Technical Astro Paint Gun, has anyone used it?

Has anyone here used this astro paint gun? Seems to have a ton of good reviews and seems like a decent affordable gun.

 

I can't speak to the Astra, but the Harbor Freight Spectrum Black Widow HTE is such a close copy of the Sata5000 it takes all of the same parts. I had very good results spraying some parts, though I have yet to use it to paint panels. It's nominally more expensive than the Astra.

Also, HF has a cup system that is compatible with the 3M PPS series 1. I feel like dope because I bought the adapters for the PPS 2.0 system, but then I have to go to a paint and body supplier or buy online, whereas the PPS 1 series is just compatible with all of the stuff I can get from HF that is 10 mins away from my house and always open.

 

Not much help, but I have a gravity feed Astro paint gun that I have had for over 30 years and it works great for me and my techniques.

 

The Astro stuff is basically the same as HF but built to a higher quality level. I've got a few of their tools, every one has worked flawlessly.

 

There's a gaggle of different brand names that are all pretty much the same gun. Still, I can hand someone with a lower skill level my $500 Iwata and they still won't get the results. A great gun does not a great painter make. If I were to say just 1 thing anyone wishing to paint needs to hear it would be transfer efficiency. That doesn't just happen at the gun, that's the operator setting whatever appliance he's using to apply an acceptable finish. You can do show quality lacquer on a small gig like a motorcycle tank with nothing more than a rattle can of the approriate material.

I've used some of those "brand X" guns on parts of 6 figure show cars. More on point for all intereted here is get the tool that will fill your need. If you're onesy-twosy hobbyist, gonna just hose a cpl things in your lifetime don't fork over a few Gs on pro equipment. Still, transfer efficiency is the 1 thing to focus on.

 

I have one but haven't used it yet. I can tell you that the trigger has a far better feel than my HF purple gun. It's smoother and softer feeling.

 

I have both the HF purple, astro, binks, and several others--as stated above they can all do a decent job, based on the painter and his technique. As for me, when its all said and done, quality equipment just can't be beat. I bought a $500. plus gun, figuring i had finally gone nuts, and have never looked back--it does a job that more than satisfy's me and has others asking who did the paint. As stated, transfer efficiency is vital as well as knowledge of HOW to do it. Still, for just a few jobs you can get by with the cheaper versions.

 

It looks a lot like my Transtar, which my painting mentor tells me is a knock off of some sort of more expensive gun (can't remember what he said). I really like it and it does well for me, an amateur.

 

Any tips on transfer efficiency and how it is done. I hadn't sprayed a car in 15 years or so and painted my 58 this past week with the harbor freight gun. Honestly doesn't look horrible other than a few sputters and runs but I'm repainting it this weekend because of the runs.

 

Transfer efficiency is distance, gun settings, reduction of the material, and how you "travel" over the panel. You must be robotic insofar as in maintain the distance, speed, and don't have a curve or sweep to your p***. Too far away you're painting the air, too close it piles on and will run. You want a spray pattern that's about 8-10" or more, not too oval or round. More like a taper at each end. This can be found in online vids. Speed should advance about an inch or 2 per second for clears or gloss. You can go faster for base colors as you just want color but not too much texture. This is hard AF to put in words, it's better taught by hands on and observation. Experienced operators go almost on instincts or autopilot. Any experience and some proper input will improve ones ability. Does any of that help?

 

I concur with everything theHIGHLANDER says plus one other. Doesn't matter if it's a Harbor Freight or expensive Iwata, maintain the gun. Don't think "it's only a cheapy, I'll clean it out tomorrow". You can guarantee the next time you go to use it it will paint like ****.

 

Car looks awesome here man. Very cool ride

 

Haven’t used that model. I have used Astro guns.
Did what it’s supposed to do

 

The description of transfer efficiency was given in another post. I just use the term technique to cover it all. Sputters and runs tells a lot--what is the shape and condition of your equipment, i.e. compressor, air filtration, hoses, regulators, the gun itself, and on and on. Is the surface clean, dewaxed, is it totally ready for paint? Your gun adjustment, speed of coverage, paint preparation, etc. must be correct. In short, you might need practice to get all this correct. Paint's not cheap, preparation of the surface isn't fun, a screw up is unbearable.

 

I concur completely with the above comments, but no matter how much money you pay me...I could NEVER teach it to someone in my shop! I know what I need to do, but could never p*** it along. Maybe because I never had "human" kids other than a couple of step sons for a minute or two & I never learned how to teach things....I just do them.

