01 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
woodchucker wrote:


I have used them quite a bit. for 9 throw them away after a while.

I will recommend this gun over the $9. It's got a much finer spray.
The nozzle is so much more refined as far as air holes go.

http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-H...tor-69705.html

For $29.99 on sale or $24.99 on a coupon, it's a great buy.
I still use the $9 gun, but for stuff I really care about, I pull out
the more expensive conversion gun.

I saw that gun, but I've never used it. For my fine finishes, I use
professional grade guns. I just could not resist picking up this $9 gun the
other day, and as I say - for a primer gun, it really surprised me.



I went with the hf guns for 2 reasons.
One gravity feed.
2 HVLP.. Not true hvlp, although the 29 dollar gun is much closer.
so I get much less overspray.

I never ran high pressure on my spray guns anyway. Usually around 30 lbs.

But HVLP is less. The conversion guns require more pressure to make up
for the less volume..But they oversrpay less.

--
Jeff

On Friday, June 26, 2015 at 7:02:39 AM UTC-5, Mike Marlow wrote:
..
I saw that gun, but I've never used it. For my fine finishes, I use
professional grade guns. I just could not resist picking up this $9 gun the
other day, and as I say - for a primer gun, it really surprised me.

Since my guns are not "shop" guns and must go where the work is, they are subject to the bumps, grinds, dirt, drops and all other things that happen when folks don't realize good spray gun can easily pass $250 with on tip.

About 5 years ago I started using one of these HF guns with a 1.4mm tip for shooting BIN. Worked great. Sprayed two kitchens worth of cabinets and two tons of small stuff with the same gun using primer only. For years I was too scared to use it for good finishing thinking that it would never work..

About three years ago, my favorite Binks needed to be rebuilt and I only needed to spray one small cabinet. I didn't want to buy the rebuild kit and take the gun apart for a rebuild, so I thought I would give one of the HF guns a try.

Now they are all I use! These guns are so cheap I have four of them now. One for oil base/alkyd, one for latex, one for primer and one in reserve. I bought these guns are all basically the same model, with SKU numbers changed to distinguish manufacturing lots for warranty purposes. Different tips, but having taken these apart, the "innards" are the same. And as far as longevity, the first one I bought has probably shot about 10 gallons of primer, and about 25 gallons of oil/solvent based paint and still works perfectly.

The only thing I have found negative about these guns is that I have to stand in the store and unbox a few to look them over before I buy. Where you would never have to do it with a high priced gun, you need to check to make sure the needle seats correctly, the controls work smoothly, the triggers seat the needle when released, and that there is no cross threading on the air cap. I look at the air cap seals to make sure they are in the cap and not mashed or kinked. Learned all of that the hard way.

Mike - you can easily shoot latex out of the 1.5mm model of these guns. Go to Sherwin Williams and use the "Solo" line which is made specifically for spraying. Of course unthinned from my airless, but about a 25% reduction at about 40psi will give you glassy finishes with the HF gun. Shoot it a little thick, say about 4mm on application, and you will be surprised at how well it works. I have also shot their super premium gel paint from the same gun. I had to reduce it by about the same, but bump the psi about 5# more. It seemed a bit rough when I sprayed because I laid it on as thick as possible without sagging, but like all SW products, it really tightened up great and the finish looked as it should. Without any problems, I used that same gun to shoot all the latex enamel on the job. This last job I shot about 6 gallons of latex out of the same gun!

Sherwin Williams makes an incredibly clean paint, and I wouldn't hesitate to shoot any latex they make out of one of these guns. Don't know about stuff like Behr or other brands.

I don't know if you have tried these, but I am totally hooked on them for my oil based finishes. Use them once, toss them.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...ups-97098.html

As we talked before, some of the stuff I use goes off in about 20 minutes and you have to get it out of your gun. These are great, as I can concentrate on cleaning the guns only, and drop the used cup in the trash. They come with all kinds of adapters for different guns and that is all you need to keep and clean after use. Unless I don't have one handy, I don't use the gun cup for oil/solvent based anymore, just these.

Robert

woodchucker wrote:


I went with the hf guns for 2 reasons.
One gravity feed.
2 HVLP.. Not true hvlp, although the 29 dollar gun is much closer.
so I get much less overspray.

l'm thinking of picking one up to use just for base coat, then use my
Devillbis just for clear coat. Right now I shoot both base and clear
through it. It lays down a beautiful finish! Just shot a 2012 Chevy
Equinox today, and right out of the gun, it's perfect texture match to the
factory finish. Almost no dust nibs (how often does that happen...?), so no
wet sanding on this finish. I'll just run a fast buffer over it on Sunday
after I put it back together - just to blend the shine from old to new, and
then send it out. When I say fast, I mean - less than 30 minutes to do one
full side of the vehicle.

I'm liking this kind of work - fast in, fast out, profitable. I've finally
stopped taking in any more rust repair unless it's for the family - they get
whatever they need. I'm just getting to where I don't bend and move so well
anymore to deal with working on the areas of a vehicle that rust out, and
the fact the even the best of repairs are unpredictable in terms of how long
they will hold up. I stand behind everything I do and it bothers me if a
car starts rusting again in a year - even though it's not a function of the
work I did. You just can't fix rust - you fix rust AGAIN. (Note - North
East Rust Belt statement)


I never ran high pressure on my spray guns anyway. Usually around 30
lbs.

