Technical What Auto Painting Equipment Do You Recommend???

I am completely new to auto painting so I have been doing some research.

There are the traditional paint and solvent type paint systems and then it seems the industry is switching over to waterborne paint systems that is pretty much paint and distilled water.

I settled on the Stewart Systems water borne paint system because it was recommended on another forum. It is an airplane paint system so the colors are limited however they have the color I want to that is not a show stopper. I do like it because it is supposed to be super simple to paint and clean up and if the industry is going that way I might as well learn water coloring first.

https://stewartsystems.aero/store/

I have a huge air-compressor so now I need to get ALL of the stuff that is between the compressor and the car panels and underside that I will be painting.

This is what I have already bought:

-EkoClean - Heavy Duty Cleaner/Degreaser
-EkoPoxy - Waterborne Epoxy Primer with Catalyst White - Quart-
-EkoCrylic Waterborne Paint with Catalyst for metal White
-Paint filters provided by Stewart

Can someone PLEASE recommend ALL of the stuff I need?

-Water/ oil filter make/model???
-Air hose (new)
-Spray gun make/model???
-Distilled water
-gloves
-acetone, MEK, or lacquer thinner for cleaning the metal (what do you recommend???)
-Disposable 3M PPS paint cups (or equivlent???)
-paint stir sticks
-What is that stand called that holds the filters???

Any help writing my shopping list would be greatly appreciated!!!

THANKS!!!

 

binks no. 7

 

Where are you located? Waterborne paints are not going to be very user friendly for a home user if you are somewhere that has high humidity.

 

you will need drying equipment for waterborne.

You can get a decent paint job with a HF purple gun, unless you are a pro, the high end guns won't feel different to you.

There are affordable paints out there, like Kirker, that will give you a great job. Don't go overboard with equipment, keep it simple and add on as needed

 

Most products have data sheets. This should be the epoxy.
https://stewartsystems.aero/wp-content/uploads/EkoPoxy-Instructions.pdf
Recommends a 1.5-1.8 tip size for the gun. That rules out the harbor freight purple gun. Unless you over reduce. The HF purple is 1.4.
Find you a 1.5-1.8 gun that fits your budget. DeVilbiss has a combo set with different tips. So does 3m
The tech sheet says to reduce with distilled water. So that can be used for clean up
For cleaning parts, a generic automotive wax and grease remover
I also like to use a water based cleaner first. I’ve used denatured alcohol mixed with water. I’ve seen some guys use isopropyl alcohol.

 

The disposable spray cups I use have a built in filter.
A lot of HVLP paint guns come with a filter that is under where the cup attaches. Remove and discard. I hate these things.

 

I’d recommend a “top loader” style gun. HVLP or RP (regular pressure)
A siphon gun wastes about as much paint as it transfers to the vehicle.

 

OK first off I am an old school painter, from the Dulux days and Lacquer paint. The new water born paints are not hobbyist friendly. If you are just starting out I would use base coat clear coat system.

 

I just painted this with a 69.00 HVLP Harbor Freight Gun. Primered and sealed with the HF , Purple gun that I drilled out the cap for heavy primer and sealer .

Not because I painted it , but I really doubt anyone could lay it on much better . It is single stage urethane , no metallic . I did not want the old girl to look like a b*** boat .

 

I’ve had great results with the HF guns.
The biggest difference between them and the expensive guns is the expensive ones atomize better for metallics. Easier to blend.
But paint work is 90% prep

 

I painted both my son and mine pulling tractors with the harbor freight purple gun. For $15 I think they do a really good job.

 

We used Stewarts paint to paint our airplane which was a real exercise in frustration but we did finally get a shiny smooth finish equal to a car. We followed their methods along with a few Stewarts phone calls and depending who we spoke to each had different processes. We came up with our own way to get a gl***y smooth finish. Best is to use a small kitchen scale to measure the components in the precise ratios. The metric measurements on the scale is more precise that the std imperial measurements. It is easier to calculate the weights to add of each component. Add the hardener to the paint and mix well and let it sit for ten minutes to catalyze before adding the water. Using a scale gives the batch consistency for the paint to lay down the same every time. Everything Stewart is "eco" friendly but the only eco friendly component is the water. It takes some digging but find the Stewarts SDS safety data sheets on the health and safety precautions and hazards for the products. The Stewart top coats are a urethane that uses the same isocyanate based hardeners that are used in waterborne or solvent based paints. The isocyante hardeners are dangerous in both waterborne and solvent based paint systems.

 

Motor guard filter. It’s the driest air there is. You can’t hook any air filter straight to the tank. It won’t work. Google is your friend.

I switched to an iwata spray gun and love it.

 

Body shop teacher I worked with had a sign in the shop, "Piss Poor Preparation Equals Piss Poor Results."

 

Only if you wanna paint the floor, walls and everything else. Those days are long gone my friend. I gave my last Binks 7 away about a year ago.

 

Good filter / separator on air.
Dedicated paint air hose - don't hook up your oily air tools to it.

Mask, I like 3M canister type, buy a box of extra filter and change them frequently, don't say I'll use the old ones cause you don't have new filters in hand.

Guns - Midrange cost 2 or 3 gun set. You can get by with changing tips, dedicated primer / base / clear guns are nice. There's some very good "knock off" guns copying top tier brands.

I do use harbor freight guns alot, even though I have much more expensive guns.

