Pondering spray Guns

It's going to be awhile yet before I'm going to paint anything, but I figure it couldn't hurt to start looking around. My dad works with a professional painter who paints WW2 aircraft parts. he has given me some advice but I thought I'd ask people who have painted tractors. The conventional spray gun I was looking would cost me about $50 and The compressor with enough power to work with the gun would be $460. Would one of those guns that you just plug into a extension cord, pour in some paint, and turn it on work for tractor painting? I do not want showroom quality but I do want it to look good. Being 15, money is somewhat hard to come by so I thought if I could use one of those $60 electric guns would do the trick, I'd use one of them. Would one of them be able to get under the tractor or would the paint flow back into the motor? I've seen people painting cars with them and getting good results but you don't have nooks and crannies and the underside to paint on a car. Advice anyone?

Did the shipping books I sent you arrive?

The cheap 15-20 dollar spray guns from HF are
not bad for the price. You will probably want
a decent air compressor eventually so that
would be something worth saving for. You can
also get a decent paint job with rattle cans
and a lot less clean up versus a gun. I don't
have any experience with the electric guns
but like the spray guns I would assume a lot
of clean up to keep it working good.

The electric spray guns you are thinking about are for latex paint only. They will not work with tractor paint. You will need a good compressor and as stated the Harbor Freight HVLP spray guns are really pretty good for the money. I use one for primer when I paint.

OTJ

HF spray guns are really good for the money and as mentioned eventually you will need an air compressor for other tasks. The hvlp guns dont use a ton of air. I adjust my pressure to 35 - 40 and get a good pattern. Much more pressure and the paint reservoir can expand. Makes the bottom round. Least thats what I heard.

Yes redtom, They came. Very interesting and I learned quite a bit. Thanks. I was afraid the electric spray guns wouldn't work. Now the question is where do I get the money? At least lawns will need mowed soon. I had picked out a conventional spray gun but maybe I should look into the HVLP guns. I was really wanting a siphon feed gun.

This the gun I was looking at.
https://www.menards.com/main/tools/...=-2296239328357132117&ipos=1&exp=true

I painted a couple tractors when I was in
high school. I had never painted (spray gun
style) before, and knew nothing about
automotive/tractor paint. But, ... I
stumbled my way through it, and learned as
I went along. I ended up with basically a
descent looking paint job on the two
tractors. But I kind of wished after the
fact, that I would of just let somebody who
actually knew what they was doing help me
out with choosing the supplies, and
actually let them spray the paint using
thier experience. I didn't use any paint
hardners or give it a clear coat. And I
seen alot of other people's paint jobs
afterwards that looked really superb and
almost like the paint was still wet. My
paint jobs didn't turn out like that, but
maybe they would of if I had somebody with
experience involved. That was before the
days of internet, so I didn't even have
this.

Anyways, you might want to do all your own
prep, primering, and sanding and what not.
And let somebody else (in person) help you
with the actual paint and choosing the
right primer for the kind of paint your
gonna use. If nothing else, as a on site
coach. There is tricks to painting. Some
tricks that you will unlikely learn on your
own. But can be learned from somebody else.
Might make a big improvement to the
finished paint job.

Maybe your not particular with how it turns
out. And just want paint on it. And that's
fine too. And maybe your short on
resources. But I wouldn't short myself on
atleast having a coach involved. You said
your dad knows somebody. And maybe there is
somebody else. Even if they just coach from
the sideline, they can save you alot of
learning as you go, when it comes to paint.

Before spending $60 on an electric gun I would use a paint
brush.
I think Grandpa paints with a brush.
If you do buy a compressor I would recommend you stay away from
the noisy oilless compressors and
the Dewalt twin cylinder single stage. It too is very noisy.
I have buyers regret buying one..


Many years ago I bought a portable 110v 1.5 hp compressor off HF
for $100. It will power a paint gun. I checked, they are not
that cheap anymore.
I mainly use it for airing up tires in my garage.

I wouldn't recommend getting anything under 1.5 hp and NO
OILLESS.

My first paint job was like yours, not shiny and looked like an orange peel. I now thin the paint way down, like half thinner and half paint, but you have to spray very fast and many many coats, otherwise you get runs! My last paint job looked as good as factory!

You can spray under the tractor with the
harbour freight gun. Just don't fill it
too full. Same way spraying down, if it
runs out of the cup on your nice paint, it
can get messy and you have to stop and do
it over! I have 2 siphon guns that I
haven't used in 20 years!