Never used an Astro gun, but have heard amazing feedback on the Black Widow from HF. I use a Techna Copper, Iwata LPH 440, Devillbis FinishLine & an off brand primer gun with a 2.5 tip for high build primers. Still have a Binks #7 with agitating cup for Lacquer & a Sharpe 775 for enamel (not that I will ever shoot either any more, but have a bunch left over!) LOL

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

I have painted it once and the harbor freight gun was giving me fits. I posted the pic above. The compressor etc was doing ok, just got a new dryer today so when I paint it again it'll be good to go. I got too close a couple times and ran it. Also my dryer didn't do justice and on the second coat I got some water in my line. As far as prep goes etc I prepped it really good last time and will be doing so again. I used to work in a body shop for 5 years and did body work and prep often. I was still a student and never painted full cars just did the filler work, block sanding, preparation, and panel painted. We always used sata guns but the good ones are out of my budget. The first time I sprayed it was with a 15 dollar hobo freight gun. The harbor freight gun seemed to be spraying really dry and I had to slow down a lot to get it to flow. I am also out of practice as it has been a long time since I had painted before last week when I painted it.

 

@Mopar Tony ,

I looked at your picture & have to ***ume that is primer, so the answer could be as simple as the gun you are using does not have a tip big enough especially if it is a high build primer. If it is high build primer, you will struggle with anything less than a 2.5/ 2.8 tip. Us guys who do a lot of painting can fudge a bit with a 2.0 or even a 1.8 with a little reduction & a different technique, but it is always best to use a bigger tip for that type of primer. If that is you final finish..I apologize as no offense was intended & it is probably nothing more than needing a bit of practice as Flat or Matte finishes have to be perfect the 1st time!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

It is satin black

 

@Mopar Tony I have used both the Europro HVLP (green) & the Europro HE (blue). First I am no painter! (I do however paint industrial equipment, Semi trucks, fleet trucks, etc.) I am not a Rembrandt or Earl Scheib but I can tell you what I noticed about both.

My preference for volume of work was the green gun. It would cover a panel moving at a normal to fast speed with minimal orange peal.

My preference for quality would be the blue gun the paint laid down flat and smooth but moves much slower pace. Both had nice trigger action and no air leaks or cap drips. I would in no way compare these to a Harbor Freight purple gun. No way! The quality is so much better. No sputtering or drips. The build quality is much better on the Astro guns than the purple and green HF guns.
Hope that helps.

 

Helps a lot hearing from a hobbyist for sure, thank you.

 

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ys-painting-tips-for-my-buddy-eyeball.225633/ Maybe you can find something useful here.

 

Before I would repaint it satin black again, I would just wet sand the entire car thus removing the runs and other issues then buff it to a brilliant gloss black, unless that's not what you're looking for.
The problem with flats or satins is you cannot easily correct any errors.

 

Satin finishes: It's not what one would instinctively think. Mil thickness will effect the final gloss AND the consistency of gloss expected. Too thick, stays more shiny than you want, not enough its rough and blotchy. This is made worse with satin clears. Too thick they don't go flat at all. I've found that getting coverage 1st, then reduce it a bit more for an even finish coat works well. If it's a high end build wanting a really supreme satin finish I'd apply all I need for coverage plus a bit, let it cure 100%, sand with 1000 and apply 2 slick coats with the material reduced an extra 25% or so with the proper temp reducer or even a bit slower (like 85 deg reducer on a mid 70s day). This will also even out the dry time which is key to getting a consistent gloss, or lack of. As a final effort to all over satin just sand it super SUPER fine, like a worn out 3000 pad and lots of soap and water on a short stroke DA at high speed. I know, sounds like a lotta fkn work, huh? It is...

 

----or just shoot it in black epoxy primer and forget it.

 

I'm wanting a satin finish for sure, if you go to my thread and see the finish it is a consistent overall finish and looks pretty good. Other than the 4 runs that I found and a little fish eye on the top of the p***enger door it turned out fine to me. I just was curious if anyone had used this gun and if I wasted my cash. I sprayed it the first time with a hobo freight gun and it lacked a lot to me. Biggest thing for me is runs, I can't stand them and yes that was my screw up. But this car is just a cruiser and a low dollar one at that. It will not be a car show car.

 

It looks good to me. Post updates when it gets a new coat of paint.

 

I'm not wanting to use epoxy primer as a finish, I don't want it chalky etc. I will be reshooting the satin black on saturday.

 

@Mopar Tony ,

Curious which harbor freight gun did you have trouble with? On one of my paint groups, there have been a bunch of good reviews for the HF Black Widow. There is also 2 versions of it...1 is HVLP & the other is the HTE.

By the way...Love that body style, the Desoto of those years is a bucket list car for me!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

I used their super cheap gun because I didn't want this paint to go through a good gun not knowing how it'd effect one. My friend has a Sata gun but I was afraid of ruining it and couldn't afford a high dollar gun.