With the birth of YouTube and the endless amounts of How-To content on the web, more people are trying to tackle their own body and paint work. If you’re new to painting a car then it may be overwhelming and confusing as to what gun you need and how much you need to spend. We like to try and take the mystery away from painting a car. In fact we even put together a full video on taking a panel from bare metal to paint and clear HERE.
So if you’re looking to tackle your first paint work at home you’ll need to find a paint gun that will serve you well but won’t break the bank. At the most basic level we suggest looking at HVLP guns and comparing their specs with your Air Compressor output. It won’t matter if you buy the best, most professional gun in the world if your air compressor can’t keep up! We suggest looking for a gun that will work a little below your compressors output as those output numbers are a best case scenario.
Tip Size and gun size do matter if you’re looking at HVLP Paint Gun Kits. Generally the smaller the tip or needle-nozzle size; the finer the coatings you can spray through it. Why does this matter? Well if you want to spray everything from primer to clear coat you will likely need at least two or three needle-nozzle combinations to do it all. A good “all around” size for most coatings like base coats, some clear coats, chassis paints, Rust Encapsulator, etc. is a 1.3mm or 1.4mm tip. That common tip size can spray a lot of different materials but it is on the smaller size for some chassis paints and may require a little more knowledge with gun setup to spray primers or you may need to thin the material you’re spraying. A 1.8 or 2.0 tip will allow you to spray primers and thicker under-car coatings but is far too large to apply clear coat. We suggest investing in a gun kit with a pair of guns; one for thicker coatings with a 1.7mm or 1.8mm needle nozzle and one with a 1.3mm or 1.4mm needle nozzle for base coats and clear coats.
Our most popular entry level HVLP paint gun kit is the Rockwood 8 Piece HVLP Paint Gun Kit because it provides an economical way to enter into the automotive painting world. It includes a comprehensive array of paint guns that run on 10-13 CFM at 30-40 PSI. This kit includes all of the paint gun related equipment required to do a complete paint job from primer, sealer, base coat through to clear coat. For under $50 you can’t get a better bang for your buck. Find all of our automotive paint supplies HERE.