Mask, blaster, compressor and paint gun recommendations

[Moztune]

Evening all,

I am currently do a full rebuild on a MK1 Capri and have decided to do every step of the restoration myself.

To that end I'll soon be needing a compressor, blaster attachment, spray gun and mask.

I've had a few half masks but they never fit very well and I end up with crap getting inside them, which obviously defeats the point..

Budget wise I'm more looking for "value for money"

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Edited by Moztune on Saturday 24th June 21:40

[OldSkoolRS]

I recently bought an SIP 02131 for £35 including delivery. It's a top loading gun and I used it to spray a replacement bumper for my son's Fiesta (plus it will see some use on my RS2000 restoration). Pleased with it so far using ready for use 1K basecoat and 1K clearcoat:







My compressor is a 50 litre budget one I bought from Lidl when my original SIP one holed due to rust (I'd had it 20+ years). It's probably a bit small for the spray gun (and especially for grit blasting) but it can just about keep up with doing a coat on the bumper or other larger panel like the bonnet I need to spray soon. I guess the equivalent is something like the £150 or so type that Screwfix sell.

I added quick connectors (bought from Amazon) which helps when swapping air tools, not that I have many.

Tried various face masks over the years. Proper ones with replicable filters specifically meant for paint, though I can't find the details right now. Paper ones are IMHO next to useless.

For de-rusting I prefer an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment as I tried a spot blaster (still have it) and it just made such a mess, even with it's 'recycling' bag on the bottom. I did buy a 1 litre tin of Bilt Hamber zinc primer, which I paint on any bare metal once I've done any cleaning up and/or welding...some parts have been left like that in my (dry) garage since 2012 and no signs of rust.

[alabbasi]

You have two options, buy once cry once or buy often until you're satisfied. I have a 60 gallon compressor at the house and one at the shop. Both have a 5hp motor and can keep up when painting a car if you're using a HVLP gun. They can't keep up with the sand blaster so I need to stop every so often. If I was going to do some serious blasting, I'd get an 80 gallon twin stage. As far as paint gun, You're going to need at least a primer gun and a base / clear gun. I bought a Gravity Finishline FLG5 from Spraygun world which got me the best deal even though they were in the UK and I live in Texas. Take a look at their website and you'll find plenty of options.

[OldSkoolRS]

Good point with having one for primer and another for colour/clear. That Gravity Finishline FLG5 looks a nice piece of kit. My other spray gun is a 30 year old DeVilbiss that a mate gave me, with a load of spares. Great finish from the gun, though of course it's not a HVLP type.

Meant to add before that the reason my old SIP gun packed up was because I didn't clean it properly after I sprayed some guitars last summer, so make sure you have plenty of gun wash and suitable tools/brushes to clean it well after use.

Can't find the details of the masks I've been using yet...

[alabbasi]

My apologies, I meant Spray Guns Direct which is in the UK.. You can probably buy a cheaper gun (I started with a Harbor Freight purple gun that routinely goes on special for $9.99). They will wear out after a few paint jobs, just throw them away and get another one. When you buy a decent gun, you'll be able to get parts for it for years and years and it will last. It all depends on how often.

Primer guns will be 1.7-2.0 tips whereas a gun for base and clear is usually a 1.3 tip. I would never consider running primer through the same gun that I plan to paint with so forget those kits that offer 3 different tips.

As far as masks go, you can't go wrong with a 3M product. Here's an example

https://www.spraygunsdirect.co.uk/product/3m-paint...

You can probably find more options on Amazon.

Edited by alabbasi on Sunday 25th June 20:26

[paintman]

OldSkoolRS said:

Good point with having one for primer and another for colour/clear. That Gravity Finishline FLG5 looks a nice piece of kit. My other spray gun is a 30 year old DeVilbiss that a mate gave me, with a load of spares. Great finish from the gun, though of course it's not a HVLP type.

Meant to add before that the reason my old SIP gun packed up was because I didn't clean it properly after I sprayed some guitars last summer, so make sure you have plenty of gun wash and suitable tools/brushes to clean it well after use.

Can't find the details of the masks I've been using yet...

They are.
I've got one.
Have a look at 'the gunman's' youtube for his review.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjgYEHdZF0Y&t=2s

[Moztune]

Thanks for the replys guys

So mask wise I'll try a 3m. Admittedly I've always gone for "off-brand" style masks with good reviews so that may be my issue.

For the compressor, having to stop during blasting isn't an issue. Stopping during painting is a no-go. The chassis is by far going to be the biggest item so let's assuming I'm just talking about that, as if it's good enough for that it's good enough to do a bonnet or door ect.

So would 50 litre 2.5hp be enough or do I ideally need to go higher? I'd like it to be big/good enough for the job but not so good I'm over spending. How about CFM?

Thanks again chaps 🍺

[alabbasi]

60 US gallon (60 x 3.785 = 227.1 liters). That's if you want to go around a car and not stop.
The more the pump runs, the more heat is generated, the more moisture in the tank the more water in the lines etc.
I'm the process of rebuilding the home 60 gallon compressor. It's now on it's second pump. I replaced the original pump, motor and pressure switch about 12 years ago. All I have to do is replace the tank and I'll have trigger's broom.

This compressor would kick off maybe 3-4 times doing when doing a complete using my HVLP gun. I have a friend of mine who's a professional painter helped me paint a couple of cars. He uses a supernova and it's also supposed to be a HVLP, but I call BS on that because the compressor at the shop which is also a 60 gallon unit runs continuously when he's painting. We have to watch out for water in the lines.

When you're a professional painter, time is money and that gun is the Ferrari of paint guns.

Edited by alabbasi on Monday 26th June 05:52

[paintman]

There isn't an issue with the compressor running during painting providing it's capable of easily maintaining the supply pressure & volume required by the spraygun you are using.
Gravity feed guns will generally require less as they don't need to suck the paint up.

If you are getting water in the airline then there is an issue with the moisture separator(s) you are using.
Drain the water from the tank on a daily basis & it may be worth you repeating that before spraying.

[alabbasi]

paintman said:

If you are getting water in the airline then there is an issue with the moisture separator(s) you are using.
Drain the water from the tank on a daily basis & it may be worth you repeating that before spraying.

Yeah I always do so before painting but it's hot and humid here in Texas during the summer and like I said, the compressor runs all the time when a supernova is hooked in. I thought about getting one of those refrigerated dryers. If I was painting more, I would.