Technical Painting small Parts w/Spray Gun

I’m getting tired of rattle cans to paint small parts, however they are so darn easy to use. Has anyone found an easy way to use proper automotive paint in a spray gun, not a huge gun but small enough to spray one or two small pieces?

In the past I’ve used the go-to HF $10 spray gun with automotive single stage (with hardener, etc) paint with great success on larger items like gas tanks. Thanks

 

I love this stuff for the smaller parts, I know it’s not what you asked but I find this sprays great and is very durable. Or you could get a jamb gun, great for small jobs too.

 

Either a touch up gun or have the automotive paint put into a spray can.

 

Sometimes I'll use a jamb gun from HF.

 

Detail gun or an airbrush for really small parts.

 

The only way to efficiently make up a load for a spray gun is get a bunch ready and do it all. Onesy-twosey with a gun is a pain in the ass. Did you mix enough? Too much? Can't keep paint with a hardener/catalyst more than a day, even stashed in the cold overnight. How much gets thrown away? If this sounds like "been there" then you're right. Otherwise the age old rattle can can't be beat. Best advice is get good quality stuff. I recently shagged some Krylon called "Automotive Acrylic Enamel" that's a rich deep black and seems to dry just as fast as the good ol Krylon. Most gloss blacks are just real dark grey. Best I got for ya after too long in restoration to recall it all.

 

Good advice all. Over the last few years I’ve gravitated towards the Duplicolor Engine Enamel (500F) rattle cans and so far they have been pretty good. I’ll have to check out the Krylon.
I may pick up this little touch up spray gun.

 

To get the correct ratios when mixing up small amounts of paint, get a digital kitchen scale to measure the ingredients. Put that in a zip lock bag so that you don't get it covered with paint.

 

I would put my time and effort in building a down-draft paint table for small parts. You will be surprise the difference it will make.

 

So painting in the wind outside isn’t optimal?

 

During the restoration of a 69 pace car a few years back I built what I affectionately called the "red neck paint booth". I went to u-haul and purchased a wardrobe box (it has a rail at the top to hang clothes), I cut french doors in the front, added a LED light at the top, cut a hole at the bottom and used a shop vac for the down draft (fortunately it did not explode) . I would get a pile of parts that took the same color (semi flat black) mix it up with hardener and use a door jamb gun to paint the parts that were suspended from the rail by coat hangers.

 

I go through over 50 cans a year. I lay the parts on cardboard outside. The parts aren`t so small.

 

I had to buy the famous purple gun because I can't hold down that damn spraycan button more'n about a minute.

 

HF has a decent mini spray gun as well.

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/can-gun-94815.html

 

Spray can triggers suck! The touch up guns work great however!

 

Dip them. Small brackets are ideal for this. Just rotate them as you pull them out to alow the excess to run off

 

Awfully wasteful if using a 2 part or catalyzed paint !

 

I use the Preval system when I'm too lazy to clean the jamb gun.

 

I have used A LOT OF RATTLE cans for small parts. I find the high heat paints and the ones with ceramic hold up much better

 

I just mix a small amount of regular paint and spray it, takes five minutes to clean the gun

 

To paint my back wheels I used the Kyrlon Implement paint in a spray can. Laid out very well filled the seems and no runs. Only downside is limited colors.

Phil

 

I'll second that... used a lot of these when touching up or painting small aircraft panels. You still had to mix the paint; but clean-up was a lot quicker and easier than if you'd used a spray gun.

 

I use an airbrush quite a bit for smaller stuff. Sometimes, even a detail gun is a bit too much.

 

These are great. But I didn`t buy them at Harbor Frieght. It saves your thumb.

 

You need something like this

 

I use a touch-up gun for small parts, unless it's a spray bomb color(greys, blacks etc) I've had my touch up gun so long, it's the old style high pressure type.

 

I do need one of those triggers. But that purple gun works pretty good. The worst spraycans I've bought for years was Rustoleum.

 

I do it all the time. Get tiny (3oz?) paint mixing cups w/ graduations printed on them from the paint supplier and this HF purple gun.

https://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-detail-spray-gun-92126.html

I've done several colors in a day this way. Mix 1/4 or 1/2 oz, spray it, dump the rest, take off the nozzle and clean everything with lacquer thinner & pipe cleaners. Only takes a couple minutes to clean. Ready for another color.

 

Rustoleum....fast drying...Two things that never go together.