Back in the old days with siphon guns, I used to shoot at 40psi-50psi at the
gun. Good atomization with the guns I shot (Binks, Devillbis), but as much
paint laid on the garage floor afterwards, as did on the car. Lots of waste
and at costs ranging from $20 for a half pint, to over $100 for a half pint
(wholesale), for base coats, that was expensive waste. Same thing applied
to clear coat, but it's a lot more expensive! Now - I shoot at 20psi at my
conversion guns and get great finishes - with no noticable paint on the
floor. When I sweep up, there is evidence of some small amount of overspray
in the dirt pile, but it's only a small fraction of what used to be. I
figure I use 50% of the paints that I used to with the old siphon guns.
Every gun takes a little time to experiment with and tune in the right
pressure setting, but I strongly advocate trying 20psi and working from
there. Way less waste, and great atomization. You may have to slightly
adapt your shooting but that's not a big deal. I still get a full 10" fan
and I can still shoot a good run into a paint job...


But HVLP is less. The conversion guns require more pressure to make
up for the less volume..But they oversrpay less.

I've heard people say this often, but I believe something else is wrong if
that's really the case. Of course - it all really depends on what one
considers "more pressure" to mean. Like I said - I shoot at 20psi right at
the gun. I have regulators on every one of my guns (as well as water traps
(even though I also shoot through a dehydrator), and I just leave my
compressor at full bore. I know that when I recently told Robert that I
shoot at 20psi at the gun, he was really surprised. Of course - he has to
shoot paints that I don't fool with, so his requirements are probably a bit
different.


--

-Mike-

wrote:


About 5 years ago I started using one of these HF guns with a 1.4mm
tip for shooting BIN. Worked great. Sprayed two kitchens worth of
cabinets and two tons of small stuff with the same gun using primer
only. For years I was too scared to use it for good finishing
thinking that it would never work.


Seems to me that someone here steered you to those HF guns back then - about
the same time as that same someone suggested you should not be afraid of
urethates. Ain't it cool? different guns at the time, but the principle
was the same...

About three years ago, my favorite Binks needed to be rebuilt and I
only needed to spray one small cabinet. I didn't want to buy the
rebuild kit and take the gun apart for a rebuild, so I thought I
would give one of the HF guns a try.

Every time I have to buy a rebuild kit for one of my Binks guns, I ask
myself... "why"? They are way too proud of these things.



Now they are all I use! These guns are so cheap I have four of them
now. One for oil base/alkyd, one for latex, one for primer and one
in reserve. I bought these guns are all basically the same model,
with SKU numbers changed to distinguish manufacturing lots for
warranty purposes. Different tips, but having taken these apart, the
"innards" are the same. And as far as longevity, the first one I
bought has probably shot about 10 gallons of primer, and about 25
gallons of oil/solvent based paint and still works perfectly.


Only makes sense - as we've talked about between ourselves before. These
are proven designs and they simply work.

The only thing I have found negative about these guns is that I have
to stand in the store and unbox a few to look them over before I buy.
Where you would never have to do it with a high priced gun, you need
to check to make sure the needle seats correctly, the controls work
smoothly, the triggers seat the needle when released, and that there
is no cross threading on the air cap. I look at the air cap seals to
make sure they are in the cap and not mashed or kinked. Learned all
of that the hard way.

I do that same thing. I found a good gun when I bought this one - and it
was the first one I picked up, so I went with it.


Mike - you can easily shoot latex out of the 1.5mm model of these
guns. Go to Sherwin Williams and use the "Solo" line which is made
specifically for spraying. Of course unthinned from my airless, but
about a 25% reduction at about 40psi will give you glassy finishes
with the HF gun. Shoot it a little thick, say about 4mm on
application, and you will be surprised at how well it works. I have
also shot their super premium gel paint from the same gun. I had
to reduce it by about the same, but bump the psi about 5# more. It
seemed a bit rough when I sprayed because I laid it on as thick as
possible without sagging, but like all SW products, it really
tightened up great and the finish looked as it should. Without any
problems, I used that same gun to shoot all the latex enamel on the
job. This last job I shot about 6 gallons of latex out of the same
gun!


I'm going to get over my fixation with latex at some point and load it in
and shoot it. But for now - I like to watch my wife rolling it on. From
behind her...

Sherwin Williams makes an incredibly clean paint, and I wouldn't
hesitate to shoot any latex they make out of one of these guns.
Don't know about stuff like Behr or other brands.


We took your advice on SW a short time ago, and will never go back to Behr
or any other paint.


I don't know if you have tried these, but I am totally hooked on them
for my oil based finishes. Use them once, toss them.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...ups-97098.html

I hadn't bought them when I was just in the Devillbis world but I'm going to
humble myself and pick them up now.


--

-Mike-

woodchucker wrote:

Jeff - ping me

--

-Mike-