New Paint Gun advice needed

[Truckracer]

My paint guns are becoming dated (read that old) and I'm looking for a quality HVLP gravity feed gun at a reasonable price. I'm looking for something with a fluid tip large enough to spray thicker clears, primers and thinned latex (maybe 1.2 to 1.6mm?) but it still needs to work well with thinner materials. It would be nice to have a couple of interchangeable cups ... one small and another larger to match various jobs. Hobby use only.

Having always used professional guns in the past, the cheap guns available at Home Depot or the cheap tool stores just doesn't look to be the way to go and I even owned one of these for awhile .... and sold it after a couple of uses. But I don't want to spend $1000 for something that is only used a few times a year.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a decent quality gun for our application?

 

[Terryscustom]

Hands down, 3M accuspray system and you will melt any other gun down for scrap. It's literally like using a brand new paint gun each and every time you use it. You have disposable gun caps (than can be used 6-8 times or more if you take care of them) Also just as an example, a couple weeks ago I sprayed primer, sealer, three colors of paint, clear and tinted clear all with the same tip. In addition, between all those different colors I used less than 12oz of thinner for all of the cleanup of the gun......total. I recommend the 1.4 tips for primer, base and clear and 1.1 tips for sealer.

http://3mcollision.com/3m-accuspray-spray-gun-model-hg18-16570.html

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...o=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7z8n9pnazx_b_p10

 

[Truckracer]

Great info .... I'll check it out.

Thanks!

 

[Truckracer]

OK, I'm sold! Will order one. I had no idea such a gun even existed. I thought I'd be spending twice that much for an Iwata or something similar. I found the same 3M kit even cheaper at some other online sources.

 

[acerc]

I am looking for a new gun as well. Truck, what is this other on line source?

 

[Terryscustom]

OK, I'm sold! Will order one. I had no idea such a gun even existed. I thought I'd be spending twice that much for an Iwata or something similar. I found the same 3M kit even cheaper at some other online sources.

Yes, definitely can be found cheaper, that was just the first one that came up when I searched. You can also get the disposable cups in two different sizes. Super handy when you are only mixing a couple ounces of paint. I actually tossed the cups on my devillbiss and Finex guns and got adapters for the 3M system cups. TCP and other places have all the adapters and accessories, not sure on price but they are great to deal with: http://www.tcpglobal.com/Automotive...6kt-O-ac1azKNkpbnnJCg0Kbpo9SBJLOkAaAu8b8P8HAQ

 

[Truckracer]

Ace, I just went on Google and entered "3M Accuspray system" and several popped up along with lots of useful information. If this gun system works half as good as Terry says it does it will be perfect for hobby use. Thanks again Terry!

 

[Pistolera]

Great info! I'll be ordering one soon. Getting back to finishing this Krill as the weather warms up.

 

[Truckracer]

I ordered the 3M16580 kit from Amazon yesterday. This thing really caught my interest. I spent some time doing my homework on some of the auto body forums and couldn't find any negative comments about the product. Several users commented about their expensive guns collecting dust now. I should have some opinions about the gun in a couple of weeks.

@Terryscustom you're quite the salesman! Amazon should have your commission check in the mail shortly!

Other places offered a lower price but as usual with Amazon, I ordered some other items along with the gun making the net price was lower. Some other vendors had pricing over $100 higher than Amazon .... go figure.

 

[Truckracer]

3M Accuspray gun, first impressions.

I took @Terryscustoms advice and bought the 3M Accuspray kit along with the mini cups. I'll call it the "Plastic Fantastic" paint gun as other than a few hardware items, the whole thing is molded plastic. For those not familiar with the system, this is a paint system that has disposable, easily replaceable, modular fluid heads and a similarly modular, partially disposable paint cup that likewise just snaps in place for use. Ordered from Amazon, the gun kit arrived by special USPS parcel delivery on Saturday and the mini cups showed up on Monday.

I haven't painted any model parts yet but I did a test panel to see how the gun performed. Not much to report other than it works 100% as advertised. I quickly noticed the 1.4mm fluid tip flows more paint that any other gun I have used with that size tip, though it is easily regulated down by adjusting the fluid control knob. I don't believe I've ever had a gun before that flowed paint like this so I was impressed. The spray pattern is excellent. I no longer have a heated shop that I can paint in so I'll be waiting for some warmer days before I can paint in my shelter.

The only down side about the gun is its airflow requirements @ 10 CFM. My home compressor just makes this though it wouldn't be close to adequate for a large job such as a car. I replaced my regulator as the one I had was not capable of maintaining a high airflow at a low pressure. The many common and smaller home type compressors would not be adequate for this gun.

Will report more after getting some paint through the gun.