Which spray gun should i get?

[Treveiger]

Ive been looking on this forum and found a lot of good info on what i need to look for when purchasing my first spray gun. Im new the the autobody world and found a few paint guns i like and am wondering what you guys recomend. My air compressor is 7.70 @ 40psi and 6.00 @ 90psi. I wouldnt be doing a whole vehicle at once, id do it in sections and so idk if the bigger gun is necessary and dont know if my compresser would work with it.
Heres the two im looking at.

http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/m...tegory_Code=1D

http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/m...tegory_Code=1D
Any info would be great!
Thanks

[Len]

The SRi Pro is a smaller gun that could spray one panel at a time while the Plus gun is a large gun that is capable of spraying an entire car or truck. You compressor would keep up with the SRi with no problems but the Plus uses at least 9 CFM at 30 PSI so the only way you could use that gun would be to have a decent tank size like 60 Gallon or to spray in small sections like one or two panels at a time. Both of these guns are capable of producing excellent results.

[Treveiger]

Can you adjust the bigger gun so it can shoot smaller patterns or can the touch up gun only do that?
Thanks.

[Henry]

Can you adjust the bigger gun so it can shoot smaller patterns or can the touch up gun only do that?
Thanks.

You're new here so I say Welcome!!!

Depending on the results you want will depend on where the fine line of equipment you buy. What I mean by this is there is TOP SHELF equip and lower cost. The important saying to you is 'You Get What You Pay For'.

I would say most import is your air compressor which is the HEART of your shop/project. Next comes your SprayGun for finish painting. You just CAN'T cheat. You can use a smaller compressor for priming panels but don't waste the money on expensive paint and materials with a lower quality gun and under acheiving air compressor. You'll spend more time and MONEY trying to fix the mess you made than you would have spent buying the right stuff to start with.

You also don't need to use air tools for everything you do either. You can do it by hand. Long time ago my mentor (a professional of high quality) knew I wanted to learn more the right way said I could work with him but NO AIR TOOLS. Glad he did that. I still sand with a longboard by hand over one my 4 air boards.

All that said, you still CANNOT skimp on the air you get nor the gun for finishing. Just too many variables that can make your job or just make trouble. Henry

[Len]

Can you adjust the bigger gun so it can shoot smaller patterns or can the touch up gun only do that?
Thanks.

Yes, you can narrow the pattern and restrict the paint coming from the gun in order to make the big gun act like the small gun but it will still use the same amount of air to atomize the paint properly. However this could be an option because spraying the small parts probably won't overtax the compressor.

[rons]

You didn't say how large your tank capacity is. But your selection of the Plus and
SRI Pro are very good. One thing to consider. If you obtained the GTI gun and the
PLUS air cap you would have essentially two large guns. The GTI comes with 1.3,
1.4, and 1.5 nozzles. Get a 1.2 nozzle and the PLUS air cap.

[Treveiger]

You're new here so I say Welcome!!!

Depending on the results you want will depend on where the fine line of equipment you buy. What I mean by this is there is TOP SHELF equip and lower cost. The important saying to you is 'You Get What You Pay For'.

I would say most import is your air compressor which is the HEART of your shop/project. Next comes your SprayGun for finish painting. You just CAN'T cheat. You can use a smaller compressor for priming panels but don't waste the money on expensive paint and materials with a lower quality gun and under acheiving air compressor. You'll spend more time and MONEY trying to fix the mess you made than you would have spent buying the right stuff to start with.

You also don't need to use air tools for everything you do either. You can do it by hand. Long time ago my mentor (a professional of high quality) knew I wanted to learn more the right way said I could work with him but NO AIR TOOLS. Glad he did that. I still sand with a longboard by hand over one my 4 air boards.

All that said, you still CANNOT skimp on the air you get nor the gun for finishing. Just too many variables that can make your job or just make trouble. Henry

Thanks! Ive been wanting to learn body work for a while and been told this is the site to be for that by several people. I plan on doing all the body work and preping by hand instead of air and power tools. I work better by hand and can "feel" the project better.