Buy a gallon of rustoleum, acetone. You get good at painting by painting. Learning your gun, spray pattern, travel rate and overlap. Go paint everything you see and learn how to read how the paint is laying down.

Go buy a gallon of automotive single stage enamel or urethane, go paint everything. Again.

Spending $100 -$200 on paint that you waste to learn how to lay paint, is much better than wasting $500-1000 on paint because lack of experience bites you.

Single stage urethane non metallic is a very good paint job to learn on, you can clean up a lot of mistakes.

 

Before I painted my PU at home I added an electronic water cooler and I have zero water issues as a result. Not cheap but worth it if you like not having water in your paint jobs. Air from compressor goes through the 60' of copper tubing from the top and exiting the bottom with water trap, then into the cooler...

...prior to painting the air is routed into a desiccant drier and regulator attached to my mixing bench just outside the paint booth which is that square, blue cube in my drive prior to inflating.

Hang a good thermometer inside the booth and use the proper temp reducers and activators. I know nothing of water base paint so I stick with what I have used in the past. Old dogs may be able to learn new tricks but they also fart a lot and **** on the carpet.

 

That's a nice air set up.

 

Bandit billy you have a nice system there. But to keep it cheaper, you can achieve almost same results ( maybe the same) with the copper system out of compressor, into water catch, then run the motor guard right before the air line you spray with. Sand blasting with my copper and water catch (not using motor guard) I get no water after compressor runs for 45 minutes.

 

The garage walls in the house where I grew up are still showing overspray from my JGA-502.

I pulled the trigger on a friends HVLP gun in 1990, and bought my own as soon as I went into town.

The JGA-502 went in the trash.

I have a bunch of mid-high Devilbiss stuff now, but I still have a half-dozen purple guns from Horrible Fright. I even modded a few tip sets for 1.8 and 2.2, for heavier materials. If it is for build-up and block-down, you don't need a $1000 gun to lay it out.

I painted my Ducati all the way through with purple guns, to prove a point. After cut and buff, nobody had any idea, and few believed me.

 

I have a refrigerated dryer. It does top-out, eventually. If I run tools for more than 4-hours straight, I have to go drain it out. Other than that, it's awesome.

If I am painting (and don't tell my landlord), I use disposable dryers on the gun, too.

 

I too use the DeVilbiss combo set, and keep a collection of HF purple guns. For small jobs I use the HF touch-up gun. I refrain from summer painting here due to the high humidity, even with water traps, refrigeration, and a gun filter.
I have never used the water based paints, but that is what is coming. Find a shop that uses it, and talk with them to get the facts.

 

I met Jon Kosmoski, of House of Kolor fame, back around 1989 at the Street Rod Nats. I asked him about the new fangled HVLP. He told me to stop clinging to the past and step up. Squat or get off the pot. So I did. Never looked back.

 

Since you are using Stewarts, we sprayed the Stewarts paint on our off topic Bearhawk with a DeVilbiss Fineline model spray gun that was recommended by Stewarts. It worked well but needs to be cleaned well and maintained like any spray gun to give good results. The pattern was tested on white poster board before applying any paint. The compressor was a large Sanborn 60 gallon that provided the air, all the fittings were the largest bore for 3/8 airline to minimine losses, quality air filter and air regulator. Set the pressure at the gun with the trigger pulled to adjust the spraying pressure. Setting the pressure to the gauge w/o the air going through the gun will cause issues as the pressure drops immediately. Get extra paint and practice to get comfortable with the paint. We never had an issue with water but that may be luck as the paint was waterborne so it may not fisheye like water in solvent based paint. With the experience with Stewarts and given the choice between Stewarts and conventional proven auto paint if would be a quality auto paint.

 

My whole shop, and all of my tools have Milton V high flow fittings.

They are claimed to have a throughput rate of 74 standard cubic feet per minute.

 

I switched to Harbor Freight high flow fittings - I'm just a shade tree mechanic. I've noticed that the impact tools and the air hammers work much netter.

 

Any high flow fitting is better than a standard one.

Anyone debating an upgrade, I can guarantee that you will see an increase in tool performance.

 

if you want to spend money, then get a TP tools turbine sprayer. I have one and really like it for garage painting. Almost no overspray, very dry air. It takes some getting used to, but it works well.

 

Agreed. A friend of mine does soda blasting and he blasted a Radio Flyer Wagon for a lady. He wanted to learn how to paint so he got the TP Turbine sprayer. First time I used it on that wagon it was flawless. Smooth, deep, shiny red and the woman loved it.

 

In my mid 60s, did my 1st complete at age 15, and best I can buy now is get someone else to pull the trigger...

But seriously, last gun I got was an Iwata 400 and ****ged a nice SATA at a swap meet and those were long ago, like 2005 and 2008. Both are older, just as good as the latest "gun of the week" stuff and there's like zero additional functions. New ones are pretty tho. Waterborne, not me, no thanks. Is there a water clear yet? Most of the waterborne is for base colors, and the funny thing is that's the lowest volume of material used. Primer? Hard to beat a good 2K solvent based urethane. Durable, good over bare steel or epoxy, even holds light filler well. All this means I'm a dinosaur. I don't have or want the airflow equipment, drying lamps, filters, guns, blah biddy blah-****in blah needed to swap over to waterborne. So far we here are not being forced into it. Good thing too, got a lotta stuff already. My 2qts of unopened PPG black lacquer must be worth a lot...