Dale002

I have a staringline spray gun that I purchase awhile back for general painting, would that be a good enough gun to spray urethane on my car?

13611

I used one for a while to spray primer as I advanced through the stages of learning how to paint and it was a decent gun. I feel it's capable of good results. However, if I got anything from questions like yours from this forum over the years it was to not look at it as "will this gun be good enough to spray..." The question should be "will I be good enough to make this gun spray like I'd like it to?" The pros who've helped me over the years on this forum said "practice, practice, practice!!!" When other people have asked it's been "practice, practice, practice!!!" And they've been right. I started with just one gun and got all kinds of different results as I learned. But I finally got it! Now I have several different guns for different purposes and can spray well with all of them. You can get good results from that gun. If you're new to the art of painting... play with it for a while and ask a lot of questions. It's more the painter than the spray gun (and air temps and air supply and quality of materials and proper prep and proper mixing and on and on and on...). The pros will chime in with some good advice, this is just my two cents. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask the questions here. That's what this forum is all about.

929nitro

Great advice from 13611. More important is what are you using for an air compressor. If you do not have enough cfms you are going to struggle. I started with a finishline and would get good results on a bumper, went to spray a hood on a 90 and struggled. was using a Sears 110 volt compressor. Took a course at a Voc Tech school and using their compressor could do an entire car with good results.

porchdog

all these guns run on high volume . a compressor that will give the cfm at 40-50 lbs will not give the volume required . i run the wall reg wide open. wile spraying it will maintain around 100 . to me your only as good as the gun in your hand . experience makes up for a little but in the end it is the gun .

Dale002

My Compressor is a 4 horse 60 gallon putting out 12.0 scfm @ 90 and 13.8 at 40.
Don't know the volume, I have always run thee regulator at the drop wide open and made adjustments on the gun regulator, same with the air control on the gun
My experience is with pressure guns Binks and shooting mostly Imron. Last car I painted was 36 years ago, but by then had painted 5 cars and numerous airplanes. I have no experience using a pressure gun on a complete car, but have done some door jams, jet skis ,small stuff.
I know skill and experience dictate a lot but equipment has to play a role. What I hear is that an experience painter can get the same result if using a harbor freight $9.99 gun or an awata if the painter practices long enough with the HF gun? The reason I mention the HF gun is because I had one of those and it was very difficult to maintain a good spraying pattern after just one use on painting a bike frame.
I learned years ago that you must adjust and get comfortable with the gun so many test panels are required. my question is, Is this gun capable of laying a decent coat of urethane with the right conditions and the correct support equipment?

13611

Nobody's mentioned a Harbor Freight gun here that I'm aware of? You'd have gotten a completely different response. I spoke from my personal experience with the Startingline and it's a very capable gun for what you're wanting to spray. And now that you've given some of your experience, I'm sure the responses you get will be tailored accordingly. I agree with Porch Dog on the gun quality though. My best finish with the Startingline gun comes nowhere near the finish I can get now with my Sata or Tekna. But... I also spray way more cars now than when I was learning. So, to close, your gun is fine... most likely will be doing a little more color sanding and buffing than you would with a higher end gun, but it will work. Good luck.

DUB

YES...Dale002...I agree with one of your comments 'somewhat'.

An experienced painted and make some weird stuff work.....but I can say...that even will all of what I have done and made work....having the best possible of 'everything' makes my job easier.

Not writing that you can not find the formula to make it all work out....but you and only you can find and figure it out with practice and changing 'things' if you have problems.

And...you may find your spraying technique and timing will 'possibly' have a lot to do with your compressor and if it can keep up with you.

DUB

Dale002

Yeah, I figured the compressor would have a hard day. I plan on practicing my speed and rhythm while playing with test panels. I'm purchasing extra material to have enough paint to play with. If needed,would purchase a new gun, but didn't want to if I could work with what I already have and I think the answer is yes. I'll probably never paint another car again but that's what I said in 1988.
I have another gun that I purchase online for $34 and it has a 2.2 and 2.4 tip that I will use for the thick stuff.

Dale002

Thanks! This is the answer I was hoping for, I would purchase a better gun if needed to, I just hate to purchase something that I don't need and probably would not use again while they still popular..
I wouldn't put a drop of paint on the car until I feel comfortable with the paint and equipment. Then need to be satisfied with the outcome on the test panels. I have put too many hours on the body to ruin it, in a few seconds..

540 vette

I use Startingline and Finishline guns all the time. They give great results.

It's not the gun it's the painter.