painting tools

ok I'm geting ready to repaint my truck so I need to figure out
what tool's I need.
I have two spay guns a craftsman suction feed and a De-vilbiss touch-up
gun,should I get a chep pressure feed gun or try and go for a good one
I wont need to paint much maybe a piece here and one there,and
should I get a sandblaster like one of the $200 60lb one's or should I
stick with the 9inch grinder and last but not least here's the painting plan
prep(sand-blast, sand what ever) one or two coats of red oxide zinc phosphate primer one or two coats of epoxy primer as a under coat
and then two top coats of a non acrylic alkyd enamel.

Well Jed, don't go crazy here. Painting a deuce is kinda like painting a house. I have 2 cheap (less than $20) #7 Binks copy guns I use. I have a new touch up gun but haven't used it yet, might today when I swap tires from the semi trailer to the tractor. Sand blasters are nice but if your using the 6 HP single stage compressor most of us "On a Budget" guys have, plan on doing it over many days. Takes tons of air to blast. Harbor Freight has a 60# pressure blaster for under $100. Make sure you have plenty of stir sticks and those littl sifter filters (forget what they are called). I got that stuff along with mineral spirits for cleanup, from Home Depot. I've also spent plenty of time with the 4 1/2" grinder but using a sanding pad. DAs are nice but not that necessary on motorpool re-paints. When I sprayed the M35A2C I used a 4000# pressure cleaner and thoroughly cleaned the whole truck. Spent severa hours on this. I felt the paint was coarse enough to just spray is as is. Years later its holding up quite well. Anyplace I got down to bare metal I prepped and sprayed it with Gillespie primer. Others can speak more but thats my findings.

I have a doomsday Sata gun for painting my cars, but when I get a Deuce and paint it, I am going to use an old #7 like Recovery has. You're not terribly worried about orange peel and such in an application such as this.

I shot the engine compartment of my Satellite with my cheap gun and after I color sanded and buffed it, it looked show quality and I don't throw that phrase around lightly.

I would buy a sandblaster and a big enough compressor to push it, unless you have access to or are willing to pay for some kind of abrasive stripping (sand/plastic media). I have a pressure fed sandblaster and it works very well, but it needs a 2 stage compressor to push it. Heavy air volume demand.

Keep the paint dry, you have to keep the moisture out of the air lines. Use multiple filters and use good ones (Speedaire, etc.).

Good tools aren't cheap, but they are an investment that last a lifetime. You're young, so you're in good shape. The Snap On stuff I bought when I was 16 is still good to go, and the Crapsman stuff is long gone.......food for though.....

I am tempted to buy one of these, anybody ever use one?

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...uctDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=8520&R=8520

clinto said:

The Snap On stuff I bought when I was 16 is still good to go, and the Crapsman stuff is long gone.......food for though.....

Click to expand...

my dad gave me the craftsman and the De-vilbiss spay guns I'm
buying a new air compressor see link so I should be good there.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...isplay?storeId=6970&productId=207226&R=207226
I want the pressure feed gun to paint the frame axle's under side of bed
and if I get a good one the whole truck here's a link to the chep one
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...tDisplay?storeId=6970&productId=13287&R=13287
here's the expensive one
http://www.sata.com/Produkte/produkt.jsp?index=02-22&menu=05,05
for the $200 it will cost me I need to get a lot of really nice pain
job's out of it.
barefootrubi I haveint used it but I was looking at it too.

Hi RDD,

Why go to all the trouble of stripping off the old paint unless you are building a show car? If it is not chipping and/or falling off, it is stuck on pretty good. Pressure wash it (like Kenny did) to remove most of the crud, grime, oil, contaminants and then scrub it with a Scotchbrite pad with a little kitchen cleanser and water to give the old paint some "tooth" and remove any oxidation. Make sure to rinse any residue off as paint will not stick to it.

Actually that Binks 7 copy is a great gun to use but if you have a few bucks buy the HVLP gravity feed Sata copy at Harbor Freight for about $49.00. The gravity feed takes less cfm's and pressure at the gun and the paint goes a lot farther which means less overspray everywhere.

Heck, I've flamed a lot of cars using that cheap ol' gun.

how about this gun from Harbor Freight and what does the HVLP gravity feed Sata copy look like?
here's the one I'm looking at.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=7902
is this the sata copy
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430

red devils dude said:

how about this gun from Harbor Freight and what does the HVLP gravity feed Sata copy look like?
here's the one I'm looking at.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=7902

Click to expand...

This one is great if you are laying on your back and painting the underside of the bed. Also easier to get in and around parts painted in place as no cup to get in the way - ie: you can get into tighter places.
Real downside - uses a lot of thinner to clean up.

red devils dude said:

is this the sata copy
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=43430

Click to expand...

Yes, that is the exact gun - buy it. I love that gun and works like a champ. You cannot go wrong on that one. In fact, I bought an extra one to use just for paint and basecoats and now use the old one for primer. Great all around spray gun. Plus they clean up with minimal thinner.

