I have shot a little acrylic enamel years back, but never owned a spray gun. I would like to buy a setup & pain my rig, but there is a catch (always is ain't it? :D)
We are also building a log cabin, and I would like to use the same gun to shoot the log sealer. Enamel is pretty thin, and the sealer for the logs is pretty thick.

I have been doing a little shopping & as usual there are Way too many choices. Any chance I can buy one gun & be able to do both jobs?
Any help appreciated!

can you thin the log sealer?

you can get different tips for HVLP guns, but the range isn't all that huge...

Most automotive guns only go up to about 1.5 or 1.7 is huge but that is a fire hose if your laying clear or paint. It's hard to say for sure but i would guess that you could thin out your log sealer a bit and get it to work. Keep in mind that even if you get a large gun with a 20 oz cup that your going to be refilling that bitch over and over and over when you spray your cabin.

I would just get two different guns man. Buy a decent gun to spray your ride with, try SprayGunDepot.com and rent a large paint sprayer for your cabin. Im sure you will thank yourself in the long run. Not to mention its always nice to have a decent gun layin arownd and you will most likely trash it sparying your cabin.

Hope that helps

If you practice a while beforehand, a Sharpe Finex will produce great results (provided you use quality paint/solvents) on your rig (they have multiple size tips...). I have one as well as a DeVilbiss GTi and really like the DeVil...

As for your cabin, I would rather rent a piston pump sprayer. You'll save time and effort using something like a baseline Graco as opposed to an air powered HVLP gun. Also, you won't have to drag a compressor/dryer out there to spray it.

If you do plan to spray the log sealer with a piston sprayer, I would recommend at least a 17/19 nozzle for flow control. I've used those sizes to spray Spar and other sealers/varnishes with good results. Only pain is that cleaning one of these units is much more involved than an HVLP. :(

I picked up one of the TPTools HVLP guns and also got the kit for spraying "heavier/thicker" finishes with it... Can't say that I've had decent results with the thick stuff and would agree with Aces to just rent something else for the cabin...

I would just get two different guns.

First would be a HPLV for the Auto paint stuff.

Then get a good airless prayer for the log sealer and house paint. Wagner actually makes a version that uses the same gun as the professional Graco's. I used it to spray my garage and it worked out well.

End cost was about $200. Just be sure not to use one of those real cheep Wagner paint guns. They are not very good. The Pro tpe version has a hopper that will take 4-5 quarts at a time.

Carl

I used the $50 HVLP from Harbor Frieght with decent results...



http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b120/phishtank/PaintVan006.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b120/phishtank/PaintVan003.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b120/phishtank/FinishedVan006.jpg

I also have the chepo harbor frieght setup and it has worked very well. I would just go to a pawn shop for an airless to do the sealer.

Thanks - it's taken me a bit to get back to your replies, and I believe you all are on target = get two guns. I just wanted to make Absolutely sure I didn't have an option that I wasn't aware of :)
I will be going with a HPLV gun to spray paint and will further investigate guns for shooting the sealer/treatment for the log cabin. You know, they recomend you re-shoot logs every 3-4 years, buying a gun might be my best bet as I'll be in this one long term.

Thanks again -