Eric Sakai

Hello All:
Maybe not the right forum, but I like to start painting panels on my 58 solid axle.
What brand (Devilbiss?) & model is best for conventional siphon spray gun?
What is good compressor to use at home?

Thanks for your help.
Eric

DUB

It has been so long since I used a siphon paint gun...I would not know what to tell you. I have been using a SATA HVLP gravity feed gun.

Does Hawaii allow lacquer to be used??? Many states do not allow it due to the VOC's.

What color are you planning on shooting?

Is it a metallic or solid color?

Using an air compressor that is small that can be used at a home can often times be a problem due to the heat build up and moisture it will push out ...and thus due to it being too small...it will run a lot and possibly not be able to keep up the pressure and volume of air needed.

Also...depending on the color and if it is a metallic or solid color. Painting the car panel by panel can be dangerous due to possible color change due to weather changing from day to day and the mix of paint being off due to stirring it all the time and then maybe not stirring it up enough. If it is a metallic color...you can easily run into metallics not matching if the panels are painted all apart form one another and on different days.

Not meaning to get into your "business"...but I am just curious.

DUB

rob1961

x2 on sata hvlp. great gun. I use a old no brand for the primers. bigger the better on the compressor. I have 2 5 hp hooked together. we use lots of are in the shop. my sand blaster eats up.3-5 hp with a big tank should be fine

DansYellow66

If you are looking for a siphon spray gun to buy, you instead should look for a gravity feed gun. Just because siphon guns started to disappear about the same time that lacquer paint did too, doesn't mean a gravity feed gun won't handle lacquer paint just fine. A gravity feed gun is just a better gun to use in most (all?) cases. You just have to be careful to look at the air consumption rating. Some of them use a lot of air - but then so did the siphon guns also.

Roger Walling

You would probably want a 5 HP air compressor in order to properly paint a car, along with a system for drying the compressed air.

Siphon spray guns are illegal to be used in most states for any commercial spraying and are considered obsolete.

The most desirable paints that are used now are urethanes, not acrylic lacquer.

The only time that one would want to use acrylic lacquer on a Corvette is when you are painting a very high end show car that will be judged for originality and it certainly will not be painted in a home setting.

The most forgiving paint to use at home would be base coat/clear coat, that can be sanded to remove imperfections and buffed to make up for the skills of an inexperienced painter.

I would recommend painting a few friends cars before attempting to paint a nice 58.

mashinter

In 1980, I painted my '65 in Milano Maroon acrylic lacquer with a DeV JGA-502 (with a 1 horsepower air cap!) and a 1.5 horse Craftsman air compressor. I was able to spray the whole car without running out of air. I used an ice water bath on my water separator and sprayed on a cool, dry fall day. You can learn what doesn't work when you spray the primer.

Good luck. Metallics can be tough to get right.

Roger Walling

It is possible to obtain a good paint job using almost any type of paint delivery system.
I know of a guy that painted his Rolls Royce with a vacuum cleaner as a source of air.

The more sophisticated the system is, will yield the best paint jobs.


I know of a guy that paid someone $50 to paint his porch with latex paint.
It turns out that it wasn't a Porsche, it was a Ferrari.

C1-Curt

We recently shot our 63 SWC with acrylic lacquer and I used an LVLP gun. It was an IWATA LPH400 with I think a 1.4 nozzle. We also used this gun on my 60 Corvette that got base coat clear coat and it laid the clear down like glass.

I also bought a 5HP 60gal Harbor Freight compressor and added two filter/separators and a gun filter. I have used a 3 hp 20 gallon in the past but there were times it had to catch up. We painted it in a gravel floor makeshift paint booth and it turned out awesome.


http://505hp.com/?p=728
http://505hp.com/?p=743

Diablo427

You can get a great paint job using most anything if you are really good at sanding and buffing. That said, I have two Sata gravity feed guns, a two stage 15 HP industrial compressor and a paint booth. I do guitars. Once I discovered gravity feed Sata guns, years ago, I can't imagine using anything else. You will use less paint and get much better results with a good gravity feed gun. Also, if you don't have to have acrylic, definitely use urethane. I have found that using PPG works a lot better than Chromoclear or anything else. I have to build up more finish than a car because it is wood that is the substrate. I actually use UV polyester as a base and then top coat with urethane. There is a lot of sanding so the finish ends up very thin, but very much like glass. That result is mostly from the inordinate amount of sanding and buffing. Using the SATA guns, it really helps because you can shoot finish extremely smooth to start. I am in Texas so the humidity here is very low. Usually between about 16-23 % and that helps. If you build coats so that you have something to sand off, you need to wait longer with each coat to let the solvents out. PPG is MUCH better for building sanding coats as it doesn't skim over and get solvent pop nearly as easily as other urethanes. Solvent pop is hundreds of tiny bubbles that get trapped in the finish. You don't want that to happen. Good luck and don't be scared. As long as you don't have solvent trapped in the finish, you can sand and buff until it is perfect. I will be painting my 67 coupe sometime soon and it will be a new experience but one that I am not scared of at all. Just do it and have fun. The results will be something that you are proud of.