I use my DeVilbiss (read expensive) mainly for clearcoats - but that is way overkill for what you want to do.
That is this one here:
http://www.autotoolmart.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_prod.html?p_prodid=11536&p_catid=0


Cool tip - when cleaning the gun fill about 1/4 of the cup with lacquer thinner, screw the lid on and shake it holding your finger over the air hole sealing off the cup, (have the airhose disconnected). Keep holding it and then pull the trigger. You will find that when shaken, the lacquer thinner has expanded/pressurized the cup and will force itself out the tip. Do that a couple of times and you will be good to go.

thanks Polverone I'll start with the sata copy and then if I need a pressurized gun I'll get one.

Jed,
Harbor Frieght also makes a gun stand for around $9 to hold the gun while you filter the paint. Great just to have to hold the gun at any time since you can not set it down or hang it easily. There is also a special aluminum paint cup that holds a liter instead of the quart furnished. It has a snap in lid that is easier to work with. I'll get a pictures of them in the morning when I go to the shop and give you the part numbers.

Bit of recent trivia, that pressurized one was HF's first HVLP type gun that came with a standard paint cup that pressurized.

Harbor Freight headquarters is about 15 minutes from me in Camarillo, Ca.
You should see the showroom!! They have a great parts dept there as well.
I hate going in there. Ya go to get a roll of duct tape and come out with $100 worth of stuff...............everytime!

I recently painted my truck. I spent about 2 days sanding one fender then said screw it it and just sprayed it with out much prep work to the rest of the truck. I plan on using my truck so its gonna get scratched and dented. If I spent too much time making it perfect then I would get upset at scratches. There are just too many layers of paint to sand down and I dont have the time to do it.

Jed,

Here's the skinny:

Paint gun is on sale (price quoted on Jan 21-06). Only difference on this one is that it has no pressure regulator indicator on the gun. You don't need it if you have one on the compressor, plus the small thumbscrew at the bottom by the air inlet adjusts the pressure. The guage is not needed and the regulator would be a redundant item. Plus it hangs down farther making it difficult to get into small places.

It is here: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47016

Heck of a price, normally $39.95 now only $19.95. I am going down to get another one because it is so cheap.

The bigger paint cup is here: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93354

Only $9.99

The must have to keep your sanity
Spray Gun Holder is here: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91603

Only $6.45

The paint cup and gun holder are not displayed in the store. I just happened on them because I know a girl that works in the office.

As Mike loves this item here "This Thread Is Useless Without Pictures" - I have attached pictures.

Picture items 1st photo are (from front left to right then back left to right):

1 - HVLP touch up gun - little brother to the gun listed above. Great for small items or hard to get to areas.
2- HVLP gun as above with standard paint cup.
3- HVLP gun with the above mentioned larger paint cup and the regulator that ya really don't need (in fact I don't even know why I have it on there).
4- Early Harbor Freight HVLP that pressurized the cup. Now used in their pressure gun/paint pot setup.
5 - Box the HVLP came in
6 - box the paint holder came in.

Second photo shows the mini HLVP on the gun holder. There is a ring that goes over the cup (not shown) that holds the paint strainer. This holder fits both big and small guns by the way.

Hope this helps you (or anyone else) in your painting tool needs.

cool thanks, looks like I'm going to harborfreight monday.

Polverone, that's the exact setup Dad and I used to do our deuce, Harbor Freight paint gun

It's pretty easy to paint a deuce, it's just TIME CONSUMING so make sure you can devote enough time to get it done over a weekend or so.

Pressure Wash
Use wire brush on drill to knock off any rust
Use sanding block to feather out any severe jagged edges or chipped paint
Slop on the green in coats until satisfied

As you can see, it looks pretty good

Great Paint!

LTR,

You did a great job on the Deuce! How would you like to come over and help me paint my M37?

Hey LTR,

Due to all the EPA concerns here in California (read restrictive as hell) I see that you do like we do and used the CCOASB, (Certified California Open Air Spray Booth).

Looks great!

Here is a '55 Chevy 150 I just did a scallop job on using the very gun(s) I described.
Notice how I place it next to my Deuce to make sure that it looks EXTRA REAL SHINY!

Gary,

Is there anything you don't do? Most impressive.

Thanks DR.
Well I haven't painted a Deuce, yet. Mine's next.

Here's a '53 Ford 2 door wagon I just finished flamin'.

When I finally paint mine I am going to paint it just like the military. I will tape off everything and just start spraying inside and out. I have seen some paint jobs better than others and I will not do a "sloppy" military job but I will not be taping and painting any better than they did when I was in the army. I want to make it as authentic as possible. I only paint it to do away with the paint marks from the brush applied 70's camo. I will update to modern three color woodland. I also need to do it to take care of the surface rust. You will see overspray on the job I will do because I have yet to see a military truck without overspray. I will do a much better job with the painting of my mustang this summer but the mustang was meant to be all shiny an perfect, the deuce was not.

I do however refuse to do the sort of quick job you see on the desert tan trucks with no taping of the brake pedals and such. I saw Armada's truck today and he is really taking some time to make the paint nice. I will not take that much time.