Harbor Freight Paint Gun

[HankB 16]

I have a Harbor Freight paint gun (47016) that has a 1.4mm nozzle. I see other guns advertised with an alternate 1.7mm nozzle for spraying high build primer. (I just looked at the HF page and see they now list it with a 1.5mm nozzle. Hmmm.)

Can I modify a gun by drilling a larger hole in the nozzle? This gun can be had for $10 (with coupon) so having a different gun for this application is not very expensive. And it's not even too expensive to experiment with. (At worst, I could part it out for spare parts for the gun I already have. )

Related questions:

Do I even want to use a high build primer? Is there a better way to cover imperfections in the existing paint? What I've been doing so far for surface prep is wire brushing with a 4 1/2" angle grinder to get anything loose off. Much of the original paint stays on and often winds up with scratches from the wire brush.

I'm not looking for an automotive quality finish, but if I can make it look a little better without too much extra work, I'm all for that!

thanks,

hank

[rmaynard 15,436]

Usually the 1.4 orifice is matched with a needle. I would not try to enlarge it. Spend your money on a better gun or get one of these inexpensive sets that include a 1.4, 1.8, and a 1.0 touch-up gun for under $100.00. Remember, a good finish gun will cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

Bob

[PPGman 5]

Hank, I wouldn't try to modify that 1.4 cap you have. The cap is matched to the fluid needle and enlarging the cap will probably do nothing but cause a drip/leak at the cap. This can be a real annoying problem as you stretch over the hood of your new tractor to lay a coat of paint on, and you see it dripping!

Actually the 1.4 will have no problem spraying the high build primer. You will need to "thin" it out just a touch, and open the fluid valve wide open, and close your fan up just a tad. We have old 1.3, and 1.4's Sata guns that we use for high build primer every day and they work fine with the heaver primers once you get them adjusted.

As for dealing with the wire wheel marks, my preference would not be to fill over them with high build primer. My first choice would be to remove them with my DA sander. Although most 2k primers are excellent at filling and locking in imperfections, sanding them out the best as you can almost asures you that those marks won't "shrink" and end up in your new paint job a few weeks later. The more primer/ product you lay down, the more chance you take of it shrinking and revealing imperfections in your new paint job ( usually weeks down the road!) Either way you have to sand, so why not give those wire marks a hit with the sander before priming? If your using heavy primer, you could go ahead and wheel them out fast with 80-100grit and then lick em with a couple coats of primer. Once your primer cures up, hit them with a 320 grit DA, and finish with 400wet. I guess it all depends on what kind of finish your looking for in the end, but a few mins of extra work can make all the difference in your finished job :)

[HankB 16]

Once again, many thanks for the tips and suggestions. I am in debt to you guys.

Bob,

I'm torn on the tool quality issue. On one hand (and as a former professional mechanic back before they became technicians) I have a deep appreciation for quality tools. I certainly don't buy all of my tools at Harbor Freight and am concerned that it is getting harder to find the good stuff. (Berlands seems to be helpful in that regard. )

I also hold no illusions that a professional paint gun will produce professional results in my unskilled hands. Top results will only be achieved by proper tools, knowledge of the process and skill. WRT knowledge, I really appreciate the help I've found here from you and others. If fact, one of the strengths of the Internet is that it brings together communities of like minded individuals who can share their knowledge. 20 years ago I would have been asking a neighbor or friend and it would be hard to match the depth and breadth of experience I find here.

So, for now I'll probably stick with my cheap HF spray gun until I have sufficient skill and knowledge to know where it is holding me up.

Just as kind of an aside, the tractor I'm working on at the moment is a practice tractor. It was a freebee A-80-E. I got it running and decided to disassemble and paint it to get my feet wet. It's never going to be particularly valuable, so I won't loose much sleep if the paint job is not top notch. It will certainly look better than when I started:

My next restoration will probably be a '71 Raider 12 and I'd like that one to come out looking decent. Hopefully I'll have learned enough by then to accomplish what I want.

thanks,

hank

[sorekiwi 761]

I'm certainly no painter, so my opinion is worth next to nothing BUT...

