HELP Any good? Harbor Freight HVLP Air guns.

[CrammerGram69]

Good morning Boys!!! ;P I've got a few questions about the HF HLVP Air Guns. Are they any good for a Beginner? I want to respray my Pontiac LeMans Bench seats. (Front/rear) from the current color red the previous owner re-dyed to the Original LT Blue using Interior/Vinyl Re-dye spray that I may have my Local paint shop Mix up. I cannot get Reproduction Cloth in my color, Sadly PUI will only produce Vinyl & only in the Malibu design patterns (Horizontal stripes), and Pontiac is Vertical (up and down). So that's a no-go for me.

That being said, is Anyone here who used HF HVLP guns for a while? Are they any good for this simple task, will adding a regulator help me out with Air ratios and all those Complexity settings, or will just in general give me an easier time learning? *Added picture for Reference of said air guns*

I've got a 120 Gal & A (20?) Gal Air Comp to work with. Complete beginner with/ an Air Gun! Although I've wanted to learn for a few years now & especially more, This year, I can do a cheap DIY two-tone repaint on my '91 Chevrolet K2500 truck.

I am pretty curious as to what everyone says. The company *Dixie Restoration* I buy my rattle can paint wants $70 for 1Pint. Eesh. It was the only place I could find which is Spot-on. Mins SEM but i did not have the extra time to go and make a big custom order for all of that, (It is the LT Blue 78-79 Color). The previous years have different "shades" from what i can find online doing some Research. Pre-75 looks like.

These are just a few to give an idea of what they're offering. I would have no prob spending up to $150 on a decent Gun to respray my Seats with and use to repaint my daily truck. Thanks.

 

[UC645]

I’ve got several of the purple guns, and they are what you pay for- cheap. Sloppy, has plastic parts where the higher end “name brand” versions have metal parts.
That said, they’re good primer guns, since I can’t be brought to care about them.

I also have the touch-up and general purpose gun kit, and the touch up gun lays Base and Clear pretty well for the price, and I haven’t tried the GP gun yet.

I’d stick to the Widows, they look like (and probably are) HF branded Sharpe guns. That said, if you’ll be spraying Base/Clear paint, get a dedicated clear gun, you won’t regret it.

 

[melloelky]

the purple gun's money well spent,it does the job entry level as you are and if you find you hate painting after all or just get sick of cleaning it over and over again just throw it away in a rage and buy another one for cheap

 

[mikester]

I wouldnt use the HF guns to spray interior parts. I would use a detail gun with a 1.0 tip. The detail gun sprays the color out much finer. Doesnt fill the patterns in the vinyl or plastic. I have a Devilbiss Starting Line set. A bit more money but a much better quality in my opinion. I used the purple HF gun to spray the running boards on our Yukon with U Pol Raptor. I also drilled the nozzle out to a 2.0.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

All air compressors already have a built in air regulator. For HVLP painting, you set the compressor regulator to max, then run a second regulator to reduce the air pressure to what your paint gun calls for. Generally its a good idea to use a regulator that has a built in air filter and water separator. A whip hose also makes a paint gun easier to maneuver. Don't forget a good paint respirator and goggles.

 

[CrammerGram69]

the purple gun's money well spent,it does the job entry level as you are and if you find you hate painting after all or just get sick of cleaning it over and over again just throw it away in a rage and buy another one for cheap

Glad to hear some great feedback. If i am honest, as of currently i am into the groove of bodywork, sanding, and fiberglass lol. Just about one of the most hated jobs I've heard. I'll take it over wiring...

 

[CrammerGram69]

I wouldnt use the HF guns to spray interior parts. I would use a detail gun with a 1.0 tip. The detail gun sprays the color out much finer. Doesnt fill the patterns in the vinyl or plastic. I have a Devilbiss Starting Line set. A bit more money but a much better quality in my opinion. I used the purple HF gun to spray the running boards on our Yukon with U Pol Raptor. I also drilled the nozzle out to a 2.0.

Thank you i love the feedback. Are there any brands you suggest for an up to $150 budget price with a good spray for use with Interior? The Seats are IIRC "Dover" Cloth material. The Interior dye i used for the plastics was U Pol as well. I planned on going to my local Custom paint shop to get a good bit Mixed up. No idea how much I'll need...

 

[mikester]

Thank you i love the feedback. Are there any brands you suggest for an up to $150 budget price with a good spray for use with Interior? The Seats are IIRC "Dover" Cloth material. The Interior dye i used for the plastics was U Pol as well. I planned on going to my local Custom paint shop to get a good bit Mixed up. No idea how much I'll need...

Never heard of an interior coating made by U Pol. I used their Raptor bed liner to recoat running boards. Sprayed them at a high pressure. They look pretty good.

As far a spray guns Eastwood sells the two gun set that Ive been using for $189. Its the basic Devilbiss set but Ive been using them for a good number of years and they work pretty good for low priced guns. Ive sprayed base/clear, epoxy primer, SEM Color Coat and 2K paints with no issues at all.

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

I own the H.F. purple, detail/ touch-up, and both Black Widows but haven't used them yet. I can say this though: The $20 purple H.F. HVLP paint gun is an exact copy of a Devilbiss, just not executed perfectly. The Black Widow is mostly a Sata 5000 series, and accepts their parts. Whatever you go with, get the adapter so you can run PPS or Spectrum paint cups with liners and be able to paint at odd angles.

 

[mikester]

I own the H.F. purple, detail/ touch-up, and both Black Widows but haven't used them yet. I can say this though: The $20 purple H.F. HVLP paint gun is an exact copy of a Devilbiss, just not executed perfectly. The Black Widow is mostly a Sata 5000 series, and accepts their parts. Whatever you go with, get the adapter so you can run PPS or Spectrum paint cups with liners and be able to paint at odd angles.

Im not sure if HF has changed the design of the purple gun but it really doesnt look like a Starting Line gun a all. I mean theyre all similar I guess but theyre quite different at the same time.