Yes, you can narrow the pattern and restrict the paint coming from the gun in order to make the big gun act like the small gun but it will still use the same amount of air to atomize the paint properly. However this could be an option because spraying the small parts probably won't overtax the compressor.

So i can make the bigger gun spray smaller patters like the SRI pro? What could be a option? Im going to do my truck in sections not the whole thing at once. What do you mean overtax the compressor?

You didn't say how large your tank capacity is. But your selection of the Plus and
SRI Pro are very good. One thing to consider. If you obtained the GTI gun and the
PLUS air cap you would have essentially two large guns. The GTI comes with 1.3,
1.4, and 1.5 nozzles. Get a 1.2 nozzle and the PLUS air cap.

For the life of my i can remember what the tank is but ill be up there tomorrow tearing apart a van so ill make sure to look, its not a huge one but neither is it that small, to me at least. I have two air compressors actually, is there some way i could have the two work at the same time together to spray better?

Thank you guys for all your help.

[Len]

So i can make the bigger gun spray smaller patters like the SRI pro? What could be a option? Im going to do my truck in sections not the whole thing at once. What do you mean overtax the compressor?

The "option" is that you can make the big gun spray a smaller pattern AND also use it normally to spray full panels or even complete cars or trucks.

If your gun needs more air than your compressor can produce you can "overtax" the compressor which will cause a pressure drop at the gun which can cause the gun to atomize poorly. But if you are spraying in sections you probably won't overtax the compressor.

[Treveiger]

The "option" is that you can make the big gun spray a smaller pattern AND also use it normally to spray full panels or even complete cars or trucks.

If your gun needs more air than your compressor can produce you can "overtax" the compressor which will cause a pressure drop at the gun which can cause the gun to atomize poorly. But if you are spraying in sections you probably won't overtax the compressor.

Ooo ok that makes sense. The biggest thing will probably be my bed and cab but by then i might have a different compressor. Tomorrow ill have to check on the size.

[Treveiger]

ok i got some info on my compressor

6hp Peak 15 gallon tank
7.7cfm@40psi
6.0cfm@90psi
125-155psi working pressure

[Len]

ok i got some info on my compressor

6hp Peak 15 gallon tank
7.7cfm@40psi
6.0cfm@90psi
125-155psi working pressure

Without adding an additional tank the that compressor I would recommend going with the SRi Pro spray gun. If you use a bigger gun you will experience a significant pressure drop shortly after you start spraying. If you can find a "good" 30 or 40 tank that can hold your 155 PSI air pressure you could probably get away with a large gun.

[Treveiger]

Thanks Len. So with the SRI pro i can spray bc/cc with no problem itll just take longer to do the the panels? Is there a way i could hook two compressors together that are around this size to run the bigger gun?

[Len]

Thanks Len. So with the SRI pro i can spray bc/cc with no problem itll just take longer to do the the panels? Is there a way i could hook two compressors together that are around this size to run the bigger gun?

Yes you can pipe two compressors together as long as each compressor can handle the amount of pressure the other compressor puts out.

The large gun would make it easier to spray large areas but the SRi Pro can do it if you spray one panel at a time.

[Treveiger]

Without adding an additional tank the that compressor I would recommend going with the SRi Pro spray gun. If you use a bigger gun you will experience a significant pressure drop shortly after you start spraying. If you can find a "good" 30 or 40 tank that can hold your 155 PSI air pressure you could probably get away with a large gun.

Hey Len do you mean find a good 30-40 gallon tank and switch out the motor? Would a 30-40 gallon tank be able to do a car in sections with the plus as long as the cfm was correct?

[Cortezmachine]

The sharpe fx1000 mini (and the whole fx line) are the best budget guns out there IMHO.

The fx1000 has a nice uniform fan that is just a little larger than other minis so would be perfect for panel painting. Seeing as how you're working with limited air this would be ideal.

Sharpe sell a kit with an fx1000 1.0 and a full size fx3000 1.3. You can find it for 200 online.

Craftsmanship is quite superior to other lines of the same pricepoint.
I've never cared for any of develbiss' lower end stuff cause it looks and feel cheap. Ive been using sata since I started painting and was pleasantly surprised by the fx series.