TEKNA copper vs Pro-Lite?

[Len]

Im just a little worried for me because when I paint jambs, I use the big gun and done have any problems. Im more concerned with these bikes. There are a hundred little plastic parts that simply will not be able to be wetsanded and buffed, so I need them to come out as close to perfect as possible.
But I would also like to have a clear gun that sprays a bit better than my Sata 3000 HVLP for all the rest of the work I do. The last 2 scooters I painted came out really nice, but these bikes must be perfect. Im getting a pretty good paycheck on them. The first will be HOK pearl white, and the secong HOK pearl black. Both with artwork.

On the bikes I'd use the SRi Pro for small and large parts. As long as there's nothing bigger than a car door the SRi will give you great control over the results. Be sure to have good lighting and have the parts raised to eye level (or just below) so that you can see them from all angles.

I like the Sata HVLP guns because the finish is almost always very consistent but they have have a tendency to generate some peel. You're better off using a "compliant" gun rather than the HVLP.

[gtome]

Yeah i wish I could have good lighting! Just not in the cards for where I spray! So as a painter and not a salesman, do you think a compliant gun would spray $400 better than my Sata HVLP? I love it like crazy for base. And it doesnt do a bad job with clear. But as you have seen, i cant cut clear with a DA, so my next option is to be a better sprayer! I will throw a pic up of something I sprayed that is average for the amount of peel I get. Not that its real easy to tell.....but thats about all I can do.
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[gtome]

How bout something with some clear on it!!
Attachment 8412Attachment 8412

[Len]

Even if you use a drop light when you spray small parts it will help you see the orange peel with it's reflection so that you can deal with it while the paint is wet instead of correcting the problems after the paint is hard.

[gtome]

Yeah I think I have a couple of those 500 degree yellow lights on a stand that may be perfect. I might try to build a few "T" type stands for screwing these little plastic parts to so they are up where I can see what im doing as well. Heck maybe i will go ahead and buy a SRIpro....its just green paper right!

[xchaser]

Was looking at either of these two guns can anyone tell me how does the pro lite hold up considering the trigger and needle are integrated in one? Is there any difference at all between the original chrome TEKNA and the copper version? There seems to be more variety of aircaps included with the prolite.

[Len]

Was looking at either of these two guns can anyone tell me how does the pro lite hold up considering the trigger and needle are integrated in one? Is there any difference at all between the original chrome TEKNA and the copper version? There seems to be more variety of aircaps included with the prolite.

We've been using the Copper for about a year and got the Prolite about a month ago. The Copper performs great and the Prolite has performed just as well on the few jobs that we've done with it. We haven't used the Prolite long enough to tell how it will hold up but I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem because DeVilbiss doesn't have many guns on the market that cause problems and they stand behind their products. I like the feel of the Prolite best which means we will probably be using it more in the future but since we are a restoration shop we don't spray every day like a production shop would and it may be a month or more before we can write a good review on this gun.

[xchaser]

So which setup have u been using with the prolite Len?

[Len]

So which setup have u been using with the prolite Len?

My Prolite has the T20 cap with a 1.3 tip and the DeKup system.

[vr4_rider]

Len, which cap sprays base better? 7e7 or te?

Which cap sprays clear better? 7e7 or te?

Thanks!

[Jayson M]

The 7E7 cap is for the old tekna,the TE 20 is the best cap for the pro-lite,don't interchange the air caps on these guns

[Len]

Len, which cap sprays base better? 7e7 or te?

Which cap sprays clear better? 7e7 or te?

Thanks!

I think that the TE20 and the 7e7 are both about the same but I haven't used the T20 enough to make a good comparison.

[vr4_rider]

Thanks for letting me know, Len!

[xchaser]

I like the fact that there is more options with the Prolite were as with the copper TEKNA there is only one HE air cap available. The te10 & te20 air caps are the same as the t1 & t2 air caps that are for the GTI pro in Australia. Same as the 7E7 for the TEKNA is the same as the t2 on the GTI pro released here in Australia. I found the 7e7 air cap on the TEKNA didnt spray low solid clear any where as good as it did high solid clear. The t1 cap was much better at spraying low solid clear which I assume is identical to the t10.