There are a lot of fans out there of some of the HF HVLP guns. Here is a typcal thread: http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/te...LPspraygun.html

I have this same gun and I (as a novice) have had some awesome results from it, and also some horrendous ones. The bad results I blame entirely on myself as a rookie painter struggling with technique as well as finding the sweet spot on the settings.

I appreciate the difference betweem a quality tool and a cheapy knock off, but at this stage of my experience I dont think I would do any better with a $400 gun than what I can do with a $40 gun. I just dont know what I'm doing, and I doubt that I will ever be painting enough to get really good at it.

All I can do is to listen to the opinion of those who really do know, and try to do my best with what I am prepared to spend. And I also realize that if I really want an awesome paint job I need to bite the bullet and pay someone like Eldon to do their magic!

[PPGman 5]

Just my humble opinion,( and its usually not worth a whole lot most days!) , but that $40 Harbor Freight gun which is a knock off of a Sata Jet by the way is a decent gun. You can get good results from it if you play around with it and dial it in. Sure, its not precision machined like a Sata HVLP gun, but its also not a $400-$600 gun either.

I have a few Harbor Frieght guns in the shop that we primarly use for etching primers, primer surfacers, ect. Their kinda what i refer to as "junk" guns, but they are far from junk in my opinion. The reason i use them is that they are a decent gun in my opinion and perfect for undercoats because of thier cost. I really don't want 2k primer surfacer setting in a $600 gun, when i can use a $40 dollar gun to do the same job. I need to sand it anyway, so i'm just interested in getting the material on the panel.

I have sprayed base/ clear, and urathane enamels with the Harbor Freight gun with good results. They don't atomize the paint as well as a high end gun, but on the other hand your not $600 bucks poorer either. If your spraying in a garage, or even outside, your probably going to be wetsanding and buffing some dirt out anyway, so why invest in that high dollar gun for a few paint jobs?? I'll bet if i shot a hood with my Sata, and shot another hood with a Harbor Freight gun and wet sanded and buffed them both......you would never be able to see a difference between the two guns!

Just my 2 cents worth, but i think you'll be fine with the Harbor Freight gun. And i know for a fact it will spray "Roundup" with deadly results!! :)

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

I'll bet if i shot a hood with my Sata, and shot another hood with a Harbor Freight gun and wet sanded and buffed them both......you would never be able to see a difference between the two guns!

PPGman,

I always believed the last step, manual wet sanding and buffing is really what differentiates a great paint job. The shine and depth of a great finish does not usually come from the gun. I would think if you apply enough patience and elbow grease, you could eventually get a great finish applying the paint with a roller!

Hank, you got me thinking the same thing now.

I have the same model # which by way goes on sale around here for $9 and then 20% off with a coupon - so for $7.20, you may not want to bother cleaning them out with $5 worth of thinner !!

Anyway, your question on the larger nozzle for heavy primer has me thinking. The needle valve tip is tapered, so opening up the nozzle slightly (0.4mm) should not present a problem with sealing off the spray nozzle. If the spray nozzle can atomize the extra flow - well there's the question. If you can open the nozzle and maintain a perfect circular shape to the opening, the needle valve should seal properly. A drill bit may not accomplish this, you may need some type of broach to maintain perfect geometry of the nozzle hole.

I also have the 2 gun automotive and the larger gun does have a 1.8mm nozzle. As you would expect, you don't have to over reduce the primer and the coverage is excellent.

For $7.20, I may give the nozzle opening a tweak and see what happens !

[HankB 16]

I'm learning. (That's another way of saying that I'm not making the same mistakes each time.)