Diablo427

I see that you are in Hawaii. You will want to do what you can to get the water out of the finish. Water separators will be necessary and will help you do a great job. Just the inline or on the gun ones will probably work fine. If you are having problems with humidity, you could possibly find or borrow, a refrigerated dryer which will really help. I have one in line with my compressor, but I never use it because of the extremely low humidity here in my shop. You will find out pretty quickly how much water separation is needed in your environment. That is where a big compressor will help. The less that it is running to supply your gun, the less water it will be producing. You will just have to see how it goes.

pop23235

The standard for spraying lacquer was/is a Binks #7. It will eat up a 3/5 HP compressor.

DUB

I still have my Binks#7...I retired it and it is in my trophy case.

I agree with many others...if you are shooting lacquer...the gun really does not matter because you can adjust your thinner and gun to apply it.

I do not know why you would wan to shout it in lacquer...because the new paints of today are much like lacquer (in basecoat form) and then apply a clear to protect them they are not that much different.
DUB

DansYellow66

Except with urethane you have additional health issues to be concerned about. I invested in a Hobby Air air supplied respirator system to paint my last car in urethane - a not inconsequential expense but worth the piece of mind. Also you need a cleaner environment for urethane although with either system, the cleaner the spray area, the better the results will be.

TCracingCA

The hardest part is finding just the right vacant house being sold that has been on the market for awhile. Got to get in there early and wash it down and put the spray booth paper on the garage walls.

Then I prefer a HVLP gun and I have an extra bottle with the thinner ready also. Thus if at all the gun starts to run funky or anything, I unscrew the color quickly and spray the thinner thru and when clear even spraying, I will screw the color back on and blow it at a piece of cardboard till flowing right again and the thinner is clear and back to color.

I like a compressor with HP instead of tank volume. YOu could actually rent one of those!

Also I used to be able to cover more car faster when I was younger, because I could hold my breath longer!

DansYellow66

Now those are some tips you won't see everywhere - paint in a vacant house's garage and hold your breath between coats. Is this forum great entertainment or what?

Roger Walling

" Now those are some tips you won't see everywhere - paint in a vacant house's garage and hold your breath between coats. Is this forum great entertainment or what? "

I have a better suggestion than above.

When spraying in an enclosed garage with low ventilation and an open propane heater, shut off the heater when there is a visible orange glow around the heater that is bigger than 4'.


Legal disclaimer;

Do not try this at home. We are what they call "professionals".

wonderful

I painted my 79 Chevette with a siphon feed gun and a air brush compressor with a moisture filter outdoors on a low humid sunny day way back when. My paint was acrylic lacquer. My car insurance agent couldn't believe it when he saw my car. He was impressed with the paint job.
In Canada, acrylic lacquer can not be purchased from a paint dealer anymore.
Lacquer paint is so much inferior to Urethane paint.
I'd never use lacquer paint again.

Mike Geary

Eric: You need to re-think using lacquer. Today's formulation is really crap. Stays soft for months and never stops shrinking.

Get yours self a Devilbiss Finishline gravity feed HVLP gun and shoot basecoat/clearcoat. I like PPG base and SPI clear. SATA guns are the pro's choice but the DVB will give good results and save you hundreds (which you will need when you get the material costs).

Don't forget the moisture filter and disposable filter at the gun. And use a NEW air hose.

MikeM

In the late 1950's, a guy I know painted a '32 Ford roadster red lacquer using a hand held fly sprayer with the pump handle on the end. The car was a best in paint winner at the local Carl Casper car show. This guy would only use fly sprayers that were sold by Gulf Oil Company.

He also painted his '35 Ford pickup with the same sprayer. brother used it some too. They weren't down on their luck. Both had good jobs. They just preferred to use the hand held sprayer rather than a compressor.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OLD-VINTAGE-GULF-OIL-GAS-INSECT-SPRAYER-ADVERTISING-TIN-COLLECTIBLE-G-277-/161261863221?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258bf4c135#ht_0wt_0

tominohio

I also still have my Binks #7, but it's been retired. I use a Binks MG-1 and a 5HP 2-stage compressor. No complaints even shooting metalics.