the 1st paint job i did we used a 1.5 hp 25 gallon tank 110 compressor and a friends NAPA siphon feed spray gun(Copy of a Binks). The compressor wouldnt keep up
with constant painting but for a tractor other than the hood and fenders you dont really need that, it did very well and you can buy those used at auctions or
garage sales for pretty cheap. you need a good water filter and most of the compressors have an adj regulator built in. The old enamal paint with hardener gave a
great shine and added toughness to the paint, we used light color primer when we could cause it showed the spots that needed the most attention the best. When
spraying dark colors we used red as it took less paint that way to cover, they also used to have a primer that was called fill and seal, it was thicker and could
use less filler for certain spots. Non of this is cheap but i have seen some use Farm store paint with hardner and get good results, we always used automotive
style paint like dupont or martin senor (spelling) with hardner. You need a GOOD mask when using hardner, it will get in your lungs and not break down, the parts
stores sell the disposable canister style fairly cheap, especially if you know someone who has an acct, like your body shop buddy. Paint guns are an individual
choice, i dont like the gravity feed hvlp but i didnt learn with those, they dont splatter when running out of paint like siphon guns do, you dont have to wrap a
rag around them to prevent drips either, but you can put more pressure on a siphon gun and atomize the mixture better i feel. As far as money i dont know what you
have access to as far as work but i started working in 3rd grade putting tables up in the cafeteria for free lunches, this continued through school, at 11 and up i
was mowing lawns, picking up rocks in the fields, detasseling corn on a crew and pulling chickens in an egg producing business (chickens were just a one summer
gig). This is just to say if you want it bad enough there are ways to make money, i have always worked 2 jobs and still had side gigs, 2nd job and extras went to
fund my hobbies. You are at a disadvantage in that the prices of things in relation to what you make are vastly different than when i was younger. But where all i
had was the people in my community to help you have the nnalert to draw from so there is that also. Hang in there and one of these days you will be the one
directing a generation of youngsters in achieving their goals.

The Harbpr Freight $35 are better than your or me and hundreds of other's. skills. Your dad probably uses much better, If you are good terms with your father he can show you a lot.

Buy automotive paint! The tractor paint
will be dull in one year! Preparation is
90 percent of a paint job! Use your hand,
if you can feel any ripple, you need more
body work! After you get it close with
body putty, spray it with sanding primer.
and sand it. Don't use the sealer type
primer; it can't be sanded easily! Use a
good mask; paint can ruin your health! I
always spray outside on a nice day!
Spraying inside can kill you in my
opinion! Practice on a piece of metal
before you start! When your practice piece
looks like a new car, then you can paint!
Spray thin paint and even let it dry a
little between coats to keep from getting
runs. Painting is an art and it takes
practice to get it right!

Before I built a paint booth, I used to brush paint the cast iron. That works pretty well if you are using a thick paint like Van Sickles. You have to really watch out for runs while you are doing it. The nice thing about brushing, is you can just stop any time you want and start again later. Once you mix a pot of paint you pretty much need to use it. I have seen tractors that have had the sheet metal painted with a brush. As long as you don't get right up on them they look okay. I would look around to see if you could find a body shop that could spray the sheet metal. If you do the prep and supply the paint it might not be too expensive. The only problem with doing that is most body shops want to do it all because their reputation is on the line. I would get on the phone and call around just to see what it would cost. If nothing else the body shop might be able to direct you to someone who does painting as a hobby. Never hurts to ask.


OTJ

I went to all HVLP guns several years ago. For one thing, they don't waste near as much paint as a siphon gun. A 20 ounce cup on an HVLP gun will cover
approximately the same area as a 32 ounce cup on a siphon gun. With the current price of paint, that's a huge factor.

Most HVLP guns are designed to operate at about 10 psi pressure at the nozzle. Since shops normally don't have the sophisticated equipment to measure the air
pressure at the nozzle, some of my HVLP guns have '43 lbs Input' cast somewhere in the casting. So that's what I adjust the input pressure to. Seems to work on
all of them.

I don't understand why people say they can't paint the underside of a tractor with HVLP, and complain about drips if they paint a flat surface. If the cup is
vented properly there should be no problem with either.

I painted 2 tractors last year with the $15 Harbor Freight spray guns. Tractors came out great, I ended up throwing them away and buying another for the next project. My time and patience is worth more than $15/hour.

Wow, lots of good information that
hopefully I can add to. What ever spray
set up you end up with, practice with it
until you feel confident. Light is your
friend. It helps you see your spray
pattern and how it is going on, ie.
overlap, too dry, too wet. Paint outside
using a clothesline type of set up with s
hooks that can support the weight of your
parts. This allows you to paint both sides
at once. I tie a strong rope from tree to
tree using notched boards for support in
between. When your close to painting, ask
more and I'm sure you will get another
book of information wrote to you. LOL

Another vote here for the Harbor Freight purple spray gun.



Also, I have had good luck so far with the Old 55 brand paint from Fleet Farm. I havent painted any tractors per se, but it is my go to paint
for any outdoor stuff that needs oil based paint. Biggest challenge is the store actually having the color I want in stock.

Here's a front axle done with Rustoleum oil-based enamel and a brush:


I had to mix two colors (Regal Red, and Caution Yellow) to get close to the Massey Red I wanted

I too have painted cast iron with a brush. The nice part about that is that you can do it in stages as you fix the individual parts--you don't have to do the whole tractor at once if you don't want to.
I usually do two coats. For the second coat I use one of those foam rubber brushes and kind of dab the paint on. That pretty much eliminates any brush marks. I prime it ahead of time with rattle can primer.