Poor results the previous time were mostly the result of low pressure. After studying some of the articles I found on the web I must have gotten confused about pressure and found I had my regulator/filter set way too low. I have a 25' rubber hose feeding a filter/regulator that has one of those coiled plastic lines that then feeds the gun. I see a 10 psi drop at the regulator when I spray so I figure there is another 10 psi drop to the gun. I set static pressure 10 psi over the max desired pressure at the gun so that I should be 10 psi under that while spraying. And that got me much better paint delivery.

So good, in fact, that I was able to lay down enough on vertical surfaces to sag and run a bit. So now I have learned that I should think twice before going for that extra pass. I do have a good selection of wet sanding papers from 200 to 1500 grit and I'll be working those down prior to the next coat.

HF won't let me stack coupons and the $10 price is with a coupon, so I can't get the new gun for less than $10 which is still IMO a bargain. It is now listed with a 1.5 mm nozzle. I went to my local store and they were out of stock. But I will take ppgman's advice and do more prep before I start spraying and perhaps reduce the need for a high build primer. Maybe it's time for a DA.

thanks again,

hank

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

I set static pressure 10 psi over the max desired pressure at the gun so that I should be 10 psi under that while spraying. And that got me much better paint delivery.

Hank,

T in a small air pressure gauge at the base of the gun and set the desired air pressure while spraying paint.

Remember when you let go of the trigger, the pressure will build up within the gun to - as you said - about 10 lbs over the spraying pressure. Just make sure you don't exceed the max pressure allowable into the gun, that could be a safety hazard.

Also, the pressure / flow will be higher than required when you first pull the trigger and may produce a "dry" spray for the first few seconds. This is a good reason to start your spray off the piece being covered and come onto it as the spray pressure falls to the desired setting. :)

[horsefeathers 15]

YES! What they just said! The HF guns are very good for what they are!

I have been pushing these guns at the necks of the novice painters for a while!

They are good for entry level! If yer gonn'a paint a Duesenburg? Maybe not!

Rember a spray gun is just a tool! Like a ball peen hammer or cresent wrench!

You CAN do this! No mater what anyone says the old sypphoin feed guns

do not compare.I have many old Sharp, develbiss, and binks syphoin guns!

I'am an ol' body paint guy haingin' on to the past also, but I know better now!

For less than $20 bucks you can throw it away (or kill weeds) if it dosen't do it!

The only fear we have is fear it's self! Paint the fence,dog,driveway, just paint!

HORSEFEATHERS!

[Save Old Iron 1,566]

The only fear we have is fear it's self!

Thank God

I thought he said the only beer he had was beer for himself !!

[Coadster32 793]

I thought he said the only beer he had was beer for himself !!

:)

[squonk 41,072]

Here's what I use. I have a standard gun instead of the gravity feed. Had it about 10 years. You can paint anywhere there is electricity. You can adjust the gun so it shoots a pattern the size of a dime. I even stained about 300 ft of fence with it last month

http://www.tptools.com/p/2994,59_Showtime-...-Spray-Gun.html

[linen beige 14]

I would think if you apply enough patience and elbow grease, you could eventually get a great finish applying the paint with a roller!

If you can open the nozzle and maintain a perfect circular shape to the opening, the needle valve should seal properly. A drill bit may not accomplish this, you may need some type of broach to maintain perfect geometry of the nozzle hole.

Prior to about 1923 (When Dupont perfected? sprayable paint) ALL cars were painted with brushes and or rollers and sanded and buffed to remove brush marks, etc.

I know of a 1940 Ford coupe that was painted by dabbing the finish on with a powder puff and buffing. The paint turned out so good that this car won it's class at the Hershey, Pa. show in the mid '70s. Not bad for being restored inside a dirt floor tobacco barn.

If you are going to try reaming out your gun's nozzle with an ordinary drill bit, try turning the bit backwards (counterclockwise) so that it "worries" it's way through.

[wheelhorse656 20]

to get rid of imperfections i just get non thinned rusty metal primer and brush it on then just sand it smooth that gets rid of alot of the problems. :)